Apple Inc is a multinational American company that
design and sells
computer software, consumer gadgets and personal
computers. It was
cofounded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald
Wayne. Apple Inc is
wellknown for being innovative as they kept on
producing new innovations
from the first Apple computer Macintosh to the more
recent iPhone and iPad
series.
Today Apple Inc. is very well known in the world
because of their advanced
technology in products such as iPods, iPhone,
Macbooks, Apple TV and
other professional software. All the high tech
products provide consumers
with a better living standard in many different
ways. Moreover, Apple Inc’s
dominant position in the global market has changed
the trend of consumer
usage of electronic appliances such as in virtual
communication. People will
never need to carry multiple devices where each one
only offers a handful of
functions. Furthermore, Apple also created a
substantial value in highly
competitive market and industry which help them to
achieve competitive
advantages in an industry with stiff competition.
In addition, it resolves the
other external factors that present difficulty
challenges to Apple Inc.
Therefore, now Apple Inc is known as a strong
company and the market
leader in industry. Now, let us discuss about the
current expansion strategy
that used by Apple that make the company has
greater success in
marketplace.
The first strategy that use by Apple Inc for their
current expansion strategy
is creating innovative idea that slightly different
from the competitors that
already exists in market and industry. In order to
make the company more
innovative, Steve Jobs focused innovation on
competitive pressure and value
proposition by stressing his management style on
customer center
innovation and customer experience. As CEO in
Apple, Steve Jobs carefully
evaluated competitive pressure and opportunity in
market place by
continuously pursuit customer experience
innovation. He also focused their
business and IT strategy on customer center
experience. It means that Apple
will be more focused on looking outwards, market
and business drivers
rather than at the products or services that
already exist. Steve Jobs
focused on this strategy because the customers can
help the company to
understand what customers need and scarcity of the
people so that he can
use the feedbacks as inspiration to deeply
investigate and then to create
more innovative, creative and highly advanced
technological product or
services that can fulfill the needs of the
customers. Therefore, Apple
products design is always attractive and elegant
compared to those existing
competitors. Apple products like iPods and iPhones
are good examples that
show the innovation of Apple Company by creating
digital lifestyle.
The second strategy applied by Apple is
differentiation. Apple is using
Macintosh as operating software whereas other
personal computer’s
producers are using Windows. The differentiation in
operating software gives
Apple a competitive advantage in the personal
computer industry. Macbook
users are satisfied with Macintosh performance
because it is very energy
saving where the processor will automatically
“close” those programs which
are not in use when it is in standby mode. On the
other hand, Windows
does not have such technology. Thus, Windows’ users
might have to charge
the laptop more often due to the battery
consumption is higher than
Macintosh.
In terms of design, Apple came out with an
ultra-thin Macbook Air which is
extremely thin compared to those existing laptops.
To those consumers who
prefer lighter and thinner laptops will definitely
be attracted to the Macbook
Air. Apple does not produce laptops in various
colors like Dell or Hewlett
Packard to increase the choices for consumers.
However, to those
consumers who are concerned about technology and
high performance,
Apple is still the preferable choice.
In terms of applications and software, Appstore
provides a platform for
customers to download software and applications
according to categories. It
is easy to search for any application or software
by using Appstore. iTunes
allow consumers to categorize and download songs
easily. By using iTunes,
consumers can choose their preferable album cover
for their songs. They
can also “synchronize” and update the songs in
their iPhone with a laptop.
Besides that, iTunes also allow consumers to
transfer photos from iPhones
to PCs.
As for pricing, Apple is using skimming pricing
strategy where they set high
selling price for their products. However, there
are still a lot of loyal
customers who prefer to spend more money on Apple
products. This is due
to the self-esteem where consumers feel good by
carrying Apple products
because it somehow shows their status as being
up-to-date and their taste
is better than others. Some customers think that
Apple products are not
cheap but also not high-priced products because the
value of Apple
products bring to them is never disappointing.
Other than that, Apple is using specialization
strategy where they
customized customer’s laptop according to their
requirements. Customers
are required to add in features into the laptop
which can serve them better.
Beside this, Apple also emphasizes customizability
on the part of
entertainment that offer computer-build for high
performance such as
gaming. Gaming plays important roles to help Apple
to customize in features
and specification to make the products more
attractiveness and creativity.
made? What choices must be faced?)?
1. What is the summary of Apple case study?
2. How does strategy match the macro environment?
3. How does strategy match the industry
environment?
4. What is the company’s major problem (e.g., what
decisions must
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