Strategic Management Analysis of Apple's Marketing Plan and Metrics

This report provides a comprehensive strategic management analysis of Apple, focusing on its marketing plan and strategies. The analysis includes an examination of Apple's background, key changes in the external environment, a SWOT analysis, and an overview of major competitors like Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo. It also delves into the characteristics of Apple's buyers, the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion), key marketing metrics, and the objectives of the marketing plan. Furthermore, the report uses the Miles and Snow framework to analyze Apple's strategic approach, identifying it as a prospector strategy due to its innovative and sometimes risky product introductions like the iPhone. The report concludes by referencing various academic sources to support its findings and analysis.

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Executive Summary
The report is divided into two parts namely Phase 1 and Phase 2. The first phase is related to
the analysis of the internal environment of the organization and the current marketing mix.
The key marketing metrics and the objectives of the marketing plan is also discussed in this
phase. The background of the company, the marketing mix and the internal environment is
also analysed in the report.

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Table of Contents
Phase 1...........................................................................................................................2
Background information................................................................................................2
Key changes to be made in the external environment....................................................3
SWOT Analysis of the company................................................................................3
Overview of three major competitors........................................................................4
Characteristics of buyers............................................................................................4
Marketing mix of the product....................................................................................4
Key marketing metrics in the marketing mix.............................................................5
Key objectives of the marketing plan.........................................................................5
Using Miles and Snow framework to analyse the marketing plan.............................6
References......................................................................................................................6

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Phase 1
Background information
Apple is a multinational technology organization of American origin which has its
headquarters in Cupertino, California, which develops, designs and further sells computer
software, online services and consumer electronics. The organization was established by
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in the year 1976. The hardware products of
the organization include, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch. The software that are
offered by the company also include, macOS, iOS, iTunes, web browser and many more. The
product of the organization that is taken into consideration is Apple iPhone. This is the best
and most sought after product of the organization in the market (iPhone., 2018).
Key changes to be made in the external environment
The management and marketing related decisions of Apple are mainly affected by the
surroundings in which the organization operates. The major task of the organization is to
understand the understand the various factors that are related to the operations of Apple
which can affect it in a positive or negative manner. The macro environment of the
organizations need to face many changes which are needed to be considered by an
organization like Woolworths to operate in a profitable manner. The organization has to
therefore modify its marketing strategies according to the macro environment (Aghaei et al.,
2014).
SWOT Analysis of the company
Strengths – The major strengths of Apple are related to the innovative products that
are offered by the company. The leadership position of the organization in the market
enhances its ability to exploit the market potential with the help of its strong resources. The
application of resources is also affected by the external environment of the company. Apple

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can use its strengths related to the availability of huge amounts of capital to extend its line of
products to attract more consumers. The position that the company holds in the market can
also be exploited to further increase its revenues in the industry.
Weaknesses – The main weakness of Apple is related to matching the expectations of
the consumers. Incompatibility with third party software is another issue for Apple and its
growth in the industry. The growth of the company is dependent on few products which are a
part of the product line of Apple (Aras et al., 2017). The major weakness of Apple that is
related to its incompatibility with other software can be addressed by updating and improving
the iOS application. The increase of product line which can cater to all segments of the
market can also be favourable for the operations of Apple.
Opportunities – The advancement of the technology industry is a major opportunity
for Apple. The organization can take advantage of this advancement and introduce more
products in its product line. Apple is an organization which has the ability to grow in the
growing market. The products of Apple are aimed at the future and the company has a fixed
customer base as well. The opportunities that are provided to Apple by the growing
smartphone industry can be used to increase its revenues and awareness in the market. This
will help the company to increase its customer base in addition to the loyal premium
customers who are already a part of Apple .
Threats – The penetration in the market of smartphones is a major threat related to
the operations of Apple in the industry. The advent of Android and its increasing popularity
has further caused issues for Apple in the Smartphone market. The other products of the
organization like laptops are also facing similar competition (Blut, Teller & Floh, 2018). The
threat that has been posed to Apple from the various smartphone organizations and the
Android operating system can be addressed if Apple is able to update its iOS to make it

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compatible with other third party software. This will assist the company to provide tough
competition to the Android based phones.
Overview of three major competitors
The three major competitors of Apple iPhone in the industry are Samsung, Xiaomi
and Oppo. Xiaomi and Samsung have gained higher in the market in terms of revenue as
compared to Apple in the entire world.
Characteristics of buyers
The study of groups, individuals or the various organizations related to the purchase
of different products is termed as consumer behaviour analysis. The social class of the
consumer can affect his buying decisions and the psychology of the buyer is also based on the
ways by which they take their decisions of purchasing products. The situation in which the
buying related is being taken is also a major influencing factor for the consumers. The
consumers of Apple mainly belong to the upper class of the society who prefer premium
products (Efanny et al., 2018).
Marketing mix of the product
The marketing mix of Apple iPhone consists of the 4 Ps of marketing as discussed
below,
Products – Apple has been launching new products to add to the range of iPhones
every year. The most recent additions to this product line are iPhone 8 and iPhone X. The
unique features and apps that are provided by Apple are able to fight the competitors in the
market. The apps are innovative and provide high speed levels as well.
Price – The strategy of price skimming is used by Apple to provide high quality
products to the customers for high prices as well. The prices of iPhone are accepted readily

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by the loyal customers of the organization. The company makes high investment in the
research and development related activities (Fan, Lau & Zhao, 2015).
Place and Distribution – The place and distribution related strategy of Apple is also
unique in nature. The I-stores are completely owned by the organization and consist of highly
knowledgeable sales person. The company has independent stores in the various parts of the
world along with the stores that are placed in malls (Fathiyan et al., 2017).
Promotion – iPhone has been able to create a unique position in the industry with the
help of the high differentiation products that are offered by the company. The promotional
strategy of Apple is also quite different as compared to other smartphone companies. The
organization has always aimed to create different taglines for its different iPhone models.
iPhone therefore sets new standards with its unique value proposition in the market
(Hanssens et al., 2014).
Key marketing metrics in the marketing mix
The key marketing metrics of the marketing mix of Apple include, the uniqueness and
the high quality features of iPhones. The high prices of iPhones are able to attract a particular
set of premium customers who are loyal to the company. The distribution strategy and
location of stores in various parts of the world also affect the marketing mix. The promotional
strategies of iPhone are different from all the other smartphone organizations and have been
able to capture the attention of the customers easily (Hisrich & Ramadani, 2017).
Key objectives of the marketing plan
The major objectives of the marketing plan made by Apple are as follows,

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 Building anticipation and hype for the new products – The anticipation about
the new products have helped Apple to create a hype in the market and among
the customers to wish to purchase the products (Khan, 2014).
 Sustaining and expanding on the strong brand name that is created – The
organization has created a strong brand name and loyal customer base with the
help of its innovative products. This can further help the organization in
building upon this strength and sustain its operations (Kucuk, 2017).
Using Miles and Snow framework to analyse the marketing plan
The Miles and Snow framework suggests four different types of strategies for various
organizations which are, defender strategy, analyser strategy, prospector strategy and reactor
strategy. The Prospector strategy is used by Apple as it is evident from the discussion that the
organization has always taken risks by introducing its new and innovative products in the
market. Apple iPhone was one of the most innovative and risky product of the company
based on its high price tag, however, this product was able to provide highest dividend to the
company (Londhe, 2014).
References
Aghaei, M., Vahedi, E., Kahreh, M. S., & Pirooz, M. (2014). An examination of the
relationship between services marketing mix and brand equity dimensions. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 109, 865-869.
Aras, M., Syam, H., Jasruddin, J., Akib, H., & Haris, H. (2017, July). The Effect of Service
Marketing Mix on Consumer Decision Making. In International Conference on
Education, Science, Art and Technology (pp. 108-112).
Blut, M., Teller, C., & Floh, A. (2018). Testing Retail Marketing-Mix Effects on Patronage:
A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Retailing.

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Efanny, W., Haryanto, J., Kashif, M., & Widyanto, H. A. (2018). The relationship between
marketing mix and Retailer-Perceived Brand Equity. IMP Journal, (just-accepted),
00-00.
Fan, S., Lau, R. Y., & Zhao, J. L. (2015). Demystifying big data analytics for business
intelligence through the lens of marketing mix. Big Data Research, 2(1), 28-32.
Fathiyan, N., Jafari, M., Heydari, Z. H., & Samouei, R. (2017). Social marketing mix versus
induced demand. International Journal of Health System and Disaster
Management, 5(2), 36.
Hanssens, D. M., Pauwels, K. H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M., & Yildirim, G. (2014).
Consumer attitude metrics for guiding marketing mix decisions. Marketing
Science, 33(4), 534-550.
Hisrich, R. D., & Ramadani, V. (2017). Entrepreneurial Marketing Mix. In Effective
Entrepreneurial Management (pp. 75-99). Springer, Cham.
iPhone. (2018). Apple. Retrieved 9 April 2018, from https://www.apple.com/iphone/
Khan, M. T. (2014). The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual review
paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), 95.
Kucuk, S. U. (2017). Marketing and Marketing Mix. In Visualizing Marketing (pp. 3-7).
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Londhe, B. R. (2014). Marketing mix for next generation marketing. Procedia Economics
and Finance, 11, 335-340.

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