New Product Development Is the Key to Apple's Marketing Success - Case Study Example

New product development is the key to Apples marketing success Contents New product development is the key to Apples marketing success Contents 2 Introduction 3 New Product Development 3 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Apple Inc manufactures designs and markets media devices, mobile communication, digital players and personal computers. In addition to these activities, Apple also sells a variety of software, peripherals, services, as well as networking solutions. The Company products range from TV to iPhone (Apple Inc, 2011, p. 1). Some of the products of Apple include iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac hardware products, iTunes, iCloud, software products and other technologies, such as Mac App Store and Apple TV. The latest product introduced by Apple is the iPhone 4S. Apple announced the launch of iBooks 2 for iPad which would feature iBooks textbooks, iTunes U application for iPhone, iPad and for iPod touch (Apple Inc-a, 2012). Apple aims to bring the best experience for its customers through its product and services. The business strategy of Apple is to leverage the unique abilities of designing and developing the company’s own operating system, software and hardware in order to provide its customers with superior products and innovative designs. The company believes in innovation which is the key strategy for the success of the company; as a result, Apple invests in its research and development in order to introduce new and innovative products. Apart from its R&D, the company also invests in its marketing and advertisement as a part of Apple strategy to stay ahead of its competitors. Apple strategy also includes expansion of its distribution network to reach more clients and provide the potential customers with high quality of sales and post purchase experience (Apple Inc, 2011, p.1). New Product Development Any changes made to a product are termed as new product development. New products can be defined as products which are new to the concerned company but it’s not new in the market; there are products which are completely different from the existing product and form a good replacement; finally, products which are new, innovative and unique (Chaturvedi, et.al, 2009, p.1). Apple is known for its pioneer work strategy being one of the most innovative companies. New product development is one of the key strategies of Apple; it is through new product that the company has been able to taste success being one of the leading companies globally. Apple launches new product in the markets to stay ahead of its competitors, to continue the product life cycle, to give the customers what they need, and to enhance the strategy. According to Steve Jobs, new product lines tend to give people the products which are needed by the consumers. The company expresses its vision with the help of its product, exciting the customers and making them proud of owing an Apple product. The life cycle of any product needs to be modified carefully. Apple introduces new product when its earlier products are entering the maturity phase of the PLC giving no or less chance to its competitors to stay ahead. Thus, with continuous innovation, Apple provides a huge competitive edge over its competitors and helps in maintaining its number one position. With its innovation strategy the company has introduced many new products and also planned to launch few more in the coming years or so. Apple has applied a strategy of continuously milking its cash cow and has done a fantastic job. Each of its products, ranging from the Mac, iPhone, and iPod has been fertile, speaking about leverage designs and supply chain. The main motive of milking its product is to stay competitive in the market. Apple product possesses elegant design which integrates software, hardware and its services. One of the closest competitors of Apple is Android which has come up with similar products and is doing quite well in the market. Therefore, Apple should constantly introduce new products with elegant design which is the USP of Apple for its consumers. Apple products, services and marketing strategy are all closely linked to each other. Application of iPhone also works for iPad and iTunes providing its customers with a convenience of digital market place. With the launch of iPhone 5, the market share of Apple might be doubled. A survey conducted revealed that about 64% of customers confessed that the next phone would be an iPhone (Mac Daily News, 2011). In order to maintain its competitive edge and its market position, Apple utilise its resources to stay in the competition; as Apple has got a good reputation, it makes it much easier for the company to maintain its sustainability and attract the existing and potential customers. Apple is known to target people and not market. Apple tends to target those who love innovation, people who are technology savvy. This might range from college goers to corporate; in any case Apple focuses on the users. Thus, Apple uses its strategy effectively: when a new product is introduced in the market, Apple makes sure that the product does not fail and is accepted by its target audience. It has been noticed that Apple launches its product with a press release which makes the customers more eager to know about the product and eventually purchase it. Thus, novelty is the key to its success which leads to new product development. The success factors necessary for the development of a new product are idea generation and screening. The purpose of screening the idea is to retain the ideas which can be implemented and eliminating those ones which have a chance of failure in the future. The success factors of Apple are mainly determined by its strategic decision along with the company’s unique selling proposition. Apple focuses on customer delight driven strategy. Another important success factor for Apple lies with its people; the employers and the employees work together for the betterment of the company. The company invests in its research and development and also spends on marketing, as well as advertising strategy. Of lately it has been noticed that Apple has been heavily focusing on advertising its product. Apple concentrates on its customers to bring in the best computing experience to them, ranging from students, creative professionals, educators and consumers globally through its innovation in software, hardware and internet. Resources are essential factors for any organisation to succeed, and Apple’s resources have helped it to a very large extend to accomplish its target and goal. One of the key foundations of forming strategy is through the proper utilisation of the company’s resources. Apple resources help it to deliver its best strategy and to keep ahead of its competitors. Apple has identified the need and has developed new resources which enhance the company’s user friendly strengths. Apple has developed strategic alliance with other companies, such as Microsoft and IBM. These alliances would further help Apple to build its resources to remain competitive in the computers industry in years to come (Schuler & Jackson, 2009, p.20). Apple designs also prove to be one of its key resources. One of the rare resources of Apple is the ability to reconfigure the existing technology that is easy to use, more elegant and desired by customers (Williams, 2010, p.204). Apart from the above facets, one more factor responsible for the success of Apple is its marketing strategy. Apple is able to target those people who need applications provided by Apple. Apple includes customers who are willing to pay a high price for its product even when there are other products with similar features available in the market. Customers who like to be updated about new technologies and need to be connected with the internet are the potential clients of Apple. Apple products are in high demand as the company is able to provide a phone with many in-built features. For example, the iPhone is a mobile phone with MP3 players and internet access. Apple products range from TV to iPhone, iPod and others. Apple follows a premium pricing strategy and the prices for its products do not fluctuate. Lately Apple has changed its pricing strategy; it began competing with its rivals over price. Customers who wanted the Apple iPhone 4S were able to get it more easily on a sale if the customers were willing to wait and pay $199. The new pricing strategy has changed over the years; Apple now uses logistic prowess to deliver its products at an aggressive price which gives the company more power to influence price in the industry (Wingfield, 2011). Apple has introduced retail outlets where customers can purchase its products. There are many number of Apple stores in the US. It also allows customers to shop online for its product through its websites. Apple products are available through different channels, including online and offline retailers. Apple has been investing more into its marketing strategy by advertising on TV, on billboards, in printed mass media and also through the web. Apart from advertising, Apple uses personal selling in terms of promotional strategy. Most of the sale representatives belong to the young generation and are trained specifically for Apples technology. Apple conducts a series of highly innovative advertising campaigns through print advertisements, television, posters, wrap advertising and others. Conclusion Apple is a company which excels in new product development and introduces products which are needed by the target customers. Apple success lies in various factors but the first and foremost is innovation. With the introduction of many products the company has been able to taste success; under the guidance of Steve Jobs Apple had reached a position which is quite impossible for its competitors to capture. Apple continues to upgrade its current products, such as laptops, MacBook and MacBook Pro. It is believed that the innovations made by Apple would keep the company alive and successful. It has been predicted that the Smartphone’s sales will surge in the next few years. With a growth in Web applications, such as Twitter and Facebook, the demand for these Smartphones continues to increase. Analysts believe that by 2013 about 23% of mobile sales would be represented by Smartphones. Apple has introduced a new version of iPod, iPod Touch. Example of Apple’s continuous innovation is the 4gigabyte iPod shuffle which was introduced in 2009. The third generation shuffle can store approximately 1000 songs, and can even handle 14 different languages. Apple, with its innovation strategy, is termed as an aggressive marketer. Apple ranks second - after Microsoft - in terms of advertisement. Apple has been ranked third in terms of computers; the reason behind the success is once a customer buys an Apple product, such as iPod and iPhone, the next Apple item becomes natural for a customer to purchase. The reason behind Apple success lies in its competitive advantage. References Apple Inc. (2011). Form 10k Annual Report. Retrieved on January 30, 2012 from http://investor.apple.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1193125-11-282113&CIK=320193. Apple Inc-a. (2012). Hot News. Retrieved on January 30, 2012 from http://www.apple.com/hotnews/. Chaturvedi, M., Kumar, A. & Rahul, M. (2009). Managing Innovation and New Product Development. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Mac Daily News. (2011). Analyst: iPhone 5 may double Apple’s market share. Retrieved on January 30, 2012 from http://macdailynews.com/2011/08/03/analyst-iphone-5-may-double-apples-market-share/. Schuler, R. S. & Jackson, S. E. (2009). Strategic Human Resource Management, 2Nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons. Williams, C. (2010). Management. Cengage Learning. Wingfield, N. (2011). Whats behind Apples new pricing strategy. Retrieved on February 10, 2012 from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/-Whats-behind-Apples-new-pricing-strategy/articleshow/10507535.cms. Read More