Marketing Analysis: Apple's Strategies and Process

This report delves into the intricacies of Apple's marketing process, providing a comprehensive analysis of its strategies and market positioning. It begins with an overview of the marketing process, outlining key stages such as mission statement development, situational analysis (including SWOT analysis), and the formulation of marketing tactics based on the 4Ps of marketing mix (Product, Price, Promotion, Place). The report then applies PESTEL analysis to assess the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors influencing Apple's operations. Furthermore, it utilizes Porter's Five Forces framework to evaluate the competitive landscape, bargaining power of customers and suppliers, and the threat of substitutes and new entrants. The report also includes a detailed SWOT analysis of Apple, highlighting its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Finally, it examines Apple's segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies, along with a breakdown of its marketing mix. This analysis provides valuable insights into Apple's successful marketing approach and its ability to maintain a strong market presence.

1. Process and stages of marketing
Marketing:
Marketing is the activity performing by the company to promote their products in order to
increases the buying and selling of the products or service in the market (Penn, 2017). It includes
the advertisement, selling and delivering the goods to the potential consumers or any other firms.
It is done to target the certain audiences through considering the endorsements of celebrity, an
attractive packaging or slogan and so on. Marketing works on the four P's of marketing mix
which are product, price, place and promotion. It is the essential mix to the firms needs to sale a
products and services in the market.
Stages or steps involves in marketing process:
Every organisation needs the marketing strategies to expand their products and services
in the market in order to achieve high profitability and customer satisfaction. Apple is using such
steps to promote their products in the market (Baines and et.al., 2017).
Step 1: Mission statement
Before performing anything, the firm has to set a meeting and define the mission of the
business and what goals and objectives the firm aims and how it will be prompted on the market.
It is the short-term statement which identifies the existence and goal of the firm and deals with
questions like why the firm exists, in what kind of products and services the firm deals with,
goals and operations and its target market. Mission statements answer such questions. It may
include the vision of the businessperson. The main purpose of this statements is to communicate
the aim of an organisation and provide guideline to the employees, vendors, stakeholders and
customers. Mission statement of the commercial company can consist of three important
components:
Key market: it includes the target markets and the target customers.
Contribution: the goods and services in which the organisation deals (McLean, 2018).
Distinction: it is the description which shows which factor is making the product unique or why
should the consumers buy it again and again. UK UK
Step 2: Situational Analysis
This is the stage which comes after setting up the goals and objectives of the organisation
and form out the mission. The next step is to create the situational analysis in which Apple are
checking the actual position of the company in terms of overall performance of the industry in

the market. In this step the firm has to check where the organisation lies in the market and at in
what position the firm stands with its current customers. For estimating the position the
managers are using SWOT analysis techniques. UK
SWOT stands for:
Strengths: it considers the elements in which the company is better in comparison to its
competitors.
Weaknesses: it considers the factors that may resist to the firm in order to achieve the
market success.
Opportunities: it includes the external opportunities through which the company can
expand the business and can create new business opportunities or increase the UK revenues of
the existing business.
Threats: external factors such as political, legal, technological, economical that might
create an issue for the organisation (Visser, Sikkenga and Berry, 2018).
Step 3: Marketing tactics or strategies.
After setting up the mission and the vision of the company the next step is to plan how to
achieve that objectives. The marketing manager of Apple is responsible for setting the correct
track to set up the correct strategies and campaigns to prompt the UK brand marketing. In
between these stages the marketing team of Apple should keep in mind the marketing mix which
is based on the four P's. The four Ps of marketing are:
* Product: product includes the goods and services that can be offered to the customers in
order to satisfy their needs and wants.
* Price: It considers the cost of the production and the value on which the goods and
services can be sold (Penn, 2017).
* Promotion: promotion is done to provide information about the products to the specific
target groups. It initiates them to buy the specific products in which the company is dealing.* Place: the place is referring to the distribution of the goods and services. It considers the
channel of distribution which might be physical or digital and can enable the sale.
Step 4: Implementation
It is a responsibility of the marketing team which has to implement the strategies or
marketing tactics in order to improve the performance of the company. In order to complete such
plan, the marketing team has to follow up several steps such as:

Obtaining resources: it includes the financial planning and appoint experts whenever there is a
need.
Developing schedules: for each and every campaign and strategies, the management has to
ensure that all tasks are accomplished in the most effective and efficient manner (Connolly,
2015).
Executing the process: after assuring that all tasks are going well it is time for the management to
put a lot of effort and hard work in order to accomplish such plan and execute it in the most
effective manner possible.
Step 5: Control and evaluation of the performance
After starting with the execution of the marketing tactics it is very essential to keep
checking that the whole process is going on the right track. The marketing manager should
continuously look for a way for to find improvements and enhance the plan in order to
accomplish the goal of the organisation in the most effective way. By looking back into the plan
and making improvements according to the current situation can help the team to achieve the
mission statements in accordance with the goal of the company.
Illustration : Marketing
process

(source: The marketing process, 2015)
PESTEL on Apple:
Apple is one of the most recognised electronic brands. Many investors are ready to invest
in Apple because it has a high growth in revenues and also give high return on investment (Penn,
2017). It deals with electronic products such as tablets, music players, TV sets and smartphones.
PESTEL:
Political factors: For Apple the income inequality has become a major political issue
because the firm is one of the companies which generates a large amount of cash through
revenues. This is causing a problem with having higher taxes. The organisation dependant on the
low manufacturing cost in UK. If UK's politicians decide that they could increase the
manufacturing charges that could become a huge problem for Apple.
Economic factors: An increase in the labour cost in UK for example, can become an
economic factor that can take away the cost advantages of Apple products (Gunelius, 2017). If
the exchange rate of US dollars increases that could lead to more expenses for the company if
they continue to operate their business in a particular country. This situation is unfavourable for
the market share of Apple. Because if there is a big change in the exchange rate it could lead to a
direct impact on the revenue outside the country.
Social factor: Because of ethical issues with the manufacturing process of apple products
in UK, there is a threat of limiting the product attractiveness to potential buyers. This could lead
to a lack of emotional attachment to Apple products on the market. Technological factor: There
are many competitor products that are providing similar technological products with a low cost
which has a negatively impact on the brand image and the financial status of Apple. One of the
opportunities for Apple is that they can expand their Apps store because there is a constant rapid
growth of the market of Apps. This factor is favourable for Apple because the company can
exploit their technologies and provide the product easily.
Environmental factors: Apple is working on launching the new technology which gives
effective energy saving products or tools with less heat emissions (McLean, 2018). Global
warming is one of the issues which is creating a change in the climate and in this way, it is
affecting the market and the supply chain. The organisation is dependent on the huge internet and
data consumption which leads to high electricity cost in the production process.

Legal factors: Companies like Apple have strict telecommunication rules and regulations
that can be a threat for the organisation (Baines, Fill, Rosengren and Antonetti, 2017). Privacy
issues are a concern for the company and also for the governments. The company can face law
issues and could be fined which could lead to a negative impact on the brand image of Apple.
Porter’s five forces on Apple.
The five forces can evaluate the external business environment of the company. It can set
the limit or decrease the market share of the company and its revenues and profitability of the
organisation.
Competitive rivalry: The company faces strong competition. This factor of Porter’s five
forces is the analysis of the model which determines the influence of the competitors on each
other. Such influence depends on how aggressive the company is, what is the differentiation of
goods, and what is the switching cost (Elshiewy, Guhl and Boztug, 2017). Organisations like LG
is an example of an aggressive company that can compete with Apple. It imposes a highly strong
force in the industry of electronic products.
Bargaining Power of customers: It determines how the buyers bargaining power can
affect the perceptions of the business. It has a highly strong influence which is based on the low
switching cost, small quantity of individual buyers, and huge information about the buying
products. It shows that Apple must consider the bargaining power of the buyer which could play
a significant role in the tactics of the company.
Bargaining power of suppliers: This component is evaluating the influence of the
suppliers on the market and the competition (Penn, 2017). The bargaining power of suppliers
have a low influence because of the high number of suppliers in the market, moderate to overall
high supply in the market, and the huge ratio of the business to suppliers, concentrations are the
reasons on low influence.
Threat of substitutes goods: Another element of Porter’s five forces which shows the
threat of substituting Apple goods in the market on the basis of online technological services
factor. This particular component in regards with Apple has very low influence because there is a
low performance of the substitute goods, low number of consumers who could switch to a
different product.
Threat of new entry in the market: This element shows the threat of new entry in the
market as a competitor (Connolly, 2015). In this case, risk of new entrance has a medium

influence on the organisation. That is because the players in the market needs to consider things
like the high capital requirements in setting up such business and the high cost of developing a
new brand. Such obstacles could stop the new competitors of starting such kind of business.
SWOT Analysis of Apple
Strengths:
* Apple has its strong brand image.
* High margin of profits (McLean, 2018).
* Effective and high innovative process.
Weaknesses:
* Totally depends on the sale on high end market segmentation.
* High price of selling.
* Distribution network is limited.Opportunities:
They can expand the distribution network.
* They can increase the sales volume in accordance to the rising of demand.
* Can develop new products.Threats:
* High competition in the market of such products.
* Imitation products (Visser, Sikkenga and Berry, 2018).
* Increase in the cost of labour.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning:

Segmentation is dividing individuals into groups in accordance to their certain
characteristics like location, taste, nature, preferences and age groups (Davis, 2017). Apple
identifies segment which includes quality, performance and the technology of the products over
the cost of the product. Whereas the targeting lies on the selection of a particular group in order
to sell specific products. While positioning refers to choosing the marketing mix for suitable
target buyer segment. A company can be positioning itself by offering the premium quality
products with high capabilities and functions for addition cost.
Marketing mix of Apple:
Product: This element of marketing mix is showing the goods in which a company is dealing and
offering to customers in the market (Elshiewy, Guhl and Boztug, 2017). Apple is dealing with IT
products. Some of the products of Apple are iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV and Apple watch.
Price: This element of marketing mix can determine what should the price of the goods and
services on the market be. It is totally based on the cost of production, how much are the
potential buyers ready to pay and also the demand and supply. Apple is using price skimming
strategy and charges high prices for their goods and services.
Promotions: Promotion mix determines the communication techniques that can be used in the
spreading of information about the product in the market (Connolly, 2015). Apple can promote
their products by involving different communicational channels like advertisement, personal
selling and public relations.
Place: It is related with the place through which the organisation can distribute their products
and services to the consumers. Such places in which Apple can distribute their goods are Apple
store location, different telecommunication companies or websites owned by the company.
Apple is using both direct and indirect channel of distribution to make their products available in
the market and firm is utilise both the channels of distribution in effective and efficient manner.
2. Role of marketing in creating value for the customers:
Marketing concept and practice of the societal marketing: Societal marketing means
to find out the needs, wants and the interest of the target market and provide the best desired
satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than the competitors. The direct benefits of the
marketing is promoting the product in the market. It includes the social welfare, company profits
and the individual welfare (Visser, Sikkenga and Berry, 2018). This means that it is a marketing
strategy for the public.

Branding: Branding is a marketing strategy of shaping the product so that it could be recognized
easily. The brand is the name, logo, symbol, term or any design with which the company is
famous. Endowing the product with the brand is called branding. The brand is helping in the
satisfaction of the consumers and it is the only reason why the consumers chose the company
product over the competitors’ products. Branding influence the consumers to choose the
particular product. It also affects the employees, shareholders, and the other stakeholders of the
company. Brand distinguish the certain products from other similar products (Gunelius, 2017).
Advantage of branding
* Customers loyalty- the main advantage of the branding is the increase of the loyalty of
the consumers. When the brands are providing quality products to its customers, they are
becoming more loyal to that organisation. Brand also enhance the living standard and the
lifestyles of the consumers.
* Awareness: The brand creates the awareness about the product to the general public. It
can be concluded that the brand is the most convenient way to promote certain products (Davis,
2017). Apple has created that kind of reputation that only by mentioning the name of the
company is enough to promote it.
* Profit: The good brand could afford to charge more for premium products. For example,
Apple always sells its products at high price and the public buys those products. Another positive
fact about good branding reputation is that it helps the company to set the prices according to the
product and the customers’ needs and wants.
Branding strategy of Apple: Apple is a well-known brand which is famous with providing
quality products to the customers. Apple logo differentiate its products from the others. It uses
the strategy of emotional branding (Elshiewy, Guhl and Boztug, 2017). That is why the brand
value of Apple is 182.8 billion dollars which is more than any brand. Its brand looks different
and the public just want to buy it just because it is Apple, not because of its specifications and
the feature. In the current era where companies are launching low price products Apple focuses
on the quality and not do any compromise with it. Another thing with which Apple is not making
any compromise is the prices of the product which is another remark that makes Apple different
from its competitors.

Ansoff matrix strategies:
Market penetration: market penetration means that the company expanded its old market with
an old product and also it focuses on the increase in the sales of the product in the existing
market. This is the most secure type of the market strategy which helps the companies to earn
profit with the selling of products in the same market again and again. The expansion of the sells
is lower in these types of markets because there is already a company which has its costumers
who are using its products.
Market development: It means to develop new market with the existing products. This helps to
earn more profit for the organisation, because the company is launching already existing
products to the markets so that it will help them with the development of the market and earn
more profit. For Apple it will be a good opportunity to sell the products in those markets where
Apple has no customers (Penn, 2017). In this way they will increase the profit of the company.
Product development: It means that the company is planning to launch a new product in the old
market. This is the speciality of Apple. They are launching new and advance products on the
regular basis which will help them to increase the profit and the market share. Everyone is
waiting for the new launch of Apple products and when they do it people buy it (Connolly,
2015). It can be concluded that this will be the best strategy for Apple to gain more and more
profitability in the market and regular upgrade in the products that will help the company to stay
in the market for long time.
Diversification: It means that the company wants to launch its new products in the new market.
It might be a risk for the company because launching the new product may not be so successful
for the company and also this will incur huge cost to the company. (Elshiewy, Guhl and Boztug,
2017). But if Apple take care about the risk factors and properly maintain them than this will
give them more profits.
3. Stakeholders engagements and their impact on marketing:
Stakeholders:
Stakeholders are the individuals or groups who have interest on the firm and investing in
the organisation and in this way take over some share of the business (Gunelius, 2017). They

can be internal or external. They might be outside the organisation. Stakeholders can have
negative or positive influence on the projects of the company.
Internal and external stakeholders:
Internal stakeholders are taking interest from the company and comes through direct
relationship such as owner or employment while the external stakeholders are those who does
not directly work for the organisation, but their presence is affected in such way like the
investors and creditors. Example: employees and government.
Communication with stakeholders:
Apple can communicate with their stakeholders using many different methods such as
presenting weekly reports, interviewing the workforce on daily basis, getting feedbacks through
the complaint system and partnering with the management. To communicate with the external
stakeholders, the company may use tools like press release messages, websites, letter from the
CEO of the company and through messages in the mass media (McLean, G., 2018). It will have a
positive impact on the overall performance of the organisation. It can lead to an increase of the
efficiency in the workplace and also provide satisfaction to the external investors of the business.

Online
The Marketing Process. 2015. [online] available through
<http://www.netmba.com/marketing/process/>