Thoughts on Apple's Marketing Strategy

Sales - Apple has a specific functional area based on sales. The sales department of a business handles how the products will be sold and helping customers find a suitable product for their needs. They organise sales promotions (or advertising), respond to customer enquiries about their products, and negotiate discounts for customers; which enhances customer satisfaction and keeping customer records up to date. E.g. Apple found that distributing their phones to sell at other shops would broaden their market and create a lot of word of mouth which would be essential to the growth of the business. The shops they distribute the phones to always try to find ways to discount their customers which always creates customer satisfaction.

Apple came back from near extinction to become one of the most revered technology companies in recent memory. They achieved this status by developing innovative design products and pushing the limits of their marketing prowess. Apple is known for their ability to listen to consumers and revolutionize market segments by providing modern design laden and feature rich alternatives to the target markets. They employ strategies that might contradict normal convention by keeping their prices high to build a brand image of prestige and promote their products through word of mouth. The impact on marketing is hugely noticeable by other companies following suit with store models

Apple's entire supply chain has been rated as the top supply chain in the world by Gartner's (Wailgum, 2011). Apple was one of the top companies rated in the resilience category by overcoming such hurdles as the Japanese earthquake without any major disruptions. Other categories that the supply chains were critiqued under included speed, agility, efficiency, responsiveness, and innovation. Apple's entire production operation is outsourced to the Asian Pacific and the company manufactures their goods through strategic partners who are some of the best electronics manufactures in the world.

You’re absolutely correct, Apple has truly mastered the art of generating buzz and obtaining free advertising (Kinicki & Williams, 2013). Over the years they’ve masterfully leveraged secrecy and the art of strategically leaking information to drive customer and media anticipation for their products into the stratosphere (Kinicki & Williams, 2013). Even more impressive is Apple’s ability to consistently capitalize on that buzz by producing products that meet the amazingly high expectations of its customers. Apple’s ability to combine unmatched marketing sizzle with real innovative genius and manufacturing muscle, is what truly makes their products iconic and sets them apart as a company.

I can start with the fact that Apple Inc. is a vertically integrated company. It is a package of every things from hardware to software, over to online services. It do all this to proof its products that distinguish market from PCs to smartphones. In this essay, I will discuss how Apple used vertical integration strategies, both backward integration and forward integration to planning its competitive position within its industry.

The repositioning of the company in 2007, from Apple Computer to Apple Inc, was a clear indication that the main focus was no longer attributed to the PC market. With this change in prioritization, one could imagine that Apple’s competitive position in regards to PC’s would be weakened, due to capital and R&D efforts being directed elsewhere. But this is not the case. In fact, Apple’s new broadened portfolio and “hub” strategy has only helped to fuel the PC sales even more. This development boils down to several factors, including a strengthened brand image that the new products have contributed to, and the success of the “ecosystem” that the company has created around its products. Although Apple is now making its profits in many new areas, the PCs still account for a great part of the total sales. The price for a MAC is relatively high compared to the competition, and Apple is able to keep the price at that level because their PCs serve the luxury end of the market. Many design conscious consumers prefer the MAC and this niche strategy contributes to securing Apple’s position. The company actually tried to introduce a cheaper PC version, but this was not a success.

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.

As you might already know, Apple, the huge computer company, has recently been on many peoples minds. Whether it’s because of its famous Macbooks and iMac’s, or the new iPhone 4, the iPad, or its renowned iPod, all of whom make up part of the revolutionary repertoire of Apple products. Farhad Manjoo celebrates the fact that “Apple cultivates religious fervor among its adherents in a number of subtle ways, including its mysteriousness and its suggestion that customers are among the chosen ones”(43). Farhad is insisting that Apple has, not only made loyal customers, but more of a cult of sorts, in which fans of the companies products acclaim their work in many different ways, some so extreme as to getting the company logo

Apple’s root problem is the ability for competitors to drive product prices down through the creation of comparable devices or software. Apple is known for aspiring to bring innovative products to market at a premium quality and accompanying high price. Gaining high profit margins on the sales of their products has counteracted the lesser global market share percentage Apple has compared to other leading PC vendors. Exhibit 3b in the case study shows HP and Dell with more than double the market share in the year 2002-2014 in the United States alone. Apple did not make the top list of market share percentage on the worldwide market comparisons. In the more recent years of 2012-2014 Android became a top competitor with Apple by competing with comparable devices and operating systems. Apple cannot afford to let competitors have the opportunity to control their pricing strategies and affectively decrease customer perceived value.

This way it creates a series of products, each only slightly different from its predecessor, but still perceived as indispensible to the “hip” consumer. This segment remains excited to buy Apple products because they feed on curiosity, targeting buyers who crave something new, useful, and fashionable. Third, Steve Jobs is famous for its enthusiastic speeches and clear communication of his vision. His speeches and Apple commercials create an emotional connection with the audience through persuasive storytelling and mind-blowing visuals, which while not always showing the product, still make customers associate them with well-known creative individuals or outstanding experimenters and innovative products. The company builds a strong emotional connection with contemporary audiences that like to enjoy life, think differently and try new experiences. 3. Extra credit for 5%: Compare Steve Jobs as an innovation leader to other leaders in industry. On the surface the two greatest IT geniuses of our age have plenty in common. They were both college dropouts who went on to develop world-changing technologies and found multi-billiondollar companies as a result. They were both among the wealthiest individuals of the modern era. They were both innovators and could both been termed “revolutionary” in terms of their affect on society. They were both in committed relationships with strong families. And they both had a hand in bringing computers out of the punch-card age

Apple is focus on niche market, which is targeted on the people who have special demands for technological products. Apple tailors its

Launching a product which meets and even exceeds customer needs is crucial to the success of a company. An example of that type of company is Apple. The American-based technological giant has been dominating the market for years and there are several reasons for that. Firstly, Apple’s products make their users feel unique. It is the brand name and the quality, associated with it, that make people love Apple. What is more, Apple has a lot of technological advantages and resources, for example, they were the first company to launch a tablet – the iPad. Finally, they have a lot of skills in terms of knowledge and creativity of their employees. All of the above-mentioned reasons provide Apple with a competitive advantage.

Apple Inc. is an American company and is best known to design and manufacture computer hardware, software and other consumer electronics. (Bright Hub, 2016)

Apple Inc. uses the Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets. Apple 's brand has evolved as it has expanded its range of products and services. Originally starting in the late 1970s with desktop computers and then laptops in the 1990s, it took over 20 years before the company expanded into its first major new product area with the launch of the iPod in 2001, followed by iPhone in 2007, iPad in 2010, and now Apple Pay and Apple Watch in 2014.

Market segmentation strategy involves dividing the market into groups, where individuals have similar needs and wants for services and products. It could also be a segmentation of people on the basis of behavior, culture and economic status. To get a clearer picture of what is market segmentation, one can always look into the definition provided by business dictionary.com, market segmentation is defined as, "Process of defining and sub-dividing a large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics" (Meadows, 2008).