ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS 1. What are the chief elements of Apple’s overall competitive strategy? How well do the pieces fit together? Is the strategy evolving? 2.
In what product segments does Apple compete? How does the company position its products against its competitors? 2.1 Product Segmentation Figure 1a (Heisler, 2014) Table 1b 2.2 Positioning Apple uses differentiation strategy, making products with unique features to attract customers giving Apple a competitive advantage against its competitors. Steve Job was known for “his intense and exacting focus on design, which became a way for Apple to stake out a unique marketplace position. Their brand was built around aesthetically appealing, well-designed products and they developed an intensely loyal, design-savvy customer base” (Porter, 1996).
What a few of the functions is: Sales and marketing do is that it works on a message that will generate leads, bring brand awareness for example there has been a lot of marketing and sales in the new iPhone 5. This helps the company get know around the globe which interests customers as well as potential shareholders which helps it make a large, increasing profit. What in ICT function does in Apple Inc. is that is controls IT maintenance it helps to obtain as well as installing hardware and software, it manages the LAN and WAN networks and lastly it helps other ICT users with their PC’s. With this it helps the business
Apple SWOT Analysis Chart Internal | External | Strengths (Positives): * Product Development * Design and utility * Marketing * Brand name * Robust financial performance | Opportunities (Positives) * Loyal Customer Base * Strong growth in smart phone market * Reputation of high quality products * Apple TV * Strong growth in tablets market * Untapped areas of technology world | Weaknesses (Negatives): * Patent Infringement Lawsuit * Dependency on global community * Very Proprietary and controlling * Death of Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs could affect new technology invention and growth | Threats (Negatives): * The rise in popularity of Google Android * Intense competition may affect revenue and profitability * Dependency of specific suppliers may affect its operations * Highly priced products
How does the ad use ethos?" Last , but not least they use ethos by also showing the risk promession jobs take using their devices. Does the ad seem effective to you? Yes, this ad is effective to me because if you were to take a vote around the world on how many people use Apple devices the other companies device , I believe Apple would have the most votes. Internet link to the advertisement: advertising.apple.com/
Assessment Task 1: Identify marketing opportunities PART A 1. Market and business needs 1. Market share and competitors’ information Recent years have witnessed a fundamental shift in the structure and dynamic of the global smart phone landscape. Apple is a notable exception to this dynamic, but has nonetheless created an ecosystem in which its strength in content and services is helping to create industry-leading profit margins for its hardware. A third of the value of the smart phone market today is captured by Apple, which had a 28 percent operating margin in 2013, while the majority of other first- and second-tier manufacturers — with the exception of Samsung — hovered around the zero profit line.
During this stage Apple developed, updated software, new features and continued to keep the style of the iPod that made their style unique to Apple. They developed a user friendly interface, better software, hardware and even the packaging attracted customers and had them coming back for more. As David Taber said that “While everyone else was making an MP3 player that was better/cheaper/faster, Apple was making electronic jewelry that also played MP3’s. Never focusing on price, they brought to market more value, more style, and new ways of interacting with digital media.” (Weisbein, pg 1) Apple also ensured that they made the iPod more reliable by using better parts then their competitors. They also ensured they stayed ahead by updating their hardware, software, and providing newer applications for the iPod.
But the main way that Wal-Mart offers such low prices is by buying their products from companies who make their products in other countries such as China. In places where minimum wage can be as low as 10 cents an hour, these companies can afford to sell their products for less than what the American companies can produce them for. This drives the American companies to open factories in other countries as well. The producers of Wal-Mart, for example the company that makes the beds that will be sold at Wal-Mart, are at the mercy of the superstore. As the largest company in the world, Wal-Mart is obviously the largest customer for all of their producers.
Apple Inc. Jeymi Charles MRK/421 June 19, 2014 Michele Dougherty Apple Inc. Apple has been innovative in providing product and services for its customers. Having a competitive advantage they produce products like the IPad IPod, Mac, Apple TV and IPhone. Although some would say apple has lost its competitive edge with the passing of CEO and founder Steve Jobs, the company remains one of the leading sellers in the technology industry. In the world of personal handheld devices, the I industry remains dominant among its competitors and can continue to demand a price for which Apple known for, and yet holds its value even through re-sale. Apple has a variety of products that appeal to all cultural demographic.
Evaluating the effectiveness of the use of marketing techniques in Apple Apple from its period of incorporation had been focused on gaining a market share in the computer and I.T industry and although they had a reflection of research into other I.T based products; their main focus was on a limited product spectrum which included the Apple II, Lisa and Later the Macintosh computers. They based this market penetration strategy on their style and brand appeal, and sought to grow their market share the more. This clearly fitted into the ANSOFF matrix model function of market penetration and market consolidation strategy. This approach however begun to decline in the 1990’s as their strategic competitors Microsoft and IBM outgrew Apple’s market share with much cheaper and more innovative computers which in addition capitalised on the inability of Apple’s computers to integrate with other industry standard software and computers. Apples market spans across the globe and is segmented on a regional and product basis including consumer, business, education, enterprise and government organisations that make the use of the power and productivity of Apple’s product.