Apple Company Strategy Essay

Apple Inc, best known as Apple is an American based global company that designs and sells electronics, PCs and computer software. The company was established in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and was incorporated in 1977. Some of the Apple’s best-known products are the Macintosh range of personal computers, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. By 2012, Apple reported to have more than 300 retail stores located in more than 10 countries in the world and more than 60, 000 employees on permanent employment, and about 2,800 on temporal employment. Despite the success the company, Apple has faced hard competition from other electronics manufacturing companies. The objective of this paper is to develop a strategic plan that will enable Apple improve its position in the personal computer industry. The paper will use Michael Porter’s forces; key success factors, SWOT analysis and the competitive strength to point out specific, workable recommendations that will allow Apple stay afloat and improve its position in the personal computer industry (Gamble & Marino 2012).

All of these elements are key factors in Apple’s Strategy. Apple has also provided competitive prices compared to other companies like Android. Apple’s products started at much higher prices and are now competitively priced based on comparable products. These key elements fit together to complete Apple’s ever changing competitive strategy. Apple has clearly been successful in adapting their strategy based on internal and external changes. Apple has been able to create strong customer loyalty and maintain ambitious leadership. Buyer power, rivalry and treat of substitutes are also key elements in Apple’s strategy. Music, internet and computers are all areas for long term development.

Apple has prospered internally and it is necessary to consider both strengths and weaknesses. Apple has lots of strengths, the major of them being it’s impressive brand reputation, Apple managed to position the brand as “premium products” for “elite” people. Customers are loyal and tend to stay in Apple’s ecosystem. Apple’s self-reinforcing ecosystem, it has a diverse ecosystem which integrates various hardware and software products into one large interactive space. Status of top innovator, Apple is perceived as the leading innovator and its products are highly anticipated. Apple’s very strong financial performance, high profit margins and very high liquidity. It’s network of retail stores, high-quality customer service helps to create advanced user experience. A powerful marketing strategy, Apple’s team masterly uses various marketing techniques to create a hype for their products and to strengthen the brand.

Nokia, which overtook Motorola in 1998 to take the crown of biggest phone manufacturer of world, lost its prestigious crown after struggling for last 3 years. The 4 costly mistakes that lead to Nokia losing the battle are described in this article. Nokia launched its Symbian 60 series in year 2002 which initially had a good market response but with the introduction of Apple iOS in 2007 and Android in 2008, the OS race was completely taken over by the two giants. The reasons for collapse of Symbian OS is lack of applications and UI (User Interface). After facing competition from iOS and Android, Nokia continuously tried to improve their Symbian OS but it was mostly following the UI of Android and iOS and was not creating something unique. Secondly, the company failed to look into the need of available applications in gaining market share. The company made the biggest mistake to take a leap of faith in Windows in 2011. At that point of time, the company already was in declining condition and trusting Windows which was new in the field to regain its status was the biggest mistake the company made. tiff competition from Samsung and Apple, and lack on focus on innovation was the second big reason of collapse. Even if users could ignore the OS, the the hardware features which Nokia was rolling out were quiet late as compared its major competitors Samsung and Apple.

I learned that Apple is a juggernaut when it comes to their technological products and marketing goals. Apple focuses on the needs of customer’s light years ahead of their competition and even before most consumers have realized they want Apple’s products. Through their innovative marketing involving social media, word of mouth, Apple Stores they have convinced consumers about the high value of their product even lending to the formation of a “Mac cult” for its diehard fans. The way ahead for Apple is not to lose sight of its brand loyalty and continue to service the customers and entice them with the brand’s prestige. Even with the death of Steve Jobs, I believe Apple forge ahead to differentiate itself from the markets they are in.

Apple Inc. has been dedicated to innovation ever since the company was first formed. Apple's recent breakthroughs were a result of a new technologies convergence upon the "digital hub" strategy (Mortensen, 2010). This strategy has served Apple well; especially during the last few years. The iPad, iPod, and iPhone were all born from this strategy. Furthermore, producing these innovative, user friendly, and design oriented products has earned them a considerable amount of customer loyalty.

Even though Apple has encountered many setbacks, it continues to bring new and improve products to the market. Apple’s competitive strategy has been innovation. They have made an extraordinary effort developing, implementing, and executing its very unique strategy through innovation which has resulted in new product, and the enrichment of the existing ones. More specifically, Apple attempts to meet and supply the needs of a global market, by offering eager and enthusiastic consumers with innovated and high-quality products and services. Apple has employed a differentiation strategy linked to innovation with its three core products (computers, personal media player, mobile phones, tablets and other accessories). A key piece of their strategy involves meeting the needs of the converging digital electronics and computer markets. Apple has elected to implement its strategy by designing and developing proprietary operating systems and software technologies, thus allowing for strict protection of its intellectual rights.

This paper comprehensively describes the marketing plan of a charismatic organization Apple Inc. The main focus of the paper is to describe the most important marketing strategies which Apple has espoused from the date of its emergence and different challenges which it has faced from time to time. The paper begins with an introduction to the organization. Apple Inc. is an American MNC; engaged in the business of developing and marketing of IT products. Apple has expanded its business operations all over the world. Every product which Apple introduces has its own target market; it develops marketing plan and strategies for each of its products separately (Apple, 2012). Apple's strengths include strong brand image, financial strength, product and process design, and highly efficient operations management while high prices and inability of up gradation of some products are its main weaknesses. Apple has threats from its competitors, increasing costs, and economic situations but has greater opportunities in entering new markets, making strategic alliances, and bringing innovations through efficient R&D. Before entering new markets, Apple has to analyze the business environment through sensitivity analysis, and then decide a framework for the future strategies.

Apple has done an excellent job of developing a very distinct strategy through industry leading innovation. This strategy has allowed them to be the frontrunners in new product introductions and the improvement of existing products. Apple has employed a differentiation strategy in an attempt to meet the needs of a global market by offering customers innovative new products and improved existing products. An important part of their strategy involves meeting the needs of the evolving digital electronics and computer markets. Apple has chosen to implement its strategy by designing and developing its

Apple is a leading innovator in countless technological markets, which includes the computer market, tablet market, smartphone market and the MP3 market. Being a leader in these industries comes with many challenges due to the number of competitors in each of the markets. Their main competitors are HP and Dell when it comes to the computer industry. Samsung, Google, HP and Dell are also primary competition in the tablet market. Apple was by far the leader in the smartphone industry, however Google’s Android and Samsung’s Galaxy are becoming increasingly popular and they have become Apples main competition. Apple brought MP3 players to a whole new spectrum when the iPod was introduced; however the iPad 's main competition is Apple 's very own iPhone because of the iPhones music playing capabilities. In order for Apple to stay the leader in all these industries they must constantly be innovating and differentiating their products from their competitors.

Nowadays, Apple has positioned itself to be an innovator in the personal computer industry and Apple has developed by offering modern products compared to its competitors. According to Apple’s mission statement last year, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.” (Business Management,

Over the past seven years, Apple has seen great success due to its imaginative and fresh way to do the business. Through continuous innovation, Apple has developed a series of exceptional products with imaginative design and style. Specifically, Apple has made its products popular among the customers through effective marketing strategy. To some extent, innovative marketing, and sleek and enticing communications is the primary reason for the success of Apple. Therefore, it is of great significance for us to analyze the marketing strategy of Apple, so as to learn from the previous experience as well as find out the aspects that need improvement.

Apple is a successful organization and its iPod has a high market share in the global market due to its brand perception and image as s high quality innovative brand. Moreover, in the I.T industry, Apple holds a strong position by catering to the needs of the dynamic market with its extensive research and developments that enables it to satisfy its customers with highly innovative products. Apple has maintained its brand name in the global market and the customer loyalty is increasing at a high rate (Barnet & Cavanagh, 2006).

For many years the product strategy of Apple is involved for creating many innovative products which are aligned with the strategy of “digital hub” (www.marketingmindscom). The core competence of the company is on delivering the exceptional experience with the user interfaces. The company has the strategy of branding which focuses on the emotions. The brand personality of Apple is about the imagination, lifestyle, innovation, passion through technology.

I would like to thank a bunch of people who helped me in completion of my dissertation like: