Strategic Management Analysis Of Apple †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Management Analysis Of Apple . Answer: Marketing plan objective Themarketing plan of Apple includes the objectives to extend the brand name of the organization and link to its successful position in the industry. The image of the organization in market is related to its innovation related capabilities, the value and the quality of the products. The response and the awareness of the products in the market is measured and further adjustments are made in themarketing mix (Massingham Pomering, 2017). Market segmentation The market of segment of Apple iPhone can be divided into three major categories. The organization uses the process of segmentation based on general lifestyle as Apple is a premium brand. The segment of customers of the company are usually the urban population of various countries. The customers of Apple are mainly the early adopters and the premium level buyers of the industry. The three target groups of Apple are as follows, The music lovers who are targeted by features like Apple iStore and iTunes. The teenagers or the professionals who are major customers of Apple iPhone. The customers who use the other products of the company like Apple watch, Macbook (Ozment, 2015). The target market of Apple iPhone is huge in spite of the premium price range of the products that are offered to the customers. The customers of Apple are blindly loyal to the brand and its various products. The iPhone customers often claim that Apple has manufactured the best smartphone in the world. The younger group of people are more attracted towards the products of Apple. The brand is further associated to the people who have a premium level of income and can afford the premium priced products of the company (Patil Bach, 2017). The customers who are more likely to own Apple iPhone mainly belong to households where education is given priority and technology is also followed on a regular basis. Product Life Cycle Stage The product life cycle is considered to be an important concept related to the marketing of products. This concept helps in describing the various stages of life cycle which a particular product goes through before the organization decides to remove it from their product line. All products do not reach the final stage of product life cycle if they are able to gain the market in a successful manner (Pavlou Stewart, 2015). The four main stages of the product life cycle are introduction, growth, maturity and decline, which will be discussed as follows, Introduction This stage of the cycle proves to be the most expensive for the organization as this involves the launch of new products in the market. This stage further involves various costs on the part of the company which are related consumer testing, research and development and the marketing activities which are required to launch the product. Apple has been investing a lot in the research and development related activities of the company. This has further resulted in the premium pricing of the iPhones (Reed, 2016). Growth This stage is mainly characterised by the strong growth which is shown in the profits and the sales of the organization. The company starts to benefit from the product that is has launched in the market in the growth stage. This further makes it easy for the organization to make more investments in the products and improve the features that are offered by them. The iPhones have proved to be the highest products in the product line of Apple and this has helped in the steady of the revenues of the organization in the market. This has also enabled Apple to invest more in their research and development to enhance the products (Sin?i? ?ori?, Murphy Bre?i?, 2015). Maturity This stage is related to the successful establishment of the products in the market and the fulfilment of the aim of the manufacturers. This is also considered to be most competitive period of the entire life cycle of the product. The business organizations need to plan in a wise manner to maintain the share in the market that has been developed by them. They can also think of improving the products by adding more features and creating competitive advantage. Apple has been able to successfully place the iPhones in the growth stage with the help of its marketing strategies and the unique features that are provided by the iPhones. The loyal customer base has also helped Apple to maintain its share in the market (Srijumpa, 2017). Decline This stage is related to the shrink that occurs in the market of the products of particular company. This can be due to the saturation that has occurred in the industry or due to the switch made by consumers to different products. Apple iPhones have not yet reached this stage as the products have been able to capture the market and the consumers of the organization are also loyal. The shares of the organization have shown decline in the recent times, however, the iPhones are still going quite strong in the market (Steenkamp, 2017). Price, Place and Distribution Price The pricing related strategy of Apple is related to the premium pricing method. The prices have been placed in such a manner so that the customers will have to pay high amounts for premium designed products of the company. The technology of price skimming is the best strategy that is used by Apple. The prices are set higher as compared to similar products that are offered by the competitors. The geographical pricing technique is used by Apple to decide different prices of the products for different geographical areas. This strategy is useful for the different exchange rates in various countries (Venkatesan et al., 2015). Place Apple operates more than 400 stores in 22 countries in the world. The retail stores of the organization are spacious and creative in nature. The online stores are also available for selling the products of the company. Direct sales force is used by Apple for the promotion of its products to the prospective consumers. The company also has successful partnerships with various wholesalers so that they distribute the products. The value-added sellers or the professional authorised people are major parts of the distribution channel of Apple (Zhang Yang, 2017). Promotion The promotional activities of Apple are known to be unique in nature. The various different marketing channels that are used by the organization include, advertisements in newspapers, promotions in radio. This is known as the Above The Line or ATL advertising platform. The company mainly targets the premium segment of consumers. The process of hoardings or home advertising is used in the retail outlets of the company. This process is known as the Below The Line or BTL marketing related techniques. These tools are used by Apple in a unique to reach its customers and further to create hype for its products in the market (Venkatesan et al., 2015). Implementation The implementation of marketing plans is the final step in the entire marketing program that is formulated for Apple iPhone. This is related to the process by which the organization will aim to attain the marketing related goals. This is considered to be the most significant step of the entire plan. This step will help Apple in converting the marketing strategies to marketing plans. The monitoring of this action plan is necessary so that the various stages are stages are executed on a timely manner. The major aim of the implementation of the strategies related to product development and market development is related to the proper marketing of Apple iPhones. The top management is responsible for implementing the process in an effective manner. Limitations and Risks The major risks or challenges are faced by the managers of the organization in the process of implementing the marketing plan. The risks are related to the various functions in the organization like, research and development, production, industrial engineering, advertising. The managers of Apple need to consider the various expectations of the consumers for the different functions so that they can easily deal with the challenges that are posed. The managers need to allocate the resources related to different activities in an effective manner. The tasks need to be monitored and further need to be checked whether they are being implemented in the proper manner. Summary The report can be concluded by stating that the marketing plan for Apple iPhone addresses the various aspects that are important in formulating successful strategies. The effective promotional activities, the distribution channels of the organization and the pricing strategies can further Apple in promoting the iPhones in a successful manner. The target market of the organization is also useful for the successful implementation of the marketing plan. There are however many limitations that are related to the successful operations of Apple in the market. References Massingham, P. R., Pomering, A. A. (2017). Introducing Knowledge Management to the Marketing Mix. Ozment, J. (2015). Estimating Lagged and Cumulative Effects of Customer Service Variables in the Marketing Mix. InProceedings of the 1989 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference(pp. 643-647). Springer, Cham. Patil, D. D., Bach, C. (2017). Marketing-Mix For Strategy Building.Marketing,4(4). Pavlou, P. 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