Marketing Plan in Apple
Yubo Yang Xi Chen
Sitong Lu Bosheng Hu
Mission & Vision Statement
★ Mission Statement:
○ To bring the best personal computing products and support to students,
educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over
140 countries around the world.
★ Vision Statement:
○ To make the best products on earth, and to leave the world better than we found
it.
Marketing Challenges
● Smartphones have become dull, and if Apple wants to reinvigorate the market, it needs
to make them exciting again. It feels that people are not buying them for the new
features, but more just to upgrade an older, tired iPhone.
● Apple has too many competitors, such as Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi. They are all
trying to catch up or even surpass Apple in different directions.
● Trade in Apple products could be negatively affected by a trade dispute between the
United States and Europe and China.
Strengths
Apple is the most valuable brand, and it is ranked NO.1 for the 8th consecutive year by
Interbrand – with a brand value of $322 billion.
Apple has its own globally iconic, and Apple is one of the most reliable companies when it
comes to personalized advanced computers and smart technology devices. It has millions of
loyal customers with steady increments.
Apple has been expanding its services portfolio for many years. Apple’s services include digital
content stores, streaming services, iCloud, AppleCare etc. In addition, Apple has introduced
many new services in 2019, such as Apple TV+ .
Apple's ability to provide high-quality products and stand at the top of the innovation ladder is
entirely due to its culture. Striving for innovation, change, and creativity as a whole and
imposing this way of thinking helped them discover brilliant ideas and develop a strong internal
brand culture.
Weakness
Strong competitor when entering new service (For example, Apple TV with its competitor
Netflix, Apple pay-Paypal )
High-priced product (Limitation for classes who have an ability to purchase it,only middle class
or above)
Allegation of tracking (Apple has trust issue of its customers when customers find themselves
been tracked by Apple’s apps)
Limited advertisements & promotions ( Less advertisements spending compare to its
competitor Samsung, excessively rely on its retail stores)
Opportunities
Invest more resources into the development team to create more competitive new consumer
electronics and service.
Apple has the leading advantage in global consumer technology, and it could expand its global
market share through more marketing strategies and distribution networks.
Expand the category of electronic consumer products and associated services to provide
customers with more choices.
Threats
Market capture by competitors( a comparison of the market share between Android 74% and
IOS 24%)
counterfeit products
Potential market for phones and tablets might be in the fall. ( when one has already purchased
a phone or a tablet, he or she might not feel the need to buy that again when the older one is
fully functional already)
Lawsuits( Apple is actively dealing with hundreds of lawsuits. Consumers mainly open these in
regards to their phones being slowed down and the CPU rates being throttled)
Rising labor costs in various countries where the company maintains production facilities
Behavioral segmentation
The behavioral segmentation uses actual consumer behavior or product usage to make
distinctions among market segments. Through advertising, Apple Inc provides enough product
knowledge to the customers. In addition, the company has created a strong brand image by
using the brand image in order to innovate new products and ideas that attract more
customers. Apple Inc focuses on both heavy and light users, and it creates specific consumer
benefits to increase product usage among light users.
Demographic segmentation
The demographic segmentation of Apple is successful because it develops products in
kinds of ways, such as age, gender, occupation, and family life cycle. Most Apple products are
suitable for the majority of people, from 12 to 60 year-old people. Apple pays attention to the
feelings and user experiences of each generation, so they have designed different products for
each generation. In this way, the iphone with a high graphic resolution with high frame rate
screen is designed for younger people, and the digital iwatch with the capability to monitor
pulse rate would be preferred by the old.
As for the occupation, Apple also designs some innovative products for different kinds of
careers. Taking the Mac as an example, it was designed for convenience and technology.
College students prefer to use the Macbook to take notes in school because of its lightness,
and businessmen prefer it because there are a lot of useful and unique Apps in Mac, such as
Daylite and Billings.
Psychographic segmentation
Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. (lifestyle; imagination; liberty
regained; innovation; passion; hopes, dreams and aspirations;)
Geographic segmentation
Over the years, Apple has expanded the number of retail locations and its geographical
coverage, with 512 stores across 25 countries worldwide (Wikipedia, 2021). In addition, the
company's products can be obtained from online retail stores anywhere in the world. Recently,
the company chose to apply a vertical growth strategy. The strategy involves expanding the
retail stores owned and controlled by the company. Besides, the company also sells its products
through the Internet, websites, iTunes and other online stores through third parties. In this way,
the company can reach many customers and expand the market. Apple's main market is the
more developed regions due to its higher selling price. Apple has made inroads into developing
regions in recent years by launching lower-priced products and officially refurbished products.
Channel System
Apple's channel system is to distribute through the Apple Store and third parties. Apple stores
are usually located in the heart of major cities around the world, and these direct-sale stores
provide customers with the sale and service of electronic products. In general, direct selling
offers customers a better service and experience. Apple also sells its products through third-
party retailers, wholesalers and carriers, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, AT&T and Amazon. In
fact, third-party distribution accounts for the vast majority of Apple's revenue.
Logistics
In the launch week of Apple, Apple has to prepare millions of new iPhones in stock. To meet
this goal, first they invest a lot of money in ensuring the safety of parts of the iPhone that can
be shipped to the U.S for final assembly. Second, Apple has 200 trusted suppliers providing raw
materials that can fulfill Apple’s demand. Building such a strong relationship with suppliers
really assures the online delivery of its product. Third, Apple chooses to ship their product by
air over by sea, they are willing to afford a much higher cost of shipping, in order to acquire fast
product delivery. Usually, air shipping is 5 times more expensive than sea with only 5-6 days all
the way from China to the U.S. In contrast, it would be over 30 days if Apple chooses sea
shipping. Compared to its massive sales revenue, shipping cost is definitely bringing much
higher returns.
Customer Service
1. Communication methods
Full service support must consist of numerous methods of contact. Apple's website is
designed for easy navigation and to collect the needed information to address the issue
and Apple also gives the option to use multiple ways to contact a service
representative.
●Online chat
●Send email to the support team
●Have them call you for direct vocal support
Their support software allows for an automated call back and they also have enough
employees working to service the anticipated business volume.
Customer Service
2. Staff training
The culture that Apple created is the core of Apple's great customer service.
For example, employees are trained not to sell, but rather to help customers solve problems.
"Your job is to understand all of your customers' needs-some of which they may not even realize they
have," one training manual says. Moreover, employees receive no sales commissions and have
no sales targets. Apple gives its people clear guidelines on what to do, and how to do it, when it
comes to dealing with customers. For example, its "steps of service" are spelled out in the
acronym APPLE:
Approach customers with a personalized warm welcome
Probe politely to understand all the customer's needs
Present a solution for the customer to take home today
Listen for and resolve any issues or concerns
End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return
Customer Service
3. Warranty
Apple will swoop in and save the day with free telephone technical support, but only within the
first 90 days of product ownership. AppleCare+, however, extends the warranty and service,
and adds an insurance-like program to your Apple gear. Through AppleCare+, customers can
lock down three years of telephone support coverage and hardware service. For $99, they can
secure coverage for screen and external closure damages, and for $299, they can snag
coverage for other blows to your laptop.
Once customers have snagged AppleCare+ coverage for your device, they can find out how
much time is left on the plan with the Apple Warranty Check guide.
Distribution Strategy
Apple established a full ecosystem to connect all their products and services. Apple has 510
stores worldwide but also sells its products through third-party sellers and carrier providers.
Apple is able to generate huge amounts of sales through direct and indirect distribution
channels worldwide.
Apple’s direct distribution channel includes their physical stores and their online store. Apple
physical stores allow them to really control their brand image and customer perception of
them. Apple also sells directly through their website. Their website can be accessed from all
parts of the world and offer a huge range of languages.
However, even though Apple puts a lot of effort into their physical stores, a large part of their
sales and revenue comes from indirect distribution channels. In 2018, Apple reported that 29% of
their net sales came from direct channels and 71% came from indirect channels. Consumers can
buy Apple products from third-party sellers and carrier providers. This includes stores like
BestBuy, Walmart, and Target as they are easily accessible and might offer discounts. Apple
creates a good brand image through their physical stores and sells their product through third-
party companies.
Apple also uses a multichannel distribution system, which is a distribution system in which a
company establishes two or more marketing channels to reach one or more customer groups.
Multichannel distribution systems provide many advantages for companies facing large and
complex markets. Through each new channel, the company expanded its sales and market
coverage, and obtained the opportunity to customize products according to the specific needs of
different customers.
Promotion Plan
Every Black Friday for the last few years, Apple has joined the sales excitement of the season with
offers of its own. In the previous years, it moved to a new, now-traditional format by increasing
the length of the event from one day to four. And now, we decide to run the event for a week.
Apple’s special shopping event has worked in a very specific way: buy something and get a gift
card to spend in the store. If you are after cash discounts, you need to go elsewhere, but if you
think you are going to buy other Apple stuff, then Apple’s seven-day event is well worth a look.
We are going to focus on the gift-card love on products that are not the best-selling, latest ones.
So, you won’t find the iPhone 13 in the selected items, for instance. So we will have a promotion
plan on the gift cards worthed $50 if people bought the Iphone 12 or Iphone SE. In this way, not
only people could get promotion from gift cards, but also the way of selling inventory.
Apple’s upgrade program is another way of promotion. Consumers are eligible to upgrade to a
new iPhone once they have made 12 payments. Just trade in the current iPhone and start a
new plan. When consumers join the iPhone upgrade plan, AppleCare+ will be included in their
monthly payment. They can also choose to extend the insurance coverage to AppleCare+ theft
and loss services, but at an additional cost. Just choose the appropriate insurance coverage.
