3. Threat of Rivalry Personal Computers and the music/audio market are Apple’s two main areas of competition. Their leading competitors are Dell, HP, and Microsoft. Personal computers are quite popular today and with so many choices, the sales price of the computers need to be lowered to a competitive price which can, again, lead to a loss in profit. However Apple has, because of their easy to use and widely available, fair priced iPod(s), cornered the music market.
The external factors which contributed to above issues are market saturation, competition and cost factors. With the rise of Android, companies like Samsung started offering products with comparable technologies at lesser price. With consumer looking for value for money, Apple no longer was perceived as the best one. Apple was not successful in emerging markets due
SWOT Analysis for Apple Tammy Quinton CSU SWOT ANALYSIS FOR APPLE CO. Strengths Apple has a reputation of highly innovative, well designed, and well-functioning products and sound business performance (2013-2015 Strategic Management Insight). Apple has a very establish brand. It is one of the most important brands in the world. Customers for Apple are very loyal and devoted advocates for apple.
Design, Thinking and Innovation at Apple Submitted by Jun Avila and Alwyn John Lim, CIS404M I. Introduction Apple has been known as one of the most successful and admired companies in the world. However, in every success story there is always a person or a group of people behind it. In Apple’s case, these people are Steve Jobs and its employees. Though, most of it can be attributed to Steve Jobs’ leadership and influences.
So they have more shared customer in the low-middle end market. Secondly, Apple iPhone is, to some extend, regarded as a symbol of social status. Most of its consumers are blind followers. They don’t focus on the product’s practical performance or cost performance. By comparison, main customers of Nokia and Samsung emphasize more on product quality and practical utility.
Competitors quickly recognized Dell’s success; however, none were able to successfully restructure their operations to reach the profit levels that Dell achieved. Demand for personal computers began to grow in the mid-nineties due to strong economic growth and the emergence of new computer network services. However, low average profitability was common in the PC market. PC makers were faced with the challenge of developing a PC that consisted of the major components that consumers desired. This was a very complex task considering the numerous combinations of hardware and software components available.
Apple’s strategy has been so successful that it has even created an “Apple’s culture”. People do lines to get Apple’s new products and are willing to pay high prices for it. As I said before, Apple’s strategy is always evolving and all their pieces fit well together since they have done a pretty good job on integrating their first-to-market technologies, product differentiation, and prices strategies among one another. Apple’s three main core products are built upon its value chain activities and they intercommunicate well together. 2.
The fact that 95% of iTunes sales are singles suggests that albums are overserving customers that only desire certain songs; they aren’t willing to pay $14.99 for a full album, but will pay $0.99 per song. Piracy is another concern. Though not necessarily a substitute for album purchases, the case states that 20 songs are illegally downloaded for every 1 that is purchased; this large discrepancy suggests that some customers still value full albums, but are unwilling to pay $9.99 or more. Additionally, the recording industry is overserving consumer needs – previously, they played an important role in identifying new artists and marketing their music to fans. With the dawn of social media, there are other channels – websites, MySpace, and iTunes, to name a few – that provide consumers with the ability to search out emerging artists without the help of record companies.
1- How has Apple Developed extreme loyalty among consumers that has resulted in an almost cult-like following ? Apple has a clear sense of who its customers are and what the brand represent, which helps it to align its pricing, promotion, and distribution with its overall goals. The company relies on hit products and high impact rollouts to stimulate emotional buying, also their promotion strategy has led to a perception that Apple products are part of a consumer’s identity. Thanks to its Marketing strategies, Apple has grown into one of the most admired and successful brands in the world. Apple brand embodies quality, prestige, and innovation.
For example, when Apple first released their new product the ‘iPhone’ not too long ago, the technology was one of a kind. Other brands such as Nokia or Sony Ericsson did not have the same level of technology as Apple had at the time, so there were no substitutes for iPhone, and the demand for iPhone became price inelastic. This means that when the price of iPhone increased, the quantity demanded did not drop by very much because it was in such a high demand that people were willing to pay for it. However, nowadays we see other brands such us Nokia and