Introduction
Marketing can be defined as the process of making goods and service available to customers. Marketing helps to communicate one’s product to the potential customers. This includes selling products and promoting them through advertising. Marketing is geared towards satisfying customer needs and through the sale where the marketers earn revenue.
Company Analysis
The Apple Company was established in the year 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Ronald Wayne opted to sell his stake in the company. Therefore, he stopped being a shareholder in the company after his shares were bought by the other two partners. In the initial stages of the company, Mark Markkula was critical in providing the financial assistance and expertise that was needed. The headquarters of the company is based in Cupertino, California.
The Apple Company engages in the manufacture of electronic gadgets and software. Some of the software manufactured by the company include the Mac OS X operating system and iTunes, among others. The company also manufactures the iLife, iWork and Aperture. Apart from the software, the company manufactures hardware such as the iPod, iPhone, and iPad among others.
Notably, the Apple company also manufactures the Macintosh computers. Steve Jobs was the former CEO of the company but died in 2011. As an entrepreneur, Steve Jobs created a great success story for the company. Most of the activities are based on risk taking. The establishment of the various products is based on risk taking by the organization. This has made the company quite successful compared to other competitors in the market.
The aspect of entrepreneurship can be traced back to when the company was established. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne took the greatest risk to establish the company. They had inadequate funds, and they underwent challenging moments to generate enough capital for the establishment of the business. Entrepreneurial aspects are also evident in the current activities of the organization (Gay, Charlesworth & Esen 2006, p. 95).
The Apple Company has established a research and development department to find out the product and market trends. The research and development department is critical for the growth of the company. Market research enables the company to establish the needs of customers so that the production department can design products that match the market demand.
This approach has been beneficial to the company leading to the attraction of a significant market share. For example, the iMovie products have been successful in the market due to the high demand in the music industry. The Apple Company has made considerable sales of its products, and customers are satisfied by the products (Forester, 1987, p. 126).
The company markets its product under the logo of an apple with a bite mark to try and distinguish it from a cherry. The logo has had three dimension changes since the company was incorporated in 1976.
The first logo depicted Sir Isaac Newton seated under an apple tree, but it later changed to the second logo depicting an apple with a rainbow theme. The second logo was in use since the year 1976 to 1998 after which it was changed. This provided room for the current logo to be adopted that depicts an apple with a monochromatic theme and black in color.
Over the years, customers and employees have been able to associate with the apple product and the brand name. In addition, the company has derived different slogans for the company products. This includes the first slogan “Byte into an Apple,” which was coined in the 70s. It later changed to “Think Different” from the year 1997 to 2002. This slogan was used in campaigning and advertisement materials.
The Apple Company has been able to derive new slogans for its diversified product lines. An example is an advertisement for iMac in 1998, which read as “iThink, therefore iMac”. The iPhone uses the following slogan in advertising: “Say hello to iPhone”. All these slogans have been used to market the different brands of Apple all over the world, and customers have been able to associate with this strong brand in the market (Viardot, 2004, p. 58).
The sales of Apple products in the world have been on a steady rise over the years. This has resulted in high profits made by the company where some of the revenue is used to invest in new technology and innovation. The company uses a lot of funds in marketing its products all over the world. According to Forbes magazine, the company was the most recognized brands in the world as of 2011. For a company to have such a status, it should have committed a lot of finances towards marketing its brands all over the world.
Findings
The Apple Company has grown to become one of the most recognized brands in the world. This can be attributed to its clear marketing and promotion strategy that has satisfied many customers. A business enterprise is usually started to make a profit and manufacture competent products that help to offer maximum satisfaction to the customers.
The company’s strategy to market its products has been instrumental for its massive profit margin when compared with other technology companies. It has been able to set a good working and innovation culture that was initiated by Steve Jobs. Thus, the company always strives to remain at the top over other companies.
The culture of innovation has provided employees with strategies to manufacture competitive products. The employees of the company have been very innovative, and they have established many differentiated products. The innovations of the company have placed the company in an advantageous position over other competitors in the market. The company has established innovative products in the market, and customers appreciate these products.
The innovative products have been differentiated to provide a competitive edge to the company in the global market. Through differentiation, Apple has managed to succeed in the market by competing with larger companies such as Microsoft and IBM among others. Some of the differentiated products include the iTunes and iPhone among others (Plunkett, 2008b, p. 67).
The Apple Company has managed to capture customer loyalty in the market. Most of the customers of the company like the products due to their unique features, as well as the innovative culture of the company. The brands of the company are easily identifiable in the market, and many people are willing to re-buy from the company.
The company enjoys a high level of customer loyalty. This aspect has increased the sales volume of the company since many customers are purchasing from the company. The company has been able to remain on the top edge due to its innovation and advancement in investing in new talents. The company has been on the forefront in contributing to modern technology with its on top products that have won accolades over the world due to the best features and unique innovation (Plunkett, 2008a, p. 98).
Good customer relationship has attracted a large customer base to the company. The management of the company encourages employees to create a good relationship with customers. The company has been able to achieve customer loyalty through good relationship that the employees have with customers.
E-business activities within Apple include the use of online management of the activities, as well as the online retailing. The online management system is used by managers to control the activities of the organization. The managers monitor customers, employees, and all the activities of the company. The trends in the market are monitored through the use of the online system.
The sales made in the market can be determined by the system, and this is used in deciding the best products to manufacture. Most of the management decisions are made using the online management system. The e-business is enhanced through internet, intranets, and extranets. All departments are connected to the network connection where the management can access all individuals within the organization (Mohr, Sengupta & Slater 2010, p. 223).
The Apple Company has an expanded market over the world and its products are preferred considerably in Europe. In Europe, most of the Apple products are sold in the United Kingdom. According to the marketing president of the Apple Company, over the last few months, the sale of iPhones has more than doubled in U.K. After the introduction of Smartphones in the global market, the iPhone, which is a product of the Apple Company, has taken center stage with a 42.8% of UK Smartphone being sold.
This is a big market margin given the number of players in the Smartphone industry. Such a huge sale has been attributed to the demand for the new iPhone 4s, which was introduced in the market during October. Many customers want to own the handset due to its technological advancement. According to the guardian magazine more than 44.8% of the British population owns a Smartphone, which in most cases is an Apple product.
The iPhone has revolutionized the mobile industry due to its Android platform used by most Smartphone manufacturers. The iPhone 4s, which proceeded the iPhone 4, has received a major boost from the campaign carried out by the marketing executives of the Apple brand. This has resulted in very high sales all over the world (Mohr, Sengupta & Slater 2010, p. 41).
Some of the strategies that the Apple Company has used to market its products include the use of company-owned retail outlets. Although the strategy is expensive to install, it has worked well for the company.
This is especially in Europe as the cost of hiring stores and employing sales agents is reduced in the long run. The company borrowed this strategy from IBM where it bought stores in the cities of Britain to offer a direct channel for its sales. The stores are stocked from the main company in the United States, and the strategy has worked well for the company.
In this case, the success of the company can be attributed to this strategy. New products are stocked daily at the store where delivery is quickened and thus improving on customer satisfaction. Extensive advertising through the mass media has taken place through the use of product slogans. These slogans are unique and drive a lot of pride when one owns an Apple product.
Source: Duncan 2012.
Reliability of the Apple products is another factor that has led to massive sales of the Apple brand over the years. Many customers feel proud to own a range of Apple products. These products are durable up to date through the extensive innovation being undertaken by Apple Tech engineers.
Product diversification is one of the marketing strategies the company has applied for its European market. In this case, customers have many products to choose from when one wants to purchase an Apple product. This strategy has influenced the sales volume of the company, which is on the rise due to a single customer’s preference to purchase more than one Apple product such as iMac computer, iPads and iPods (Forester, 1987, p. 126).
Conclusion
The Apple Company is among the most recognized brands in the world. Its success story can be told from its founder, Steve Jobs, who has since passed, but his legacy in leadership is being told worldwide. The company has been able to earn high profits due to its intensive marketing strategies. This has led to enormous sales of its diversified products. The employees of the company have been very innovative, and they have established many differentiated products.
The innovations of the company have placed the company at an advantage over other competitors in the market. The company has established innovative products in the market, and customers appreciate these products. The innovative products have been differentiated to provide a competitive edge to the company in the global market. Through differentiation, Apple has managed to succeed in the market by competing with larger companies like Microsoft and IBM among others.
Reference List
Duncan, D 2012, Why Apple stores are raking in bags full of cash, and no one can dupe the formula, https://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/why-do-apple-stores-make-so-much-money-and-why-cant-anybody-copy-them/
Forester, T 1987, High-tech society: the story of the information technology revolution, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Gay, R, Charlesworth, A & Esen, R 2006, Online marketing: a customer-led approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Mohr, JJ, Sengupta, S & Slater, S F 2010, Marketing of high-technology products and innovations, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Plunkett, JW 2008a, Plunkett’s retail industry almanac 2009 the only comprehensive guide to the retail industry, Plunkett Research Ltd, Houston, Tex.
Plunkett, JW 2008b, The almanac of American employers 2009 the only guide to America’s hottest, fastest growing major corporations, Plunkett Research Ltd, Houston, Tex.
Viardot, E 2004, Successful marketing strategy for high-tech firms, Artech House, Boston, Mass. [u.a.].