Apples Marketing Strategy Power of Simplicity and Innovation

Question: Discuss about the Essay for Apples Marketing Strategy and Power of Simplicity and Innovation. Answer: There are certain brands that cannot be differentiated from the maker of the brand, Apple is such a brand, Apple relates to the legendary Steve Jobs like no other brand. When we look at the history of brands they have been established by their uniqueness and vitality. Even the lawsuits with Samsung, have brought it in the cynosure of everyones eye. But, let us go to the basics how has the marketing strategy of this product made it such a loved brand. When we look at the statistics, Apple is a great example in terms of design and innovation. It also combines a sense of pride by giving the customer a sense of premium purchase. Let us look at the basics of a good product, before we draw out the marketing strategy this product developed. Before I delve into the analysis of a marketing strategy that made Apple successful, I would want to discuss what marketing strategy is, marketing strategy is a culmination of a distinct STP and 4P analysis, which includes segmentation, targeting and positioning after this a thorough analysis of the Product, Price, Place and Promotion is made. Marketing Strategy is also the alignment of marketing short term and long term plans with respect to the companys vision and mission statement. This in turn leads to a goal strategy alignment. The 4P Analysis Ease of Use, Desirability, Availability and Launch tactics As far as the products were concerned, Jobs would always stick to the point of design simplicity. Industrial design has always been a complicated genre, and when the same is combined with needs of the consumer. As the technology revolution has moved ahead we have noticed that how the features that the shopper wants in a phone have increased drastically. Applying the Kano model in this case the delighters of today will turn into hygiene factors as soon as tomorrow. Thus this desire of more intricate features has made it exceedingly difficult to keep things simple. I was travelling for the past two weeks, and spoke to couple of German nationals when we were comparing Apple to its competitors one of the traveller explained that the real reason why Apple is Apple is that it is just a single product while the others provide a gamut of products with a plethora of confusion. Then comes the Price, Apple has kept the prices significantly higher than the other players, this is the strategy to look at the brand as a premium product. It is directly related to the shopper feeling elated when he owns an Apple product. When it comes to the placement of its products, the concepts of an Apple store with amazing features like the Genius Bar, the layout of the store itself provides an amazing experience to the customer. They also ensure exclusivity by keeping a check on the number of stores opened. Then comes the aspect of promotions prior to launch and later, the product have a pre-launch strategy with videos creating the buzz about the features in the product. This can be very well seen when they created a thrill around the launch of Siri, a talkative assistance feature. Jobs always made sure that the launch of any Apple product came as a magnificent event. The external environment Now we must look at the theoretical aspects of marketing environment the economic environment suggests the advent of SMAC based technologies with deep rooted consumerism across the globe. As far as the social environment is concerned this has propelled individualistic tendencies, hence a number of consumers relate to the founder Job with their own persona. Apple has spread the American way of consumerism all through the world owning an Apple product brings in a feeling of rarity and exclusivity in the minds of the consumer. The legal cases that Apple has fought in fact has made it even more pronounced across the globe. It has received a stature in countries like South Korea where they fight with their biggest rival Samsung. As far as technology is concerned they have displayed innovation and simplicity as their key value proposition. The Price factor and Porters Generic Strategy Apple has all the three components of the Generic Strategy, The Company is focussed not just on the product but its clear cut offering is simplicity. It is differentiated in every possible way that is possible be it the price segment that it operates in. Then comes the effect of a well demarcated design and in a large number of cases they have been pioneers of novel design concepts. Then we can also look at cost and in case of Apple the cost is related the outlook of a premium product that it throws before the customer. The other aspects could be to look at the strengths of this giant over the others. The company has the largest reserve cash which is more than close to two-thirds of the countries in the world. The BCG and Ansoffs Matrix analysis When we apply these two models we clearly see that Apple is currently a Star as far as overall corporate brand is concerned while the products like IPhone is now becoming a cash cow and they need to make a major upheaval in the user experience to regain the Star position in the smartphone category. Apple is doing a lot as far a Product Development is concerned, this can be seen by the launch of Apples iWatch. They are also looking at Market Development by entering the emerging markets where their penetration and reach is fairly low. Better customer service with amazing in-store experiences The other aspects of customer experience that Apple provides is a customer experience that combines a retail strategy with customer centricity. Apple never tries to make a plethora of products they research and innovate and bring out a product which is considerable different from the previous one. We need to look at the aspects of a Sustainable competitive advantage in this case they have balanced it with both a technology approach with a people centric approach. They have always tried to prevent imitation of their products and fought hard over such matters be it in any court in any nation. Thus the company has kept itself well differentiated with respect to its competitors. Apple has been great at process delivery but the major trial for the company has been to ensure that they have a full-bodied globalized distribution display place since they operate in more than 80 countries worldwide. This platform also requires a global network of skilled resources who can provide cross proficiency training to around the company. Threats and Opportunities Any marketing strategy is quite incomplete without a SWOT analysis, Apples strength and rise to fame has already been discussed and explained by me. But when we look at the major challenges and threats we can see piracy and copycat designs as major threat to its consistent growth. After Jobs the leadership change has also influenced the way buyers saw this product. Finally what can be the opportunity, in this technology savvy millennial generation, innovation has to be the key differentiator that brings in customers. Apple is a spear header in innovation. They have always stayed ahead of times. Apple!!!Its a clear competitive marketing strategy Apples goal is aligned with the vision and mission statement of being an innovation player they have ensured their reliance on the same. They have incorporated innovation due to the effect of Jobs focus on the same. They have not only revolutionized the smartphone industry but also the mobility industry in particular. How is Apple shaped for the future? Apple is thus a success owing to its reliance on simplicity and innovation. They have clearly understood their target shopper and hence ensured their bargaining power to prevail. This and combined with their drive for bringing up new user experience will make it successful and a sustainable competitive advantage will be achieved. References Gladwell, M 2000. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston: Little, Brown. .Bridson, K., and Evans, J. 2004.The secret to a fashion advantage is brand orientation, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. Vol. 32. No.8. pp: 403-11 Shamoon, S. and Saiqa T. 2011. Brand Management: What Next? Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business. Vol. 2. No.12. pp: 435441. 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