Introduction
Apple are one of the world’s leading companies with over $233.715 billion dollars in revenue as of 2015. Year after year they innovate the technology market with products such as the iPhone and iPad. The latter was first released in 2010 and has progressed to become more than just a tablet. The newest model, the iPad Pro will be the focus of this report. No longer “just a big iPhone,” Apple have developed the product into a device which can boast the hardware and usability of both the everyday tablet device and a personal computer. This report will analyse whether the product has the capability to succeed in today 's ever growing market for tablets, a product that 51% of UK households own. (Mintel 2014.) This will be done through
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Without these good relationships a company cannot expect to provide customers with the value and satisfaction that marketing strives for. (Armstrong et. al 2015.) These are known as Porter’s 5 Forces and he states them to be the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, the current market and competitors, as well as the bargaining power of customers. (Porter, 2000 - see appendix D).
Suppliers in this market have very little bargaining power and also due to the high level of finance needed to flourish in this market, it is very difficult for new entrants to enter this market so the first real danger to Apple is the threat of substitutes. The main competitor to the tablet is the Windows Surface Pro 4. Appendix E shows the main differences between the devices.Etgar and Malhotra (1981) state that “price as an indicator of product quality is widespread” and although the iPad pro is the cheaper product, Apple’s already established history of quality innovative products should be enough to hold off the Microsoft
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However, due to Apple’s loyal customer base which fits into the “True Friends” section of the projected loyalty matrix, (appendix F) many of these customers will instantly buy the product due to it’s brand. The product is also marked in silver & gold - professional colors which appeal to business people and students. (the majority of “True Friends.”)
Internal Environment
The internal environment of a firm is are made up of the factors close to an organisation.Claudiu et al, 2011 define this more clearly as “The internal environment includes all elements that are endogenous to the organization, which are influenced to a great extent and totally controlled by it.” Due to constraints only the main factor will be analysed - the firms employee’s. A SWOT analysis has been included in the report. (see appendix G)
Employee’s at Apple are highly trained and knowledgeable about their field of work and the products the firm sell behind the scenes and front of shop. To match the professional nature and high price of the product, a sophisticated level of customer service and staff is required. Apple’s official progress report (2013) states that over 1.32M staff have been properly trained through the
As strategy consultants of McCormick & Associates, we use Porters Five Forces Model as a framework when making a qualitative evaluation of a firm's strategic position (Appendix 1.2). These five forces determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. These forces affect the ability of a company to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally requires a company to re-assess the market place.
Chokshi, Sonal, and matt Buchanan. "How Steve Jobs Made the iPad Succeed When All Other Tablets Failed | Opinion | WIRED." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 31 Oct. 0013. Web. 7 May 2014. .
Within the last decade Apple has become one of the largest growing companies in the world and the largest valued company in the United States. According to a recent article in The Guardian, a global financial news website, “Apple set a record by becoming the first company to be valued at over $700bn (£446bn).” (Fletcher, N. 2014) This comes as no surprise to the average computer aficionado and shareholder as Apple has been making a name for itself since its inception. From its earliest Macintosh models to today’s iPhones, Apple has been a trailblazer for software, technology and revolutionizing the way we communicate on a Macro level. Their dedication to innovation, quality and service has made them
The multi billion-dollar corporation, Apple Inc., designs and manufactures some of today’s highest technological gizmos and gadgets. Among their best known products are the Apple and Macintosh computers, iPods, iTunes, iPhones and iPads. Apple is one of the most powerful and influential high tech companies in the world. The success of Apple Inc. stems from the innovation and visions of co-founder and entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, the excellence of the stylish, user-friendly products, and the ability to create innovative products that consumer’s desire.
The Five Competitive Forces The Five Competitive Forces are typically described as follows. 1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers The term'suppliers' comprises all sources of inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services. Supplier bargaining power is likely to be high when.
The principal conclusions of this report show that the iPhone is a successful product that combines interesting features: iPod, internet browser and mobile phone, which satisfy the customer’s needs moreover it is also exceeding their expectations thanks to its fashionable design. However the UK current mobile market is very competitive, so Apple will have to deal with tough competition against established mobile phone manufacturers. The report finally comes up with some recommendations that can help improving Apple’s performance and the marketing environment for the iPhone, these are mainly:
Apple customers relate to the brand very intimately. Repeat purchases are very common. They feel a very strong attachment towards the brand because it portrays a very different image. It helps make them feel that they are flowing with the changing trends because they own an Apple product. Many Apple consumers sometimes consider their Apple product their favourite possession or say that they love the brand because they get very attached to it. Apple has portrayed itself to be a brand that the customer can have a happy and lifelong relation with. The Apple experience has created deeper attitudinal attachment in the minds of the customer.
Through Apple’s innovative enterprise approach, we seek to generate personal computing products which have higher quality at lower unit costs than the previously available one. In order to manage projects effectively in the program,
Overall, Apple has a creative way of marketing to the millions of people over the world. Their creative marketing coupled with their unique product meshes together to form a multi-billion dollar company. If Apple keeps using their exclusive style of marketing to a younger “hip” generation then they will be Apple customers for life.
The Porter five forces model (see Appendix 1) as an external analysis tool was established by Michael E. Porter and firstly announced in his book “Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors” in 1980 . The main idea of the Porter five forces concept is that the attractiveness of a market depends on the characteristic of the five competitive forces that have an impact on a company (see Appendix 2).
emerging or new market. It can originate from new technology or new market opportunities (Eliashberg, J., Lilien, G. L., & Rao, V. R. 1997). Literature defines product development as exploiting an untapped market opportunity and turning it into a value product for customer satisfaction. Development and introduction of a new product requires extensive research on understanding customer needs, market structure, emerging trends and analysing the internal & external competitive market environments. To evaluate customer satisfaction previous researches provide strong relationship between customer satisfaction and product quality, product features and value for money. ***
Apple captured many consumers after the launch of the iPhone and continued to devise innovative strategies by producing tablets. Customer loyalty increased for Apple as customer’s developed a commitment to Apple products. Jobs strategy was to use a long development cycle that produced at least one large innovation each cycle. Therefore,
Porter’s five forces is a framework for analyzing an industry and business strategy development. It looks at forces that determine the competitive intensity of an industry and hence the overall attractiveness of that industry. The configuration of the five forces differs by industry. Understanding the competitive forces and their underlying causes reveals the roots of an industry’s current profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition over time.
The Apple brand name is a household name, the brand value of Apple, Inc. improved to $13,724 million in 2008 from $11,037 million in 2007 (Datamonitor PLC, 2009). Apple is different from its competitors because it produces high quality products, its products are also unique and attractive and this has helped to increase its market shares. Since Apple is known globally, 54% profits come from foreign markets (Datamonitor PLC, 2009). Apple products are easy to use and carry around, majority of its products are light, small and very easy to carry around and it has a major advantage of product diversity, there is something for every one of all ages.
Technology has made our lives more productive in many different ways. One of the greatest inventions is Apple’s products. It leads to an evolution of tablet devices. An iPad or iPhone can act as a textbook, laptop, navigation, camera, notebook, gaming devices and more. It combines all the other devices into one, which allows us to manage our time effectively.