Case Scenario
Apple Inc. has been experiencing a few problems due to media coverage on various aspects of its company. One of the problems that the organization is experiencing is with its music marketing strategies. Several reports have emerged accusing iPhone of threatening to withdrawal their support on specific music labels.
As a result, Apple Inc. has been under investigations due to the allegations that they had discouraged music labels from participating in the Amazon promotion. Reports had it that Apple Inc. had threatened to withdraw their marketing support on songs that were included in Amazon’s promotion and were sold by iTunes.
The company was also facing another problem. The launch of iPhone 4 was waited with a lot of anxiety. However, shortly after the phone was launched, it was reported, by the media that it had antennae problems. These problems caused calls to be dropped if users touched the lower edges of the phone.
Steve Jobs was called to personally intervene on the case. However, the company had received fewer return inwards on iPhone 4 than the previous version, iPhone 3GS on its launch. To calm the media frenzy, Steve Jobs called a press conference and announced that company would be providing free bumper cases to customers who were affected by the antennae problem.
SWOT analysis
Apple Inc. has various strengths despite the aforementioned problems. One of Apple Incs major advantage is the large market share that it has in comparison with its rivals. The company has a large consumer base by establishing a strong brand name. Apple Inc. is associated with quality and all of their brands.
This is because they are user friendly and meet the needs of its customers. Even before its release in June 15th 2010, iPhone 4 had received over 600,000 pre-orders within the first 24 hours. This was considered as the largest number of pre orders Apple Inc. had received in a single day compared to any other devices sold.
By 8.30 pm, all the iPhone 4 pre-orders had been sold. Apple has a CEO who ensures that the operations of the organization specifically meet the needs and requirements of its customers. This creates brand loyalty, consumer retention and earning of new consumers. As a result, Apple Inc. always stands at a competitive edge over other rival companies such as Nokia and Samsung.
For instance, Steve Jobs announced that customers with problems would be given bumper cases to solve their antennae problem. This announcement provided Apple Inc. customers with an assurance about the phones they were using. Jobs therefore built customer confidence in the brand.
Apple Inc. iPhone 4 had some weakness that reduced the sales of its products, especially iPhone 4. This included problems associated with the antennae and the reports that Apple Inc. was limiting the ability of some labels to sell their music elsewhere. With competitors in the market providing better gadgets without any technological glitches, the sales of iPhone 4 were threatened. Music labels are also bound to withdraw their music from iTune stores and find marketers with fewer limitations. This may affect Apple Inc. as a brand and reduce their market share.
Through the modification of organizational politics, Apple Inc. can still claim a huge market share. The organization can loosen some of their policies that prevent music labels from selling their records with other label companies. By fixing such problems, iPhone would take advantage of opportunities available in the market to expand their market and build a better brand name for them.
Apple Inc. is also faced by various threats in the market. Samsung for instance, sold more gadgets in December 2011 festive season than Apple Inc. did. With advancement in technology, cheaper smart phones are being offered in the market. Some of these smart phones have better performances than the iPhone. For instance, Samsung galaxy outsold iPhone in 2011.
This was as a result of its superior operating system platform; android. Android phones have become a major competitor of iPhone operating system and thus posing a threat to iPhone’s future success. Thus, for Apple Inc. to be successful, it has to take advantage of its strengths and opportunities and improve on its weaknesses and threats.