Marketing Plan Assignment: Apple Inc.

Marketing Plan Assignment: Apple Inc.

Company Background

Apple, Inc. is an American global technology firm headquartered in California, United States. The organization was formed in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. The three men founded Apple with the primary objective of selling Wozniak’s hand-build Apple 1 Personal Computers (CITATION). Unfortunately, the product lacked build-in Human Interface Devices such as the keyboard. Thus, Wozniak’s innovation barely qualified as a finished product. Nevertheless, Apple 1 Personal Computer attracted the attention of Mike Markkula, an American multimillionaire.

Markkula’s support allowed Apple todevelopits first Macintosh.The technology came with important Graphical User Interface (GUI), which created an opportunity for humans to interact with computers efficiently. At the time, Wozniak and Wayne had left the organization leaving one founder,Steve Jobs [CITATION]. Thus, under the leadership of Jobs, Apple, Inc. began to focus on high-end manufacturing productssuch as the PowerBook and Macintosh Portable. However, in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple after he was held back from playing a leading role in the organization [CITATION]. Despite the founder’s resignation, Apple continued to innovate, restructured and changedits brand image [CITATION]. The company widened its product line to include iPads, iPhones, and other mobile devices.

Today, Apple, Inc. is a renowned manufacturer, designer, and marketer of personal computers, networking solutions, software, and peripherals. The Company’s product family includes the notebook computers, the Xserve G5 server, the iPod digital music player, the iTunes Music Store, the Mac OS X operating system,Macintosh line of desktop,and Xserve RAID storage products[CITATION].Apple, Inc. sells its products online via its chain of stores as well as through third-party wholesalers.

Core Competencies

Apple, Inc. is dedicated to bringing the best of music-experiences and personal computing to its clients. The company believes in creating value by providing exceptionally high-quality services. It offers innovative products to creative professionals, students, government agencies, educators, and businesses.

Accordingly, the organization has several defining strengths that provides the foundation up which its businesses grow. For example, according to wixsite.com and investmentgeekz.com, Apple’s core competencies include innovation, diversification, and leverage into new markets, and effective leadership (CITATION]. Besides, the company is successful due toperfection andsimplicitythrough uniqueness as well as quality.

First and foremost, Apple, Inc. is one of the most innovative firms in the technology sector. Since the company began its operation as Apple I, it has focused onmaking use of creative ideas, which it converts into useful productsto create values and penetrate the market[CITATION].The organization’s investment in innovation has translated into the invention of unique products such as iPad, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and SuperDrive. Moreover, through innovation, Apple, Inc. has succeeded to win customer loyalty by bringing the best user experience.

Additionally, Apple, Inc.’s business success can be attributed to the simplicity of the company’s products. According to [CITATION],most ofApple’s offerings are user-friendly. Apple, Inc.’s iPad, iPod, and iPhone, for instance, are simple tolearn and use. [CITATION] adds that to attain the creative design, which integrates quality and simplicity, Apple, Inc.’s engineers engage Research and Development. R&D is a critical part of the company’s investment in technology and future capabilities.

Similarly, Apple, Inc.’s leadership plays significant roles in the company’s continued success. For example, according to Tim Cooks and Steve jobs followed a mixed combination of leadership styles. The leaders employed democratic and benevolent leadership to influence employees to innovate and perform their work excellently[citation]. For example, the leadership style of Steve Jobs, who was the company’s CEO between 2006 and 2012, was admired by his subordinates.

Moreover, Apple, Inc. has a remarkable ability to offer unique design, quality, and usage. According to Heracleous (2013), the organization’s emphasis on perfection has enabled it to attract different categories of clients, both males and females as well as the young and the old across different cultures. The unique features of the company’s design and style give perfect condition to its products.

Furthermore, through strong customer experience, Apple, Inc. takes pride in customer loyalty. The allegiance of the company’s clients has been instrumental in popularizing the firm’s offerings. Consequently, Apple is known for winning “big sales” by coming up with new products, which quickly dominate the market.

Additionally, Apple, Inc. diversifies and leverages into new markets to sustain the growth. For example, starting with the Apple I Computer, Apple, Inc. has expanded its product line significantly through the iPhone technology to other computer software and consumer electronics categories. Moreover, due to the diversification strategy, the company claims a strong brand reputation for its offering.

Overall, Apple, Inc. has several core competencies. These innovation, diversification, and leverage into new markets, effective leadership, simplicity, perfection, uniqueness, and quality. The assets and expertizes allows the firm to createvaluesand penetrate the market.

 

Bibliography

“A brief history of Apple, Inc.” Chetaru.com, 11 April 2017,https://chetaru.com/blog/brief-history-apple-inc/ (accessed 2 Feb. 2019).

 

Heracleous, Loizos. “Quantum strategy at apple inc.” Organizational Dynamics 42, no. 2 (2013): 92-99.

Johnson, Katherine, Yang Li, Hang Phan, Jason Singer, and Hoang Trinh. “The Innovative Success that is Apple, Inc.” (2012).

https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/31/Apple-Computer-Inc.html.

 
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