From the home page itself. The combination of retail, distribution and E-commerce gives a complete market reach to Apple. Brand equity in the Marketing strategy of Apple. Apple has the highest brand equity in the world as of 2016 and it is the topmost ranked brand in the world. The brand worth of Apple is 118.9 billion dollars. Apple Inc Report contains a full analysis of Apple segmentation, targeting and positioning and Apple marketing strategy in general. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, Ansoff Matrix and McKinsey 7S Model on Apple.
- Apples Target Market Apple Inc. Case Study -
- Apples Target Market Apple Inc. Case Study Group
- Apples Target Market Apple Inc. Case Study 2017
Comparing the results to its competitors, Apple Inc reported Total Revenue increase in the 3 quarter 2020 by 1.03% year on year. The revenue growth was below Apple Inc 's competitors average revenue growth of 13.63%, recorded in the same quarter. List of AAPL Competitors. Apple Inc 's Customers have recorded a rise in their cost of revenue by 24% in the 3 quarter 2020 year on year, sequentially costs of revenue grew by 6.99%, for the same period Apple Inc recorded revenue increase by 1.03% year on year, sequentially revenue grew by 8.4%.
Positioning is a strategic process that marketers use to determine the place or “niche” an offering should occupy in a given market, relative to other customer alternatives. Differentiation is the process companies use to make a product or service stand out from its competitors in ways that provide unique value to the customer.
When you position a product or service, you answer these questions:
- Place: What place does the offering occupy in its market?
- Rank: How does the product or service fare against its competitors in the areas evaluated by customers deciding what to buy?
- Attitude: How do we want customers to think about this offering and the benefits it offers them?
- Outcomes: What must we do to ensure the product or service delivers on the positioning we select?
Differentiation identifies a set of characteristics and benefits that make a product different and better for a target audience. Ideally these qualities are things that
- Customers value when they are evaluating choices in a purchasing decision, and
- Competitors cannot easily copy.
Brand Positioning and Differentiation breaks through the clutter of noise in the market place. This enables brands to efficiently and effectively communicate and reach target audience.
Apple Inc. have been using the Apple brand to compete across many smart technological in several highly competitive markets.
Apple’s brand has evolved over the past years and consistently as it has expanded its range of products and services. They have been thinking different as narrated by their short catchy tag line “Think Different”. Originally the apple brand started in the late 1970s with desktop computers and then laptops in the 1990s, and it took over 20 years before the company expanded into other areas in the market, areas such as iPod in 2001, followed by iPhone in 2007, iPad in 2010, and now Apple Pay and Apple Watch in 2014.
Their brand philosophy has always been ‘Think Different’. And the act of thinking differently represents; smart, innovative, clever, and creative. Then they have lived up to the claim of ‘thinking differently’ by actually ‘acting differently’ by going against the norm – always asking the question; “what’s different about this?”. One example is when all personal computers were gray and dull, they came out with the fun and colorful iMac.
It has been decades of thinking different for the Apple brand……
Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-Founder, described Apple as a “mobile devices company” – the largest one in the world. The company renamed itself Apple Inc. rather than Apple Computer. At the time, this was a significant move signifying Apple’s move beyond being more than a computer company.
Positioning and Differentiation of the Apple brand
How Apple Inc. positions from the competitors like Samsung, Nokia and Huawei comes through their ability to deliver exceptional experience through superb user interfaces. Starting with a major re-vitalization of the Apple brand when the iPod was launched in 2001, Apple has worked hard to migrate its brand and its product strategy in close harmony towards today’s position.
Apple is all about the experience. Apple goes after the emotional branding something which is felt in the heart and the mind of the consumers and that positions Apple as a brand in the mind of the consumers, the brands interface is exceptional and user friendly.
Apple’s brand identity, its elements, its product and its communication, all play an important role in positioning the brand in the market and all efforts have resulted in consumers satisfaction, emotional connections as well as loyalty. Loyal Apple customers will wait in line to purchase the latest iPhone, download music through iTunes, watch their favourite television shows on Apple TV and play games on their iPads. The company’s efforts toward building brand loyalty has allowed Apple to position and stand out from the crowd in the market place.
How Apple Inc. differentiates from the market; Apple’s differentiation to separate its products from those of other electronics manufacturers. From its MacIntosh home computers to the iPod music players and iPhone and iPad mobile devices, Apple has employed a differentiation strategy that targets a section of the consumer market and send a powerful message that its products stand out from the crowd.
The differentiation of Apple products comes from product design, display a different visual style, include different features or handle different tasks stand out from those offered by the competition.
Introducing iPhone XS and iPhone XR — Apple Advert
Since its inception, Apple has been rolling out products which have been an epitome of design and quality. Apple Macintosh was the first personal computer to have a mouse and graphical interface for a user remaining true to their mantra “Think Different” to this date. Apple does a phenomenal job creating products and services that are unique and special.
Apart from the products, another factor in differentiation plans stems from the company’s pricing strategies.
Apple’s pricing strategy extends to its differentiation in the retail electronics marketplace. While users can purchase computers, tablets and mobile phones from nearly any electronics outlet, Apple differentiates itself by providing limited quantities to big box retailers and focusing its retail efforts on its Apple Stores.
Apple Inc. sought to create a top-notch product with a price proportionate to its level of quality while maintaining high profit margins.
In conclusion, brands need to have a unique and meaningful set of attributes that make them different from the competition. This differentiation will result in the target consumer remembering the brand due to its competitive and unique nature. When a consumer makes a decision to buy a product or service, they want to make the decision as quickly and simply as possible.
In order to be part of the “selection set” when consumers are making decisions, strong brands have to be present in the minds of consumers and stand out so that they are the preferred choice. This is done through differentiation and positioning. Apple did a great job and continues to benefit from its range of loyal consumers.
Reference:
The Company’s customers are primarily in the consumer, SMB, education, enterprise and government markets. The Company sells its products and resells third-party products in most of its major markets directly to consumers and SMBs through its retail and online stores and its direct sales force. The Company also employs a variety of indirect distribution channels, such as third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers. The Company’s net sales through its direct and indirect distribution channels accounted for 30% and 70%, respectively, of total net sales.
The Company believes that sales of its innovative and differentiated products are enhanced by knowledgeable salespersons who can convey the value of the hardware and software integration, and demonstrate the unique solutions that are available on its products. The Company further believes providing direct contact with its targeted customers is an effective way to demonstrate the advantages of its products over those of its competitors and providing a high-quality sales and after-sales support experience is critical to attracting new and retaining existing customers.
To ensure a high-quality buying experience for its products in which service and education are emphasized, the Company continues to expand and improve its distribution capabilities by expanding the number of its own retail stores worldwide. The Company’s retail stores are typically located at high-traffic locations in quality shopping malls and urban shopping districts. By operating its own stores and locating them in desirable high-traffic locations the Company is better positioned to ensure a high quality customer buying experience and attract new customers. The stores are designed to simplify and enhance the presentation and marketing of the Company’s products and related solutions. The retail stores employ experienced and knowledgeable personnel who provide product advice, service and training and offer a wide selection of third-party hardware, software, and other accessories and peripherals that complement the Company’s products.
Apples Target Market Apple Inc. Case Study -
The Company has also invested in programs to enhance reseller sales by placing high quality Apple fixtures, merchandising materials and other resources within selected third-party reseller locations. Through the Apple Premium Reseller Program, certain third-party resellers focus on the Apple platform by providing a high level of product expertise, integration and support services.
Apples Target Market Apple Inc. Case Study Group
The Company is committed to delivering solutions to help educators teach and students learn. The Company believes effective integration of technology into classroom instruction can result in higher levels of student achievement and has designed a range of products, services and programs to address the needs of education customers. The Company also supports mobile learning and real-time distribution of, and access to, education related materials through iTunes U®, a platform that allows students and teachers to share and distribute educational media online. The Company sells its products to the education market through its direct sales force, select third-party resellers and its online and retail stores.
Apples Target Market Apple Inc. Case Study 2017
The Company also sells its hardware and software products to enterprise and government customers in each of its geographic segments. The Company’s products are deployed in these markets because of their performance, productivity, ease of use and seamless integration into information technology environments. The Company’s products are compatible with thousands of third-party business applications and services, and its tools enable the development and secure deployment of custom applications as well as remote device administration.