Apple’s marketing strategy

Essay on Apple's marketing strategy

Executive Summary

To survive in today’s highly competitive and global market, it is essential for a company’s to conduct extensive research so that they can develop a strong brand image from the initial stage as it leads to greater financial benefits for the company. The marketing plan of Apple’s iPad is the topic where an effective marketing strategy is developed to ensure its success in the global competitive market where major plays such as Sony, Compaq and Dell have a significant impact upon Apple’s strategies. Apple’s latest iPad is the revolutionary product which is a portable mini device used as a pc anywhere with its wide range of options and innovative design. The major focus of Apple’s marketing strategy for iPad will be entirely upon positioning iPad in the global market as a highly reliable device which is a need for every individual in today’s busy hectic life.

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The marketing strategy will be focusing upon the product design, brand positioning, price and promotion of iPad in the global market. This will be linked to the research and analysis of the industry through Porter’s five forces model and SWOT analysis to understand the company’s internal strengths and w and external threats and opportunities. Apple’s market strategy will be incorporated with the generic business strategy which is towards growth and maintaining a strong position in the market through its innovative products. Apple will use competitive marketing strategy for its iPad where two such strategies can be developed which are differentiation and Focus to make iPad a success in the global market. Marketing planning and strategies can become highly effective if Apple focuses upon its strategic human resource management to achieve sustainable competitive advantage and make continuous efforts to change and redesign its marketing plan to survive successfully in a highly dynamic technology industry.

Introduction

Apple Corporation is a highly successful organization that aims to advance in the technology field through its high quality and innovative products. The success of Apple is primarily based upon its innovation and dynamic technological advancement it takes to give its customers the ease and luxury to use its products. Apple’s latest product iPad is launched to compete with existing computers and tablet technology, as it is a portable high tech device for the usage of all needs of an individual whether personal or business use.

Read about "Apple differentiation strategy"

The marketing plan for iPad requires effective planning in order to achieve its success in today’s highly competitive and dynamic global environment. The marketing plan will encompass all major elements starting from forecasting, researching, planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing the strategies for marketing the product effectively into the global market. Managing success and growth of an organization greatly depends upon its business strategies which need to be in continuous change process so that they can meet the changing trends and cope up with environment contingencies (Kevin ; Kotler, 2008).

Aim/Purpose

The purpose of Apple’s iPad device is to capture the market by creating awareness and persuading customers to use this device. Its emphasis will be entirely upon positioning iPad in the global market as a highly reliable device which is a need for every individual in today’s busy hectic life.

Generic Objectives

A business can be successful by having efficient and effective planning of all its resources. All major departments of a business must be effective in terms of planning as well as maintaining efficient system to achieve the organizational success (Ball, McCulloch, Frantz ; Minor, 2006).  The marketing plan of Apple’s iPad should consist two main objectives that helps in achieving successful results in today’s highly competitive global environment. These are firstly to focus upon customers through market research and planning and secondly to integrate all business processes and activities according to the marketing plan. Once, a company is able to plan its core objectives then it can easily implement them and achieve success (Hsu ; Tsuen, 2000).

Marketing strategy

The marketing plan of Apple iPad is based upon extensive research and planning so that it can expand its operations worldwide where the marketing strategy aimed to promote the following key elements to strengthen its brand image. The major brand elements are the superior quality, friendly usability, design and reliability of the product. It can be promoted as a product that not only provides an ease to an individual’s life but a reliable cost effective solution to all computer related problems. The following are the major components of the marketing mix that can help in understanding the product and how it is to be marketed in the global market (Kevin ; Kotler, 2008).

The marketing growth strategy of Cadbury mainly aims at producing high quality and innovative products. This increases customer loyalty and hence builds a stronger position for the company over its competitors. Innovation and high quality is a key factor towards success of Apple. To gain competitive advantage, the company will have to integrated a unique and efficient business system where by all employees work towards the products quality as well towards the development of new innovate products

In today’s highly competitive environment, developing innovative products is a major key towards achieving success. This requires extensive research and development by the businesses to be successful. Although, innovation has become a key towards success but it has high financial risk because the customers can dislike the new invention and it can go into waste (Hall ;Jones, 2000). Thus, effective marketing plan and strategy plays a vital role to make the innovative product successful in the market.

Product Design:

IPad is the new invention of Apple with extensive Research and Development. It is the latest technological device which is mini pc device equipped with high compatibility mode and ease of usage for users. It is a fully equipped device where a user can take pictures, watch movies, download large amount of data and send/receive emails, attachments and documents. It is designed for personal and business usage where a user can be highly digitized and connected to the world within seconds with no hassle. IPad is the new revolution introduced by Apple to provide ultimate user friendliness and access to all technological advancements together in one mini device.

Brand Positioning:

Initially, Apple’s iPad target market can be the professionals and businessmen who require portable easy accessible devise for their usage. And then, young customers comprising of students  will be targeted through emphasizing upon its innovative and trendy design that provides unlimited options will start gaining popularity and acceptance in the global market then it can expand and broaden its market segments by satisfying a larger market segment by positioning iPad as a need for every individual (Jaruzelski, Dehoff ;Bordia, 2007).

Promotion:

The promotional strategy of Apple’s iPad will mainly focus upon word of mouth advertising and point of purchase strategy where consumers will be encouraged to discover and try out the product themselves. Apple’s latest iPad requires extensive marketing through television and other media sources to achieve high customer response. Television is an effective medium of advertisement ad Apple’s advertisement has given it more importance and this industry is flourishing through these innovative ads (Hall ;Jones, 2000).The spread of this innovation will be influenced mainly by its attractiveness, quality, price, promotion and durability. Customers make high involvement purchase decision for innovative products as it involves high risks. Therefore, marketers must focus upon their advertisements that promote these five actors to influence consumer buying decisions (Borrington ; Stimpson, 2004).
This will create a buzz in the market and gradually the image as a premium high tech pc device will strengthen all over the world which will contribute towards its brand equity. Moreover, Apple being the first one to enter the market with a highly innovative device will lead to its strong brand image building in the competitive global market.

Price:

Apple’s iPad will be charged at a premium price from the start to show and prove that it is a superior quality and innovative device than any other available in the market. As it is an innovative product, it will be promoted in the market as a premium priced device that has value for the benefits its provides. This way the consumers will consider Apple’s iPad as a highly reliable and portable pc device that can make their life faster and efficient in terms of both work and entertainment which will lead to its brand image strengthening through this marketing strategy (Kevin ; Kotler, 2008)

The company can choose different marketing strategies to achieve success in the global market. These can be competitive marketing strategy or marketing strategy for growth of the company. This marketing plan will adopt the competitive marketing strategy because it has to survive in a highly competitive global market first and then the growth strategies can be used once the company’s product that iPad is strong in its roots (Jaruzelski, Dehoff ;Bordia, 2007).

The Competitive Marketing Strategy

Once the competitor analysis is done where Apple’s major competitors such as Dell, Toshiba, Sony and Compaq which have been identified through the PEST and SWOT analysis. Now, we can develop an effective competitive marketing strategy where two such strategies can be developed which are differentiation and Focus to make iPad a success in the global market.

Differentiation:

This strategy aims at proving different products and services to its customers that are not being provided by other competitors in the market (Hall ;Jones, 2000). Hence, the important success factor for Apple is that it provides premium quality products and services to its users with prime emphasis upon innovation and design.

Focus:

Here, a particular segment of market is targeted and focused by the business (Hall ;Jones, 2000). Apple can focus upon one or two major sectors of the market and build its image in these segments for its latest iPad. The target segment for iPad will be the upper and middle-income group who are highly brand conscious and want to improve their lifestyle with revolutionary gadgets. This way Apple will be able to devote its resources and planning towards a specific target segment and it can be effectively and efficient planned and managed. To establish and survive in a new market is highly risky and challenging for iPad, thus conducting thorough market research to identify the different segments of the market greatly help in achieving the corporate objectives of the company (Malik ; Merunka, 2006).

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SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis helps in identifying internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization and external opportunities and threats. This will help in understanding how Apple can utilize its strengths and opportunities and overcome its threats and weaknesses to survive in the global competitive market (Borrington ; Stimpson, 2004).
Strengths:

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.
Weaknesses:

Apple provides highly innovative products in the market but it is having issues with the quality of its products as recently the Apple iPod was reported to have a faulty screen and it had replace all those products. This is one major weakness of Apple’s products. Moreover, the company has a relatively weaker research and development system as compared to other major competitors and needs to put more emphasis on building strong reliable products as its brand name portrays (Borrington ; Stimpson, 2004).
Opportunities:

Apple has many opportunities for growth and expanding its range of products and services. It can develop iTunes and music player technology into cell phones and iPad devices. It can focus upon developing Podcasts for radio shows through internet and can enhance its iPad into more sophisticated and reliable device to be used by every individual. The I.T industry is full of rapid and dynamic changes and there is growing demand for innovative and technologically advanced products so for Apple, there are unlimited opportunities to avail for growth (Sana ; Shah, 2008).
Threats:

The major threat for Apple and its products is the intense rivalry among competition in the technology industry. The competitive global environment has brought critical challenges for Apple to maintain a competitive and strong position in the global market. Moreover, Apple’s iPod and iPad are subjected to demand which can go down at any time due to saturation and substitutes in the market. Hence, to meet with changing trends and globalization, Apple requires extensive research and development to create a diversified range of products to be successful (Hall ;Jones, 2000).

Porter’s five forces model

The industry analysis is performed by using the Porter’s 5 forces framework. The cumulative effect of the 5 forces as a whole can tell us whether the industry is conducive for performing business or entering a new market as is the case with Apple’s iPad which is introducing a highly innovative and revolutionary device in the global market. The 5 forces are the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products and the rivalry among competitors. We will analyze each of the following to forecast the industry trends for the success of our marketing plan (Ball, McCulloch, Frantz ; Minor, 2006).

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Bargaining power of buyers:

As iPad is an innovative and new product in the market, it will have low bargaining power of buyers and a large number of customers will be curious to experience the new device which promises to bring an ease to their lives through its superior quality, services and design. Therefore, Apple’s iPad can experience high profits in the initial phase due to its innovative design and system that will attract a large number of customers worldwide.

Bargaining power of suppliers:

As Apple’s products are sold through distributors globally, these can be referred to as suppliers as well as the raw material providers for the Apple’s devices. The bargaining power of suppliers is high because they are in demand from other major competitors as well and their suppliers are the foundation for the development of these highly technological products (Hall ;Jones, 2000).

Threat of new entrants:

The technology industry is highly dynamic and requires continuous research and development to being new products on continuous basis because technology and trends get outdated at a very fast rate mainly due to the rising competition. The threat of new entrants for Apple’s iPad is low because Apple is an established and successful organization and cannot be affected by new entrants in the market. It has built a strong brand image in the global market due to its innovative products.

Threat of substitute product:

The threat of substitutes is very high because technology industry is highly dynamic and rapid substitutes come into the market by major competitors such as Compaq and Dell. Therefore, for Apple’s iPad the threat of substitutes will be high in recent years as other organizations are working hard to bring more effective, efficient and innovative devices for users (Hall ;Jones, 2000).

Rivalry among competitors:

This is intensity level of competition and rivalry among competitors in the market. For Apple’s iPad ther is intense rivalry among competitors for prices and new innovative products coming up in the market at a very fast rate. To survive successfully in the market, Apple has to give its major attention towards research and development to introduce innovative products to meet the intense rivalry.

Recommendations

To meet with the intensified global competition, Apple requires extensive research and planning for its success in the future. The highly dynamic and uncertain global market brings serious challenges for Apple’s iPad to survive successfully. The major competitors of Red Bull such as Compaq, Sony and Dell Co have forced Apple to focus upon its brand equity in order to maintain its brand image worldwide. Apple can meet the challenges and obstacles arising in its way of growth through its long-term business strategy where effective marketing plan emphasizes upon innovation and building customer loyalty.

First of all, focusing upon the Strategic human resource management, Apple can create a competitive advantage that is not imitable by its competitors. As Apple is known for its quality and innovation as the first energy drank, it has captured a very large customer base as compared to its competitors but to maintain this customer base or increase the number, it must focus upon developing sustainable competitive advantage through its human resource which ultimately leads to excellent customer relationships. As it is a product, it must be requiring high quality concern and uniqueness, which can be met by developing a line of Apple. Here, strategic HRM plays a vital role for organizations to achieve growth and success in future by dealing with unseen circumstances and obstacles arising (Hsu ; Tsuen, 2000).

Secondly, the 4 Ps of marketing also require changes and continuous improvements to survive in today’s highly competitive market. The marketing campaigns can emphasis upon the design and reliability of the iPad in future to make the most reliable functioning device in the market. This will strengthen the brand equity as well as help in surviving successfully in the competitive global market. The positioning of Apple can be altered according to the market trends, the children and teenagers can be the target for iPad in future (Ball, McCulloch, Frantz ; Minor, 2006).

Conclusion

An effective marketing strategy and innovation plays a vital role in determining the success of an organization. Therefore, all big companies give major emphasis towards Research and Development where innovative ideas are generated and experiment to develop new and unique products for customers. Apple is an innovative organization that keeps making continuous efforts in its marketing field in order to achieve success and compete in its highly intense competitive market. It also requires coordination and management of human resource to bring positive results of innovation in the organization and hence make new product development successful. The marketing plan of Apple iPad is based upon its brand positioning in the global market as a highly innovative and reliable product. The marketing strategies used for iPad are focus and differentiation where the aim is to target iPad to the right target market through promoting Apple’s image as highly innovative and reliable company.

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