Marketing Strategy for Apple Inc - Case Study Example

Marketing Strategy for Apple Inc. By Professor Class University City Date of submission EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Apple Inc. stand out as one of the most prosperous business entities keep track of the factors that influence the smooth running of the organization as well as understanding the circumstances can revolutionize the all-important bottom line. This report focuses on the marketing strategies, which the organization can use to increase the sales volume. Besides, the marketing plan would be focusing on methods of how to influence consumer behavior and countering the methods used by the other competitors like Samsung Corporation. It is important to note that poor implementation of the marketing strategy might6 lead to failure of the organizational performance; however, the report would address such shortcomings through the development of a contingency plan. Since the marketing plan would be seeking to create a universal competitive advantage for all Apple Inc. products, it would be crucial to ensuring that strategy meets the actual needs of the targeted consumers. Introduction Apple Inc. is a multinational company that deals with electronics such as iPhone, iMac, and iPods. Apple branding strategy is considered as one of the effective marketing strategies in the world, leading all companies worldwide to emerge the best branding company. Because of the brand, many customers who use one form of an Apple product would prefer using other models of Apple products to enjoy the other qualities of the Apple products. Apple began its branding strategy when it changed its name from Apple Computers to Apple Inc., widening its variety of products such as Smartphones, Mac, iTunes, iCloud and Apps store. Fortunately, acquisition of the customers’ trust with their high-quality computers in the market has made it easier for Apple Inc. to market their new devices. Through the years, the company has been trying to reach most of its esteemed customers and providing quality services, it has opened up several shopping centers dealing in only their products (Rothberg & Erickson, 2005, 145). The key to their strategy is the homogeneity of almost all their products and the visceral similarities of a clean and simple end user interface. They also teach their customers on how to use their gadgets providing them with all the information they may inquire about the product. Well-trained personnel offer these services. However, with the rising level of competition, there is need to implement an effective marketing plan. It is from such background that the report would be focusing on the marketing strategy to improve organizational performance and compete advantageously with other electronic manufacturers (Ning, Fu & Zheng, 2011, 125). Marketing Plan As one of the fastest growing firms in the electronic industry, Apple Inc., products are designed with features that aim to attract more customers. However, in the growing competitive market, there is a greater for the organization to identify factors, which might help improve the image of their brand (Childs, 2008, 177). These factors contribute to either success of the organization or failures depending on the methods that organization integrate them to initiated development. Apple Inc. is one of the companies thriving in the tablet industry with an annual increment in the volume of sales from its iPad tablets. It is crucial to take a tract of brand image factors especially those influencing smooth management of the organization. Moreover, understanding the relationship between these factors and circumstances revolutionizing management structures forms the bottom line of identifying the best methods of beating the competitive market (Perreault, Cannon & McCarthy, 2009 182). Factors influencing organizational decisions relating to marketing strategies of iPad tablets can be either internal or external. Most organizations have been experiencing improved sales like the Apple due to poor alignment of the product features with the specific needs of the customers. Consumer tastes and preferences are changing. Hence, it is the responsibility of the company to conduct a market research and analyze the results to establish the requirements of the customers. Marketing Objectives The marketing strategy would aim to create a sustainable competitive advantage for the company. Therefore, the reserch main objective is to develop a marketing strategy that would help improve the level of penetration of the company into the market. Additionally, the strategy would seek to establish how various marketing strategies have been able to assist the organization achieves its goals of sustaining the competitive advantage. Besides, the marketing plan would be aiming to suggest some of the possible successful measures that the organization could put in place to assist in achieving the goals. Evaluation of Competitive Advantage of Apple Inc. For many Apple Inc. have been enjoying the outcome of the competition irrespective of the number of competitors coming into the market. The organization has resources to help determine the specific requirements by the customers through investment in the new technology. The biggest competitive advantage of Apple Inc. is its ability to produce both the hardware and software. All its tablets, phones, and iPods are running on the similar operating system. Consequently, this makes it easier for consumers to connect all Apple products to a greater network. On the contrary, the main competitor, Samsung, uses Android version different from the Apple products. To counter this advantage, Samsung Corporation has been going rogue trying to replace Android operating system with their own but with lots of failures. Apple’s bases its competitive advantage strategy in a unique manner through tight integration of hardware and software economy system as it offers products that are more valuable. This is known as the vertical integration. The other contributing factor to the competitive advantage is the maintenance in leading the supply chain (Bird and Bird, 2007, 242). Most the materials used in the manufacturing of Apple products come from various countries and assembling done at one particular point, China. Irrespective of product category, all Apple products have the ability to integrate as one enabling the organization to dominate the market. For years, the organization has been working tirelessly trying to integrate its operating system with its hardware and application so as their products can work much like one another. This is an advantage as an advantage as most of their applications run on a single product. Moreover, the customers go for quality hardware like products with lasting battery duration. These integrated products like iPad tablet offer a unique way of functioning and easier synchronization through the media. A study conducted by Apple in 34 countries where iPad use have been on the rise shows that Google Play services have been experiencing positive growth at the expense of Apple services. Until November of 2013, the use of Apple Apps Store has been on the lead at only 63% compared to Google Play’s 37% (Beall, 2010). With the market, becoming more competitive and other companies manufacturing counterfeit Apple products and distributing them into the market, there is need to ensure there are adequate measures to foster the brand identity. Consequently, the competitors are manipulating the prices of their products to attract more customers a factor that is greatly influencing the behavior of consumer purchasing power. Shaping the Market Offerings, Delivering and, Communicating Value With the rising levels of competition and consumer behaviors, businesses are using many resources to have marketing strategies for attracting the consumers. It is imperative to note that clients play an important role in ensuring the sustainability of every business; therefore, business entities must ensure that their products and services have positive taste and preference among the consumers. Understanding behaviors is the fundamental prerequisite of ensuring effective marketing strategy. Some business entities often create competitive advantages that to some extent are not sustainable (Fraser, 2012, 192). As a result, they attract more consumers within a short period, and finally the amounts of sales reduce indicating the fact that their marketing strategy did not consider consumer behaviors. The behaviors of the consumers change from time to time depending on the prevailing market conditions and the nature of the competitive advantage created by the business organizations. With all the marketing plans and strategies used by the businesses, the aim is only to influence the decision of the consumers. More importantly to note is that it is crucial to consider certain factors before deciding to purchase particular products. Thus, it is the business responsibility to identify these factors to influence the decisions made by the consumers (Perreault & McCarthy, 2003, 122). Currently, many businesses are using social media and other accessible marketing platforms to reach the consumers. All these methods of advertising the products are meant to increase brand awareness besides influencing the consumer purchasing power. There is a power of influence on every marketing strategy used. Apple should embrace social media as a method of communicating with the clients (Birn, 2004, 103). An effective communication would help cushion Apple-customer relationship. Studying consumer behavior is very important in the field of marketing since in one way or another, everyone is a consumer intentionally or unintentionally. Initially, businesses were focusing on creating positive taste and preferences using modification of the product technique, however, with the rising concept of consumer behavior, manufacturers are focusing on studying consumers behaviors and aligning the results with production process. The company uses all the components of the marketing mix to create a better competitive advantage. Moreover, several retails outlets globally relates to the “place” as an element in the marketing concepts. Of all the components of the marketing mix, distribution of the products is crucial since it reflects the level of success of business and power to penetrate the market. Each channel of distribution chosen by the Apple Inc. would always determine the effectiveness of its marketing strategy. Apple distributes its products through channel 3 where the products come from the manufacturer to the wholesaler then retailers before reaching the consumers. Along the chain of distribution, the prices tend to differ. Some products are considered as special like iPod; hence, the company uses selective distribution method with much focus on the promotion of the product. Apple products are also available online through the third party wholesalers and the chain stores (Ehrlich & Fanelli, 2004, 101). Besides the place, the other components of the marketing mix are price, product, and promotion. In relation to the adopted prices, it is important to note that customers tend to pay for the nanotechnology used in manufacturing the product (Paley, 2005, 152). Apple Inc. uses high technology in manufacturing its products, which relates to the higher prices and better competitive advantage. The company could also use market or price skimming method to establish the right price for the product. Such techniques involve setting higher introductory prices for its products within a short period whenever it has used the latest and innovative program with an aim of skimming the number of customers willing to purchase the new product. While exploring the market, the company might consider reducing the prices of the new products especially if the demand reduces in the subsequent market layers. Price skimming is one of the most successful strategies used by the company to determine the process of its products since considers are often conscious on quality and prestige of the products. Additionally, differences in quality between the competing products could assist in establishing the right decision among the consumers. Most consumers gain better understanding of the Apple products through promotion. To attract the attention of the consumers, Apple often promotes its products by offering short-term incentives to the consumers (Blanchard, 2010, 117). Moreover, advertising campaigns also helps in putting spotlight on the Apple products, especially on the magazine and televisions. Public relations also play an important role in promoting the image of a brand especially when the organizational staffs uses the products from the company before the actual release as such motivates the potential customers. Furthermore, the company could also invest in sales promotion and direct marketing as a method of reaching many customers through offering promotional goods and newsletters to the specified target group. The value proposition is a promise made by the company to its potential customers. Moreover, value proposition tends to differentiate the product from the other competitors (Miller & Muir, 2004, 220). Apple boasts of several attributes, which play an important role in ensuring that it meets the desired needs of the customers. These attributes include high performance, efficiency, safety, reliability, style, and quality products with the highly integrated security system to prevent any jailbreaking activity. With the rising number of manufacturers of electronic products, Apple Inc. has been able to create its value proposition through offering quality products and service to the customers. Through pricing, the marketing strategy would ensure that the products are affordable to the customers. In creating a competitive marketing strategy, proper implementation of the 4Ps would ensure that the organization meets the actual needs of the customers (Barney & Hesterly, 2006, 212). Implementation Plan Every marketing strategy requires effective and reliable implementation strategy to yield the desired organizational results. Since the organization would be aiming to improve the sales of its products in areas experiencing low sales, it would important to consider different stages of the implementation process. After conducting a marketing research, the main target of the strategy would be younger generations who continuously find it very important to move with technology. These segmentations include behavioral and benefits sought. Behavioral segmentation tend to divide consumers into different groups depending on their knowledge, attitude, and rates of use, status of loyalty, responses, and readiness stage towards the product in question (Khan, Alam & Alam, 2015, 829). Most people tend to purchase quite expensive products due to their positive attachments and belief on the product. However, with consideration of consumers’ behavior during segmentation, the company might change their purchasing power. The marketing strategy would influence the lifestyle and behavior of the consumers. Benefits sought segments the market based on benefits sought by the consumers. Globally, consumers are seeking electronic products with advanced technology and social classes a factor that has greatly contributed to the sales of the Apple products. However, with the implementation of the competitive advantage marketing strategy, the company is guaranteed of improved market penetration and customer purchasing power (Ananthan, Appannaiah, & Reddy, 2010, 99). Upon identifying the target segment, the next step of the implementation strategy would be to communicate the plans with other members of the staff to feel part of the implementation process. It is important to note that management might be doing much of the planning activities; however, it is the employees to undertake much of the implementation activities. The more the staff is involved in the marketing plan, the more they are likely to invest themselves in ensuring the achievement of the organizational objectives. Moreover, the employees need to have confidence in the information outlined in the marketing plan. Employees’ engagement would help to determine whether they have adequate skills and aptitude of implementing the chosen marketing strategy. Moreover, it is important to ensure that the outlined marketing objectives would offer the unique selling proposition. Consequently, the management needs to manage the marketing activities through measuring and controlling all parts of the good management. The organization also needs to have a monitoring plan of ensuring that its activities are aligned properly with the marketing strategy. These plans would help with accountability and management of organizational resources. An effective implementation requires consideration of the organizational resources and capacity. Thus, budgeting and planning are crucial prerequisites of ensuring that there are minimum shortcomings associated with the implementation process of the marketing strategy (Esty & Winston, 2006, 123). Moreover, the company would have to set a team that would ensure coordination of implementation processes for effective and efficient implantation process. More importantly, there is the need to eliminate all the procrastination behaviors that might contribute to the failure of the implementation processes. In most cases, marketing plans fail due less accountability of the management team; however, with the marketing strategy, the organization would delegate duties to various marketing team members. Duty delegation might contribute to enhanced accountability especially those charged with the mandate of ensuring proper implementation of the marketing strategy. Besides the available resources, the company needs to consider the cost of implementing the marketing strategy (Brown, 2014, 162). All the costs associated with the implementation require inclusion into the budget. If the finances were limited, then planning would help the organization adjust its budgets and eliminate all shortfalls associated uncompleted plans. Contingency Plan A contingency plan plays an important role in protecting organizational revenues, profitability, and customer relationship from the unexpected events associated with the implemented marketing strategy. It is crucial to note that the planned marketing strategy might not achieve the intended goals due to the poor implementation process, or the powerful competitor could come up with a strategy that would counter the plans. Besides, the company might experience problems with its supply chain, the resignation of important personnel in the implementation process, and infringement or leaking of confidential organizational information through hacking activities (Boone, 2012, 101). As a result, the contingency plan would help in responding quickly to these changes and protect against any risk that could lead to financial damages. In a marketing plan, projections for sales, market reactions, and revenues depend on factors outside organizational control. Contingency plans must, therefore, aim to address problems resulting from these deviations. The major contingency associated with the marketing plan is the risk originating from different sources. The market strategy might be relevant and effective, but failure to consider the prevailing economic, social, and political factors, the organization might end up wasting resources or experience reduction in its sales capacity. To manage these risks, the company needs to analyze the likelihood that an event is likely to take place (Hughes, 2011, 241). Internally, the risks involve loss of major employees, inadequate funds to finish the project due to poor budgeting, and quality failures while external risks involve increasing the level of competition, regulation challenges, and reduction in the tastes and preferences of organizational products. It is crucial to integrate risk assessment and impact analysis. The risk might be high, but the associated impact might be small and manageable. In such cases, the company could accept the risks and take no special action to remedy the situation. To plan for financial related risks, the company might consider budgeting for contingency funds. However, if the company fails to meet the needs of the marketing targets, then it would be important to consider the development of disaster recovery plans and ensuring that there are adequate trained employees with relevant succession plans. Besides, legal associated issues might be reduced through the institutionalization of quality control with clear organizational responsibilities. Conclusion Competition is one of the market factors that are inevitable in every form of industry. With the rising number of companies coming into operation of electrical and electronics industries, there is need for Apple Inc. to develop marketing strategies that would cushion the brand image in the market and guarantee organizational taste and preference in the market. Nevertheless, with properly implemented marketing strategies at the Apple, the organization is guaranteed of efficient and effective performance in the industry. A highly integrated management system at the organization, international image branding system, and proper customer relations are some the factors cushioning the increment in the number of clients seeking services offered by the organization in the market. Moreover, through market segmentation strategy of the company would be sure of rendering some of the services it offers to the potential customers. Through the aims and goals of the company, creation of a positive organizational culture acts as an important factor that has enabled it to enjoy competitive advantage over their competitors who rely on other organizations for the manufacturing materials. In relation to marketing strategy, the organization needs to incorporate all the 4Ps of the marketing strategy while building an effective and reliable competitive advantage. 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