Ethics and morality are paramount aspects of customer experience and branding
In this day and age, the making and delivery of a leading world-class product or service requires a lot more than just having outstanding innovations, design, manufacturing, customer service, processes, customer journeys, and distribution. A world-class leader is also expected to make a stand on issues of ethics and morality. Furthermore, the higher the reputation and standing of a firm, the higher the expectations that its customers and the public at large will have.
On February 16, 2016, Apple delivered at the highest level of expectations.
Earlier that day, a U.S. magistrate judge had “… ordered Apple to comply with FBI requests to help extract data from an iPhone owned by one of the shooters involved in December’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif.”, as reported by AppleInsider.
The fact is, as Apple’s letter clearly explains, that complying with said order would break every information security principle and best-practice and would severely undermine the security of an installed base of about 850 million iOS devices worldwide (an additional 150 million devices run mostly Mac OS X and some WatchOS).
This is not the first time Apple has exercised its leadership in order to exert influence in matters of human rights, social issues, and the environment.
When called to account, by Greenpeace, in August 2006, on the Technology Company Report Card with regards to the materials and processes being used to manufacture its products, Apple responded so effectively that by 2014 it had become the most green of all IT vendors. Greenpeace remarked Apple’s leadership in its September 2014 Greener Gadgets: Designing the Future report.
Apple also has a very strong record with regards to its supply-chain responsibilities, gay rights (see reports by WSJ, HuffingtonPost, Venture Beat, and Wired), privacy rights (see NPR and Apple), and information security (see Information Week and MacRumours).
Furthermore, in a few days Apple will have its Annual Meeting of Shareholders. A look at page iii of its 2016 Proxy Statement Summary showcases the importance the firm gives to ethical issues and values.
All of the above, done over the years, in a consistent fashion, is part of the reason why Apple’s brand commands the top positions in all rankings of influence and why the company has such a healthy reputation.
From the customer experience point of view, any user of Apple’s products and services has the peace of mind of knowing that with their money they support a firm that acts morally and for the greater good. That is a very powerful and hard to copy differentiation factor.
By making its values a significant and tangible aspect of “The Apple Customer Experience”, the women and men from Cupertino have put their brand on a pedestal above most others.
Apple is not the only company enriching its customer experience and strengthening its brand by acting ethically. Just last year, 132 companies, from 21 countries, 5 continents, and spanning 50 industries were recognised by the World’s Most Ethical Companies, organised by Ethisphere. This is the manifestation of the maturity of their marketing practice at play.
This level of sophistication on how to approach the marketing of a firm is something that Convergnce can help your company to consider and to implement. Marketing maturity is our approach for helping your firm to become most distinctive and its marketing organisation to become most effective. If you have an interest in this or other aspects of your marketing practice, just reach for us.
Originally published on Thoughts, the blog of Convergnce|Marketing Maturity:http://www.convergnce.com/thoughts-marketing-maturity/2016/2/19/ethics-and-morality-paramount-aspects-of-the-customer-experience-and-the-brand
