Apple's support for business and government goes deeper than one might think. That's because Apple's business webpage is very hard to find. Scouring Apple's home page and site map won't reveal what you need. One might think of it as extraordinary stealth marketing. Once found, however, it's a gem.
____________________
The history here is that Apple's home page, apple.com, has always been product driven, not market driven. Historically, the education, business, and science pages haven't had prominent (or any) links there. In fact, Apple's science page has been down for quite some time now and the future is unknown.
The business page, however, is alive and well and is particularly interesting. If you're a businessman looking for:
- Business discounts
- Pre-sales advice
- An Apple business specialist to contact
- Volume purchases
there's an Apple page for that. It's just very hard to find. Here's where you'll want to go:
http://www.apple.com/business/
If you scroll to the bottom of that business page, under the heading, “Where to buy Apple products,” you'll find a wealth of resources for business.
1. Most important is that consulting phone number, a number many Apple business customers may not know about.
1-800-854-3680
2. Amazingly, there are a whopping 36 “Apple in Business Profiles” where you can read about businesses that have embraced Apple products. The articles are very well written. (The photo above is from the Scott Kay, artisan jeweler story.)
3. Also, there are pages that point to the specific advantages of Macs, iPads and iPhones in business. For example, the Mac in Business page explores the Mac hardware, OS X, the OS X server option and apps for business. Following some of those links will lead you to the Apple Consultant Network where you can find “independent professional service providers and technology consulting firms that specialize in Apple and third-party solutions,” according to Apple.
4. At the very bottom of that section is a link for federal, state and local government agencies or individuals employed by them to buy equipment at a discount: the Apple Store for Government.
Image Credit: Apple
5. There's also a handy link so that you can Find an Apple Corporate Reseller. So, for example, if you're wondering whether you can buy iPads or iPhones at Frys, that chart will tell you. (No iPads at present.)
Finally, according to Apple, “Every Apple Store has a Business Team committed to helping you find the perfect solution.”
Image credit: Apple
It's amazing that Apple's site map doesn't point to this central, high level page of profiles, resources and technology discussions. The Apple site map only points to the actual discount stores themselves for education, business and government.
All this may be the greatest stealth marketing campaign Apple has ever conducted.