International Marketing Report: Apple iPad Strategies in US and Kenya

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Apple's international marketing strategies for the iPad in two distinct markets: the United States and Kenya. The report begins with an introduction to international marketing and then proceeds to examine the key challenges Apple faces in both countries, including market saturation in the US and affordability issues in Kenya. It explores different modes of entry and the application of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) in each market. The report further delves into the identification and analysis of internal and external challenges within the marketing environment, evaluating Apple's positioning strategies. It highlights the importance of adapting marketing strategies to suit the specific cultural and economic contexts of each country, including language, pricing, and distribution channels. The analysis encompasses competitor analysis, examining the strengths and weaknesses of Apple's rivals in both regions. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the need for a flexible and adaptive approach to international marketing to ensure success in diverse markets.

INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION (TASK 1)..........................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
2.1 Key challenges faced by the organisation in the different country..................................1
2.2 Modes of entry..................................................................................................................2
2.3 Marketing Mix in US and Kenya ....................................................................................2
TASK 3 : Positioning.......................................................................................................................3
3.1 Identification, Evaluation and Analysis of internal and external challenges in the
marketing environment and strategies of Apple I pad in the US and Kenya.........................3
Marketing Strategies for Apple Tablets in US and Kenya.....................................................4
3.2 Apple's International Marketing strategies in US and Kenya..........................................4
3.3 Information about the Countries – US and Kenya...........................................................6
Competitors of the Apple in US and Kenya.........................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION (TASK 1)
International marketing is implication of various marketing theories or principles in two
or more countries, beyond the boundaries of a nation, or by the overseas countries(Papadopoulos
and Heslop,2014). This report will analyse the marketing strategies of the Apple for their
product, I pad Tablet in two different countries developing as well as developed. The developed
country will be the US and the developing country will be Kenya. The Apple has an
international market, and operates its business almost in each and every country around the
world. This report will identify the various factors that affects the marketing strategies of Apple
in the two chosen countries, external and internal factors. The report also includes the
information of the economy, infrastructure, political elements in both the countries, the US and
Kenya.
TASK 2
2.1 Key challenges faced by the organisation in the different country
There are different challenges that have been faced by the organisation, this is because
there are several factors that have great impact over the venture when they are dealing in the
different countries. It is being known that factors are uncertain and they are not in the hands of
organisation, the challenges that are faced by the Apple in US and Kenya are as follows:
US
 The smartphone market has become the PC market: It has been known that people
prefer PC or tablet rather than smart phone, but apple is very good at mobile phone.
Thus, they are facing challenges. As their competitors are grasping their market share,
they are not able to earn up the premium prices.
 Shipping: This is also one of the biggest challenge for the organisation, Yet for the last
little while, Apple has been plagued by supply problems. The firm had products come in
hot, like iPad mini and Apple TV. The organisation had products come in incredibly
constrained like Apple Pencil, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 Plus, or Apple Watch Series 2. And
they had products come in late, like AirPods. Sometimes it's the result of inaccurate
demand forecasting, of higher component constraints or lower yields than expected.
Sometimes it's because of last minute issues or of changes to materials or manufacturing
processes. Sometimes it's just about resources and priorities.
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Kenya
The problem faced in the Kenya is that the organisation is serving the premium products
and services which are not affordable by the low class people. As Kenya is the underdeveloped
or developing country, people are not able to afford to have Apple products. The challenge in
Kenya is related to selling their products
2.2 Modes of entry
There are several ways by which organisation can enter into the new market, other than
that there are strategies also by which firm can enter into new target market. The entry more for
the venture by making strategic alliances with the different partners so that their risk can be
reduced
Market segmentation
It is also one of the important aspect for the firm, as the venture is serving premium
products and services to the customers, their target market is premium customers who earn high
income. In US, market segment of the firm are people who are between the age 20 to 45 rather in
the Kenya, people who earn high income.
Brand marketing, pricing, distribution, promotion, advertisement, target positioning
There are several strategies that have been used by the venture in order to promote their
products and services but they use them according to the country and target market. When it
comes to the UK, they use different social marketing tools such as Facebook, Twitter etc. when
it comes to the Kenya, they use physical mode of marketing such as TV, radio advertisement.
Value chain
When it comes to the value, there are several activities that are need to be done by the
form which are classified under two categories that are primary and supportive. The firm is
effectively accomplished all those activities in order to attract and retain number of market
share(Ford and Leonidou2,013).
2.3 Marketing Mix in US and Kenya
The Apple is having an effective marketing structure that helps it to attract the customers
both locally and globally. The Marketing mix is the combination of four levels such as Product,
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Price, Promotion and Place. The Apple within the home country that is the US has a different
marketing mix because of the culture, values and beliefs, The prices of the products are
acceptable by the US people as well as the promotional activities. The Kenya is completely
different country as compared to the US, therefore The Apple identifies the culture, trends and
values of the people there and develops suitable marketing strategies which can be easily
acceptable by the people in Kenya as they have a low economic stability and its more difficult to
change the choice of people and shifting to the Apple products such as the I-pad.
TASK 3 : Positioning
3.1 Identification, Evaluation and Analysis of internal and external challenges in the marketing
environment and strategies of Apple I pad in the US and Kenya.
The Apple promotes its tablet, I pad around the world with effective marketing strategies
according to the marketing environment of the countries. The Marketing environment has
various changes due to different factors or elements. The Apple develops their marketing
strategies considering all these factors to effectively promotes and increase its market segment in
the global market. There are various internal and external factors that affects the marketing
strategies of the Apple. To Identify the Internal factors that affects the marketing decisions of the
Organisation we can apply the internal analysis approach(Czinkota and Ronkainen,2013).
The external marketing environment challenges Apple can face in the UK and Kenya
Developing the marketing strategies for international market or different countries the
Apple needs to identify the various external challenges they can face in the marketing
environment of two different countries. Each and every market or country has a unique and
different marketing environment that needs to be considered while planning the marketing
strategies. The US. is a developed country has a modern and advanced marketing environment as
compared to Kenya as its still a developing country. Therefore, The marketing strategies of both
countries are different and developed according to marketing conditions of the two countries.
The external challenges of the marketing environment in the US. and Kenya can be identified
using an effective theory or tool which is the environmental analysis.
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Marketing Strategies for Apple Tablets in US and Kenya
 Ignoring the Critics - “Great idea often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds”
The Apple believes in there ideas and innovation. The people judge the brand in various
negative ways still they make products ignoring the critics or cost. The Apple focuses on
their products rather than listening to the negative critics of the people. The Tablet is also
promoted in the same way, A marketplace may accept the product or may not the Apple
is introducing their innovative products in every country to increase there marketplace.
 Justifying the price – The Apple focuses on the quality of the Tablet or any new product
to meet and justify its price. In The US people are more economically stable compared to
the people in Kenya, the brand considering this innovated the product which can satisfy
the customers in both the countries by developing and pricing the products accordingly.
 Communicating in the language of the customers or audience – The Marketing strategies
helps a brand to present and introduce the products of an organisation to the customers.
The communication between the customers and the company need to be effective. The
Apple take care of this element, the marketing practices such as the advertisement etc are
created according to the marketplace and the language used in that particular market or
area. These practices are done differently in the US and Kenya. The Apple's Tablet is
promoted in the languages of both the countries, so that the customers can understand
and identify the product and its features. This helps in getting connected to the people
and attract them to buy the products (Armstrong and et.al,2015).
 Extending the experience – The another marketing strategy of the Apple for their Tablet
or I pad is to offer a detailed experience of the product by providing hands-on and
promotional activities for the people helping them to touch and experience the Tablet
without paying anything.
3.2 Apple's International Marketing strategies in US and Kenya.
Apple has a core marketing, there are various layers or elements that combine together to
create a complete marketing structure for the company. The company uses various innovative
ideas and skills to add effectiveness in the marketing and development of a product. Apple does
not have a single marketing department that performs all the functions of the marketing, It
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believes that the customers and the whole company is the marketing department. The Apple
forced the people to come out of their comfort zone and offered them a substitute that can
change their buying decision. There are various steps performed by the Apple to practice their
marketing strategies -
 Communicating from inside out – The Apple focuses on communicating their purpose
and features from the bottom to the top. They believe in effective sharing of words
internally and externally(Cavusgil and et.al,2014). The company makes sure the people
working within the organisation as well as the people outside has been conveyed the
marketing messages. There are three basic messages which are necessary for each and
every organisation. These messages are -
1. What the organisation do.
2. How they do it.
3. And Why they do what they are doing.
 Reaching the early adopters - The Apple does not only focus on being innovative and
creative they also effectively implicate the latest technologies, visions and Enthusiasts.
The Apple is very much passionate about technology and by choosing the Apple an
individual can lead and be on the top in terms of innovation and technology. The
company introduces such products that the competitors can not plan to, therefore the
Apple creates a monopolistic demand for its products in the market(Fletcher and
Crawford,2013).
 Understanding the needs of the customers being different and simultaneous – The Apple
has been inventing various innovative products in the market since years. The Brand
believe in being different and unique as compared to their competitors. The Apple
launched the series of I phone which is developing and becoming more effective as well
as advanced. Other than I-phone the Apple is effectively launching various others
products such as the I-pad, I-Mac etc. The company is introducing the products according
to the need of the customers. The customers are more internet friendly nowadays so the
company launches the I-Macs which is very easily providing access to the internet with
just a phone line.
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The company is also entering into other segments such as the I-pods. The Apple invented
I-pod that encouraged people to avoid the simple music players and choose an I-pod which
offers better features(Hoppner and Griffith,2015).
 Making it easy for the people to change – Changing the people's buying decisions is
not so easy. It is hard to change people's choice and can not be predicted. The Apple
try their level best in order to convince the people to change their choices. There are
several questions that arises -
1. Is it easy to do business with them?
2. How costly is it to switch?
3. What are the options if an individual is not satisfied?
3.3 Information about the Countries – US and Kenya.
Basis United States Kenya
Infrastructure The Infrastructure of the United
States is very much developed
and effective, It can be
referenced as the leading and
most advanced Infrastructure
around the world(Knight,2015).
The Supply chain of the US has
been developed very well by
investment in the public sectors.
The Government is effectively
maintaining the infrastructure
of the country by allowing
innovation and technological
advancement within the
country. Such as transportation
facilities etc.
Kenya's infrastructure is still
developing and is not much
advanced. The Country's biggest
economic sources is the
production and exportation of
cement. Kenya is growing
towards the development by
investing into various
infrastructure projects and
programs. Kenya has a potential
to develop a more effective
infrastructure, transportation
facilities are needed to be more
advanced and time saving. It
does not have a developed
infrastructure but is developing.
Economy The United states consist of the The Kenya is a developing
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mixed economy, Sometimes the
US had free market economy.
The economic systems in
United states includes both
element government controlled
economy and public economy.
The public can operate private
businesses but under the
supervision by the US
government. The Apple's
marketing strategies can be
affected by the various
economic changes in the UK as
well as Kenya. The major
change in the economic factors
is the fluctuating labour cost.
The US has a leading economy
in the world which leads to the
increase in the labour cost, the
change in labour cost can affect
the marketing strategies. High
labour cost affect the marketing
decisions of a company in terms
of cost of marketing and
marketing practices.
country, that obviously states
that it does not have that much
strong economy. The Kenya's
economy needs the trading of
products. The international
ownerships in few sectors is
prohibited. The economic
conditions of the Kenya are not
that much effective and
developed but is trying to
achieve the growth. The Kenya
has a low economy, the people
are expecting work and source of
income which results in the low
labour cost. The Apple can hire
employees at a low cost that
affect the marketing of the new
product, such as the Tablet. The
marketing strategies can be
developed differently in both the
countries (Slater and
Andriopoulos,2013).
Governmental Policies US government set many
regulations and laws in a
working place for the welfare of
the employees and to protect
them. For example Laws
regarding the advertising and
Government of Kenya have set a
little complex policies related to
the business organisation. The
Kenya does not have any policy
to lead investments to particular
geographic areas . The Kenya
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marketing imposed by the
Federal Trade commission
which is developed in order to
protect the costumers and keep
the organisations loyal and
honest with respect to their
services or products. The laws
of the US government supports
the business as well as controls
them to perform operations
considering customers welfare.
The Political or social changes
in a country can affect the
marketing strategies of every
product or brand. The US is the
domestic market of the Apple
company, As a result it has a
developed market within the
US. The political changes in the
country may affect the
marketing practices of the
company but due to its brand
image in the US the changes
does not have much impact on
the position of the company in
the market.
government is already facing
issues such as terrorism, low
economy which affects the
businesses indirectly. Kenya is
not still a developing nation, the
economy of the country is also
not so impressive, due to this
purchasing power of the
customers is lower. Any changes
in social or political areas of
Kenya can have a major impact
on the Apple introducing new
products such as I
pad(Majaro,2013).
Language / Culture The US follows an advanced
western culture and American
English is the most favourable
for the people in the United
The Kenya uses Swahili
language. And the culture of the
country is not that much
advanced as compared to the
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States.
The Apple marketing strategies
are depended on demand of
their products in the market
local or international. The
social factors such culture and
people's perceptive in the US
for a product is more acceptable
and can affect the marketing
strategies of a company.
developed countries like United
States.
The people in US and Kenya
have different culture, views and
values. As the people in Kenya
are not much model and
developed in terms of society,
The demand of the new product,
I pad can differ due to change in
culture and social elements.
Therefore, it will affect and can
change the marketing decisions
or plans in both the countries.
Juridical values Legal laws and values imposed
on the organisations within the
US are very well defined and
works in the favour of the
country and its people. The
Laws such labour act,
Employees policies are highly
considered with regards to the
various organisation within the
US. The laws and regulations of
each and every country are
different from that of the other.
The Apple offers a high
organized services through
Apple pay. The laws imposed
in US decides the marketing
plan suitable for the US
Kenya's policies are not so
firmed and required to be
developed or improved for
enhancing the effectiveness of
the business organisation within
the country.The Apple's
marketing strategies for the
tablet may differ in Kenya
considering the laws and
regulations of the countries and
can effect the strategies of a new
product.
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marketplace.
Competitors of the Apple in US and Kenya
There are around 43.1 % smartphone subscribers in the United states having the iPhones
according to the recent report or research. Ann it is rising its market share constantly. The
strongest competitor of the Apple in United States and Kenya is the Samsung. Samsung covering
around 28.6 % of the mobile users within the country. There are other competitors too for the
Apple in United states such as HTC, LG, Motorola which are giving healthy competition to the
Apple.
Marketing mix according to the competition
The Apple is facing a high rate of competencies by the various rivals in the US
and Kenya market. Therefore, it is focusing on the effective use of marketing mix in
order to survive in the market and lead the industry. The four P's of marketing mix for
Apple are as follows -
 Product – The Apple is introducing various new and innovative products such as – Mac, I
phone, I pod, Apple watch, Apple TV etc. that differentiate it from other brands.
 Price – The Apple is known for its premium and high quality products. It provides the
products at a reasonable price and justify it by the quality of products.
 Place – The Apple has a global presence and many channels of distribution that helps
them to reach to end number of customers(Nahavandi,2016). Promotion – The Apple uses aggressive advertisement strategies in order to attract the
customers and increase the sales of the products. It uses various channels such as TV,
online ads for the promotion.
Core competencies of the organisation Apple
The Apple is generating more than half of its earnings from the foreign countries,
global market. The strength of the brand is it has a global presence, the US is the domestic
market for the Apple. The tablets can be easily promoted and sold in the US as the brand is
recognised by the customers, whereas Kenya is a developing country the brand can introduce
new products in the developing market to attract new customers by providing a new product to
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