Marketing Report: Analyzing Apple's Market Orientation and Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Apple's marketing activities and market scenario. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction highlighting the importance of marketing in the contemporary business environment. The report includes a company profile of Apple, discussing its origins, mission, and vision, emphasizing its focus on innovation. It then explores Apple's marketing orientation, which is both product and market-focused, emphasizing innovation and customer needs. The evaluation of Apple's 5Cs (Company, Customers, Collaborators, Competitors, and Context) is presented through SWOT analysis, customer behavior analysis, supply chain management, and competitor analysis. Market intelligence strategies, including social media marketing and market research, are discussed. The report recommends potential market segments and provides a detailed analysis of Apple's marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion), concluding with a summary of findings and a list of references.

Running head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Marketing management
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Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the marketing activities of Apple along with
determining their existing market scenario. The existing marketing orientation of Apple had been
discussed in this report. It is being concluded that, the marketing expertise will help Apple in
penetrating in the mass market as well. It will not only increase their revenue generation, but will
also help to gain competitive advantages from the market.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Company profile..............................................................................................................................5
Marketing orientation of Apple.......................................................................................................5
Evaluation of 5c’s of Apple.............................................................................................................6
Company......................................................................................................................................6
Customers....................................................................................................................................7
Collaborators................................................................................................................................7
Competitors..................................................................................................................................8
Context.........................................................................................................................................9
Market intelligence of Apple...........................................................................................................9
Recommended market segment.....................................................................................................10
Recommended marketing mix.......................................................................................................11
Product.......................................................................................................................................11
Price...........................................................................................................................................12
Place...........................................................................................................................................12
Promotion..................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference.......................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
For the contemporary business organizations, marketing holds an important part in
gaining competitive advantages and staying ahead in the competition. However, there are various
considerations for the contemporary business organizations in implementing effective marketing
strategies, which will have positive outcome. In the current business scenario, implementation of
the effective marketing strategies creates differences in the competitive state of affairs (Perreault,
Cannon & McCarthy, 2013). Majority of the renowned business organizations have gained their
brand identity and competitive advantages with the help of their marketing activities. Moreover,
effective marketing activities also help in determining the requirement of the customers and thus
enhance the level of customer satisfaction.
Apple is one of the leading brands in the world providing mobiles and other electronic
gadgets. They have their presence around the world. However, the market orientation or
approach being initiated by them is unique and distinctive, which is helping them in staying
ahead in the competition. They have effectively targeted their customer segments and
accordingly designed their marketing activities. However, they are operating only among the
niche segments.
This report will discuss about the marketing activities of Apple along with determining
their existing market scenario. The external and internal environment of Apple will also be
evaluated. Based on their existing market scenario, recommendations will be provided regarding
the potential new market segments for them.

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Company profile
Apple is one of the leading gadget manufacturers in the world is the topmost valued
brand in the world. Apple is originated from Cupertino, California and it was founded in 1976
(Apple, 2017). From the initial stage, they have concentrated more on offering innovative and
first of a kind product in the market. This innovative approach of them helped them in creating a
distinctive image among the existing competitors. This approach of them is being reflected on
their mission and vision statement (Kopaneva & Sias, 2015). According to their vision statement,
innovation is the key organizational objective of them and they will continue to change the
existing competitive scenario by offering unique and innovative products in the market. Thus,
the vision statement of Apple is reflecting the direction for them to achieve in the future.
Moreover, the business approach being followed by them is also been reflected in their vision
statement.
According to the mission statement of Apple, they are the market leader when it comes to
introducing innovative products in the market (Tishkovskaya & Lancaster, 2012). Their mission
statement states their rich history of innovations ranging from introducing MAC computers to
introduction of ipod in the market. Thus, the mission statement of Apple is effectively reflecting
the business activities of defining the future trend of the market. Thus, having analyzed the
mission and vision statement of Apple, it can be said that, their orientation towards the
innovations is being reflected in their mission and vision statements.
Marketing orientation of Apple
The marketing orientation of Apple is towards both the product and the market. This is
due to the reason that, Apple concentrates more on innovation and quality in gaining competitive

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advantages (Urde, Baumgarth & Merrilees, 2013). The products of them automatically attract
customers due to their innovative features. Thus, the products of Apple get more preferences in
their marketing activities. On the other hand, the market research being involved by them in
determining the requirement in the market is proving their orientation towards their customers. It
helps them in effectively determining the market requirement and accordingly initiates
innovations to develop products (Chan, Kwong & Dillon, 2012). The key product that has taken
the role of redefining the competitiveness of Apple in the market is the iphone. Introduction of
iphone in the market changed the existing scenario in the Smartphone market. The innovative
features being possessed by iphone helped to gain more market awareness for Apple. Thus,
afterwards Apple has more concentrated on developing the newer versions of iphone.
Evaluation of 5c’s of Apple
Company
SWOT analysis will be involved in determining the strength, weakness, opportunity and
threat of Apple. The strengths of Apple include the enormous and positive brand value, which
will be helpful in operating in the existing market as well as entering in the new market.
Moreover, the innovations being possessed by them are one of the key competitive advantages
for Apple. The initiation of premium pricing is helping them in achieving higher profit margin
from their sales (Heracleous, 2013). This in turn helps them in investing more in their research
and development. The weaknesses of Apple include operation only in the niche market. Thus,
mass generation of revenue of Apple is not possible. Moreover, the product diversification of
Apple is less compared to its competitors.

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Another key weakness is the non-compatibility of other software with the Apple
products. Thus, customers will face issues in operating their products. Opportunities for Apple
include the innovative approach being possessed by them, which will help them in tapping in
newer markets in future. Moreover, due to their practice of creating new business sector, they
can enter in any sector at any point of time (Kapferer & Bastien, 2012). Another opportunity for
them is the growing demand for their products with the growth in the global economy.
Moreover, they are entering in new sectors such as television and iwatch, which will increase
their competitiveness.
Customers
As discussed earlier, Apple operates in the niche market of the higher end customers.
Majority of the customers for Apple comprise of business people and corporate who can afford
their products. However, the typical consumer behavior being possessed by them is also one of
the key tactics for determining the marketing strategy of Apple. According to the Maslow’s need
theory, the products of Apple will meet the esteem need of the customers (Lester, 2013). This is
due to the fact that, the esteem need refers to the requirement for self esteem, recognition and
social status. Thus, the typical customer behavior of Apple is to show their wealth and status to
the society (East et al., 2016). Another section of customers also opt for Apple products. This
section comprises of people from business and corporate and they use the Apple products for
heavy use in business purpose.
Collaborators
Apple has multiple suppliers and effective distribution network, which is helping them in
catering to the market. The key motive of supply chain management of Apple is to offer the
products to the customers timely and with more convenience (Stadtler, 2015). Their suppliers

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include Analog Devices, Inc, which supplies touch screen controllers for Apple iphone. Glu
Mobile, Inc provides applications for the Apple mobile store. Micron Technology, Inc supplies
DRAM and LPDDR2 for the products of Apple. Qualcomm, Inc is one of the leading providers
of semiconductor around the world. They also provides processor and power tracker for Apple
devices.
Apple is managing their distribution network by their own. Majority of the distribution
network is being taken care by their direct sales force. Apple maintains their own exclusive retail
stores around the world (Montgomerie & Roscoe, 2013). Thus, it helps them in managing the
retailing more effectively and according to their organizational policies and cultures. Apple
products are also being available in various online stores (Verhoef, Kannan & Inman, 2015). In
this case, the online vendors are the sole responsible for the retailing of the Apple products. The
absence of any third party distributors is helping them in reducing the cost of distributions. Thus,
the profit margin is more for them. In addition, Apple caters to similar kind of products and that
too for the niche market. Thus, they not have the requirement of covering the entire market with
having aggressive distribution network.
Competitors
Samsung, LG, and Google are the prime competitors for Apple. However, there are no
close competitors due to the fact that all of its competitors are having different operating
systems. Apple use their own operating system which sis exclusive to their products only. Thus,
the user experience will be different for Apple compared to its competitors (Ahmad et al., 2013).
However, threats are there for Apple from the existing competitors. This is due to the reason that,
majority of the market share in the Smartphone business is being controlled by Android, which is
being used by all the competitors of Apple (Ruiz et al., 2012). Compared to this, the market

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share of Apple IOS is less. Moreover, the entry of new competitors with updated technologies
will pose threat for them.
Context
The external environment of Apple is diverse due to the operation and market presence
around the world. However, few issues may pose challenges in their business activities. The
legal environment around the world is diverse and varied in different countries. Thus, it will be a
challenge for them to adhere with varied legal formalities around the world (Bagley, 2015). The
political environment is also favorable for Apple due to the reason that, major countries in the
world are providing various incentives in attracting investments. Moreover, the government
regulations are more business friendly in the current scenario, which will have favorable impact
on the business of Apple.
Social environment for Apple is also favorable due to the reason that more number of
people is getting attracted towards Smartphone and technologies. Moreover, there is always a
craze and motivation works for the customers in having the access of Apple due to its aesthetic
and esteem appeal (Phillips-Melancon & Dalakas, 2014). However, with having operating only
in the niche market, Apple does not have the access to the mass market. The technological
environment for Apple is more challenging for them due to the reason that in the present
business scenario, technologies are being changed rapidly and it is difficult for them to cope up
with the rapid change in technology.
Market intelligence of Apple
One of the key tools being involved by Apple is the initiation of social media marketing.
This is due to the reason that, social media marketing helps in determining the market trend more

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effectively by engaging directly with the customers (Tuten & Solomon, 2014). Moreover, it is
also helping them in determining the customer preference towards their competitors. This in turn
helps them in identifying the areas, where they are trailing behind their competitors. They also
involve market research for their existing customers (Chen, Chiang & Storey, 2012). According
to Apple, only the existing customers of them will be able to tell what they need more in future.
Thus, the customer taste and preference pattern is being effectively determined.
Social media marketing also reflects the change in the taste and preference pattern of the
customers, which will help them in modifying their activities accordingly. As earlier discussed,
Apple involves less amount of collaborators in their supply chain and distribution network. Thus,
the role played by them is minimal and negligible in the business activities of Apple. However,
the suppliers of Apple also play an important role in providing competitor trend (Upson et al.,
2012). This is due to the reason that, the suppliers of Apple provides materials to other
technology organizations also. Thus, the trend can be generated from them regarding the
competitors’ activities.
Recommended market segment
As already discussed, Apple operates in the niche market, which is having very limited
potential. Thus, to expand their business portfolio and market presence, Apple should also target
the mass market to a certain extent. This will help them to enhance the market area along with
catering to more number of customers. The target market should be the middle class customers
around the world. STP model will be involved in determining the viability of the proposed
market segment (Hollensen, 2015).

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According to the STP model, the first step is the segmentation of the target market. The
segment should be classified according to the geography and demography. In the initial stage,
middle class segments from the developed countries should be targeted due to the reason that, the
purchasing power of this segment in these countries will be more. Moreover, according to the
demographic classification, the target segment should be the age group of 20 to 40. This is due to
the reason that, majority of this age group will represent the college goers and corporate people.
Majority of the popularity of Apple is being generated from this age group.
The next step is the targeting. Apple should introduce products with having more
affordability and convenience to target the mass market. This strategy will be beneficial due to
the reason that the exclusivity of Apple has an unique appeal among the mass market. Thus,
effective initiation of the pricing strategies will help to target this segment. The last step is the
positioning. Apple should position their products in such way that it will attract the targeted
audience effectively. The brand name is there for Apple which will help them to effectively
penetrate in the targeted market. Their positioning statement should be offering the brand value
of Apple in affordable price. Thus, the targeted segment will have the impression of having the
access of exclusivity of Apple in more affordable cost. This will be effective due to the reason
that all the competitors will provide features but cannot provide the brand value being possessed
by Apple.
Recommended marketing mix
Product
The product should be feature rich according to the targeted segment’s requirement. It
may not have the high end features of Apple but should meet the criterions of the target

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audience. Moreover, the aesthetic appeal should be considered due to the fact that Apple is
known for their aesthetic value. It will help to enhance the value created for the customers.
Price
The pricing strategy should be initiated according to the economy status of the targeted
audience. The price should not be much lower due to the fact that it may dilute the brand image
of Apple. The pricing should be done in such a way that it will be affordable yet will have
premium feel for the targeted customers.
Place
Products should be made available in third party premium retailers due to the fact that the
exclusive retail outlets of Apple have limited market presence. Thus, availability in the leading
retail stores will help to enhance the exposure as well as the brand awareness. The online
presence will also help to reach out to the target audience.
Promotion
The promotional channel should be selected according to their effectiveness among the
target segment. Mass media channels such as TVC and print media will help to effectively reach
out to the targeted segment. Moreover, social media marketing will also be beneficial to promote
the products to the mass market.
Conclusion
Apple is having favorable market scenario in the niche market. However, in order to
increase their market presence and to survive the growing challenge from its competitors, they
need to penetrate in the mass market. This will help them to leverage their brand value and
increase their market share in the mass market along with enhancing the brand exposure. In this