Jerry McDougal, the vice president of Apple Retail, thinks building long-lasting relationships between customers and their products is not the only sort of intense bonding Apple Inc. hopes to create. That relationship extends to Apple personnel as well.

‘Our relationship with the customer starts as soon as you purchase it because we want to help the customer get more out of what they just invested in, so we consistently invite them back to do that,’ McDougal said.

McDougal spoke to Syracuse University students in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management Lender Auditorium Thursday evening about the three components that make up Apple: location, design and customer service.

After beginning his business career with IBM, McDougal quickly discovered how customer service-deprived the manufacturing company was. He said was frustrated with not having direct contact with costumers.

So he switched from manufacturing to retail, which he said is the main department that sparks a long and enduring relationship with customers. Though retail is not easy, it is necessary in business to be in contact with the customer, McDougal said.

‘What fascinated me the most when I first began in retail was that I knew in my bones all along that you could somehow take what the manufacturer has and articulate it well to the customer,’ McDougal said. ‘Ultimately, the way it should be done and the way the manufacturer could successfully do that is by active communication.’

Apple takes appearance very seriously, McDougal said. Apple believes that when a customer first glances at a product, the appearance can affect a potential relationship, he said.

‘Apple spends a considerable amount of energy designing beautiful products,’ McDougal said. ‘Great design is really hard to do, but we design the stores beautifully as well so that they can display Apple’s beautiful products.’

Katelyn Cozzi, a senior in Whitman, said she believes that Apple has successfully accomplished its goal in terms of store design.

‘The way the stores are designed is amazing,’ Cozzi said. ‘Not only does it portray the openness and interaction it was intended to portray at the beginning, but it will transmit that image to the countries that currently have and will host Apple stores. As a student who has studied abroad, I believe that Apple has managed to know the differences and demands in the different countries and has, as a result, welcomed these concerns with their clear glass exterior.’

In addition to the openness of the stores created by clear glass fronts, the employees strive to be open to help customers, McDougal said.

‘Now the secret sauce on top of location and design is our people,’ McDougal said. ‘We are very proud of our people and the people that work in the stores. It is important that they deliver a genuine, relaxed, comfortable interaction with the customer. That’s our culture. That’s our environment.’

McDougal explained that only 50 percent of an Apple store is designated for selling products, while the other 50 percent is designed for customer service for people who already own Apple products. The purpose of the second half of the store is so that the current Apple customers can learn about the various pieces they own, he said.

‘We believe that the relationship starts as soon as you purchase it because we want to help the customer get more out of what they just invested on,’ McDougal said. ‘We consistently invite our customers back to do just that, in fact we have a little over 20,000 worldwide in Apple Retail to make sure that happens for our customers.’

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Published on February 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm