Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive

As we all know Apple Inc. is a Multinational Corporation known for its production of consumer electronics like the IPhone, Ipad, MacBook, etc. Also the company is well known for the production of the Mac X OS and IOS software. This company has been very successful and continues to thrive in a very competitive market, how do they do it? The main reason for their success their strategic planning, I will be discussing the strategic planning process of Apple Inc. and how this planning has made this company what it is today.

Strategic planning is the managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization’s objectives and resources and the evolving market opportunities. Part of Apple's strategic planning is the company's goals and objectives. The company's Goals are to provide the best and upgraded products, maintain investor support, ensure that the company has a long-run profitability, and production and service.

The company's objectives are to expand the sales of products to whom it is not introduced yet, produce products that are full of enjoyment and service, become the best company in the mobile device category, and to expand the production rate and have high demand of products.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

One of the reasons why Apple is so successful is because of the competitive advantage the company creates for it self. For example Vertical integration has given Apple a competitive advantage, as it owns chip manufacturers, controls manufacturing, follows extremely strict software standards, and operates in a nearly closed ecosystem of proprietary retail stores. With these advantages, the company has more control of its value chain and, more importantly, its component costs. This is the reason why Apple profits so much on its signature IPhone and all of its products. also a big part of the iphone 6 sucess and most of apple products is the look and the design of the product.

SWOT ANALYSIS

According to the 2013 Apple SWOT analysis is as follows.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Customer loyalty combined with expanding closed ecosystem Apple is a leading innovator in mobile device technology Strong financial performance ($10,000,000,000 cash, gross profit margin 43.9% and no debt) Brand reputation Retail stores Strong marketing and advertising teams		High price Incompatibility with different OS Decreasing market share Patent infringements Further changes in management Defects of new products Long-term gross margin decline

Opportunities	Threats
High demand of iPad mini and iPhone 5 iTV launch Emergence of the new provider of application processors Growth of tablet and smartphone markets Obtaining patents through acquisitions Damages from patent infringements Strong growth of mobile advertising market Increasing demand for cloud based services		Rapid technological change 2013 tax increases Rising pay levels for Foxconn workers Breached IP rights Price pressure from Samsung over key components Strong dollar Android OS growth Competitors moves in online music market

TARGET MARKET STRATEGY

  

A big part of Apple's strategic planning is selecting a target market. The company's main target market are teenagers and young adults due to their high use of social media, the internet, and the rapidly improving smart phone camera. These are the reasons why the company's IPhone product has made so many sales. The company also targets college students due the fact that they use apple devices like the IPhone to do their School work and read online. Another important target of Apple are Business individuals who use Apple products like the IPhone and Ipad to keep track of products, financial information, and control the daily operations of their company or business.

MARKETING MIX (FOUR P'S)

 

 

The Most important part of Strategic planning is implement the Four P'S of the marketing mix. As on chapter 2 of the MKTG book the FOUR P'S are Place(distribution) strategy, Product Strategy, Promotion Strategy, and Pricing Strategy.

PRODUCT STRATEGY- Apple's IPhone is packaged in white box outlined with the word IPhone and the number of the model associated with it, the product is flexible, easy to carry, and well packaged.


PLACE (DISTRIBUTION) STATEGY- Apple distributes its products in a variety of ways making them immediately available to consumers. For example on IPhone releases the product is available online, in Apple stores which are located at convenient locations, and at retailers that carry the product like T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon.

PROMOTION STRATEGY- The first promotional strategy for Apple is through advertisements. The company also promotes the product through bill boards, online ads, and on stickers on subway cars and buses.

PRICING STRATEGY- The prices of Apple's products are very high compared to other manufacturers. But regardless of the price the quality is what matters to Apple's customers and due to the high quality of the company's products consumers are willing to pay the price.

There is no denying that Apple is on the most successful companies in the world, but the reason for that success is Strategic Planning.