If consumers believe this, they will be willing to pay higher prices. Much of the success of the iPhone is associated with the ability of Apple to make this connection with consumers, because without such associations, consumers would not be willing to spend extra on an iPhone and would probably spend more time comparison shopping different smartphones. In essence, Apple wants its customers to purchase an Apple, rather than product that delivers a specific bundle of benefits.
The iPhone has a strong market share in smartphones, and has allowed Apple to emerge as a power in mobile devices. This indicates that the company has been successful in creating the brand associations that drive the product differentiation in the iPhone. Other smartphones compare poorly with respect to brand associations next to the iPhone for a couple of reasons. One is that there is some confusion between the platform brand (i.e. Android) and the manufacturer's brand. With the iPhone, the same brand is associated with both. Another reason is that other companies in the industry are competing for different consumers than the Apple. For example, some firms are pursuing a cost leadership strategy rather than a differentiation strategy.
For the most part, only a couple of smartphone hardware manufacturers have been able to differentiate their brands successfully -- Blackberry and the iPhone -- and this is because they are the main two devices that are pursuing...
These two brands also have been in the industry longer than many other players. The newer players have had a more difficult time creating differentiation -- even when their products are superior they are not always perceived as such by the market. It is simply assumed by many consumers that weaker brands equate to weaker products.
For example, some of the products that utilize the Android platform have a differentiated level of features and services, such as the HTC Evo 4G, but they do not have strong brands. As a result, such devices have a lower market share than the iPhone or Blackberry. Another company seeking differentiation in the industry is Palm, which uses a Linux-based operating system for products such as the Pre. Both of these latter products have been somewhat successful, but are secondary products in the industry. The brands are relatively weak -- Palm has suffered reputation-wise in recent years and HTC is a relatively new player in the industry. Even the product names lack the resonance of "iPhone" or "Blackberry." These companies have also failed to associate their brands with any one specific consumer group, something that has been central to the success of the iPhone and the Apple brand in general. The aspirational attributes of the iPhone brand bring in consumers who are less apt to purchase a product on careful consideration of its specs, which significantly increases the iPhone's market share.
