Elements of a Marketing Plan
Apple Inc. is an American multinational that specializes in designing, making, and selling of consumer electronics, consumer software, and online services (West and Mace, 2010). The company’s primary line of products includes the MacBook, the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. Besides, the company designs software such as OS X and the IOS that runs on its laptops and iPhones respectively. Moreover, the company offers online services such as Apps Store and iTunes. However, of the numerous products, the iPhone has been the most successful product. Since the company launched the first iPhone in 2007, the iPhone has made the company rise from near oblivion to become the most valuable company on earth by
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First, politics in Apple’s major markets and its basis of operation will affect the company’s marketing activity. According to Price and Gilmore (2013), not only do more than half of iPhone sales come from outside America, but also, the company manufactures some its parts from countries such as China, Czech Republic, and Korea. As such, any bad political relations between the US and other countries are likely to affect Apple’s marketing operations and offering of its products in such markets. Secondly, economic factors such as inflation, recession, and dollar fluctuation will make Apple reevaluate its marketing process (King, 2011). Since most people perceive the iPhone as a luxurious gadget, inflation, recession, and dollar fluctuation may lead to reduced sales. Besides, social factors such as increased purchasing power in markets such as China, Africa, and the Middle East imply Apple will expand their marketing operations to such markets (King, 2011). Moreover, rapid change in technology means that Apple has to invest much in research and development to upgrade their products hence outdoing compensation. Lastly, legal factors such as the numerous lawsuits Apple had with Nokia, HTC, and Samsung may hamper Apple’s investment in upgrading the iPhone (King, …show more content…
For instance, Geek Squad understanding of its competition enabled the company to come up with new services such as in-home installation. Besides, the company’s understanding that women are increasingly interested in personal computing enabled the company to offer personalized services. Lastly, I would recommend Geek Squad to develop a differentiation strategy that would help the company stand out amidst completion from Easy Tech and Tech Depot services. Besides, the company should invest in research and development to remain abreast of changes in technology to ensure the company’s services remain relevant in the