Madonna University

Subject : Business Policy

Assignment : Case Study
Submission of individual part
Submitted by : Saima Akram
Madonna ID : 228902
Submitted to : Prof. Stuart Arends
Class : BSc. Accounting & Finance
Submission Date : 27th October 2014

Steve Jobs

Apple Inc.

INTRODUCTION

APLLE Inc.

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that

designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services, and
personal computers. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod
media player, the iPhone Smartphone, and the iPad tablet computer. Its online services include
iCloud, iTunes Store, and App Store. Apple's consumer software includes the OS X and iOS
operating systems, the iTunes media browser, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork
creativity and productivity suites.
Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976, to develop
and sell personal computers. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977, and
was renamed as Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007, to reflect its shifted focus towards consumer
electronics.
Apple is the world's second-largest information technology company by revenue after Samsung
Electronics, and the world's second-largest mobile phone maker after Samsung. Fortune
magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world
from 2008 to 2012. On September 30, 2013, Apple surpassed Coca-Cola to become the world's
most valuable brand in the Omnicom Group's "Best Global Brands" report. However, the
company has received criticism for its contractors' labor practices, as well as for its own
environmental and business practices.
As of June 2014, Apple maintains 425 retail stores in fourteen countries, as well as the online
Apple Store and iTunes Store, the latter of which is the world's largest music retailer. Apple is the
largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, with an estimated
market capitalization of $446 billion by January 2014

SWOT ANALYSIS

APLLE Inc.

SWOT MATRIX
STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

High Price Proprietary System.

Niche Market, Less Penetration.

Cannibalization.

OPPORTUNITIES.

THREATS

Fast Growing Industry(Customer

Electronics Industry).
Technological Innovations.
Extend new products to loyal
customers.
High Potential music phone market.
Strategic Alliances.

APPLE Inc.

Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of Competitors.
Technical Advancements.
Economy downfall.

STRENGTHS
Branding.

(There is a distinct difference between companies, products and services

which customers might be aware off, and real brands with strong brand
equity. Therefore, strong brands are more than trademarks and trade
names (logos that identifies the products and services).
It is important to get the branding terminology right. Branding is a widely
misused and misunderstood term which is almost clustered onto
everything related just to strategy, marketing and communication.

Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

APPLE Inc.

Confused!.....Watch ahead....

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

Find ME

APPLE Inc.

STRENGTHS
Branding.
Innovation.

(Innovation is the creation of better or more effective

products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are
accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation
differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a
new idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly
to the creation of the idea or method itself).

Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

STRENGTHS
Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.

(A companys product is a differentiated product if it

is uniquely different than those of competitors. If
the product is different, the producer can make the
case that it is better. If it is a better product, the
company can charge a higher price for it).

Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE iPhone 6 Vs SAMSUNG Galaxy S5

APPLE Inc.

APPLE iPhone 6plus

Vs SAMSUNG Galaxy Note 4

APPLE Inc.

STRENGTHS
Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
(WE commit to deliver Superior Quality. This
means continuously improving the quality of our
products and services. Thus, the superior quality
of our products comprises the reliable level of
specified parameters as well as absence of
unwanted substances).

Retail Strategy.

APPLE Inc.

iPhone camera improvement

APPLE Inc.

iPhone quality product improvement

APPLE Inc.

STRENGTHS
Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.
(For a company that sells consumer products, retail strategy is
their plan for getting their products in the right stores and
reaching consumers at those stores. it may involve a number
of things like promotions, product placement, incentives
given to retailers, in-store signage and lots of other things.
the objective is reaching the consumer and influencing them
to buy your product).

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

High Price Proprietary System.

Niche Market, Less Penetration.

Cannibalization.

OPPORTUNITIES.

THREATS

Fast Growing Industry(Customer

Electronics Industry).
Technological Innovations.
Extend new products to loyal
customers.
High Potential music phone market.
Strategic Alliances.

APPLE Inc.

Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of Competitors.
Technical Advancements.
Economy downfall.

WEAKNESSES
High Price Proprietary
System.

(proprietary describes a technology or product

that is owned exclusively by a single company
that carefully guards knowledge about the
technology or the product's inner workings.
Some proprietary products can only function
properly if at all when used with other products
owned by the same company.)

Niche Market, Less

Penetration.
Cannibalization.
APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

WEAKNESSES
High Price Proprietary
System.
Niche Market, Less
Penetration.

(Niche Marketing basically means someone (your or a

business) is attempting to sell a product to a specific group of
people. A niche market definition: It is a subset of global
market and is focused on particular service or product.
Penetration means, the act or process of entering, piercing).

Cannibalization.

APPLE Inc.

The settled, rich & high class

APPLE Inc.

WEAKNESSES
High Price Proprietary
System.
Niche Market, Less
Penetration.
Cannibalization.

(In marketing, cannibalization refers to a reduction in the

sales volume, sales revenue, or market share of one product
as a result of the introduction of a new product by the same
producer).

APPLE Inc.

CANNIBALIZATION!!

APPLE Inc.

WEAKNESSES
High Price Proprietary
System.
Niche Market, Less
Penetration.
Cannibalization.

(In marketing, cannibalization refers to a reduction in the

sales volume, sales revenue, or market share of one product
as a result of the introduction of a new product by the same
producer).

APPLE Inc.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

High Price Proprietary System.

Niche Market, Less Penetration.

Cannibalization.

OPPORTUNITIES.

THREATS

Fast Growing Industry(Customer

Electronics Industry).
Technological Innovations.
Extend new products to loyal
customers.
High Potential music phone market.
Strategic Alliances.

APPLE Inc.

Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of Competitors.
Technical Advancements.
Economy downfall.

OPPORTUNITIES.
Fast Growing
Industry(Customer
Electronics Industry).
Technological
Innovations.
Extend new products to
loyal customers.
High Potential music
phone market.
Strategic Alliances.
APPLE Inc.

OPPORTUNITIES.
Fast Growing
Industry(Customer
Electronics Industry).
Technological
Innovations.

(Technology innovation is the process through which

new (or improved) technologies are developed and
brought into widespread use).

Extend new products to

loyal customers.
High Potential music
phone market.
Strategic Alliances.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

OPPORTUNITIES.
Fast Growing
Industry(Customer
Electronics Industry).
Technological
Innovations.
Extend new products to
loyal customers.

(Loyalty Business Model- A typical example of this

type of model is: quality of product or service leads
to customer satisfaction, which leads to customer
loyalty, which leads to profitability).

High Potential music

phone market.
Strategic Alliances.
APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

OPPORTUNITIES.
Fast Growing
Industry(Customer
Electronics Industry).
Technological
Innovations.
Extend new products to
loyal customers.
High Potential music
phone market.
Strategic Alliances.
APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

September 2007
At this historic milestone, we want to thank music lovers everywhere for making iPod such an
incredible success, said Steve Jobs. iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle
their passion for music, and were thrilled to be a part of that.
Celebrities also lined up to sing the praises of their favorite gadget,
Its hard to remember what I did before the iPod, said Mary J. Blige, GRAMMY Award-winning singer.
iPod is more than just a music player, its an extension of your personality and a great way to take your
favorite music with you everywhere you go.
Without the iPod, the digital music age would have been defined by files and folders instead of songs
and albums, said John Mayer, GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. Though the
medium of music has changed, the iPod experience has kept the spirit of what it means to be a music
lover alive.
"I take my running shoes and my iPod with me everywhere, said Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de
France champion. I listen to music when I run. Having my music with me is really motivating.
APPLE Inc.

OPPORTUNITIES.
Fast Growing
Industry(Customer
Electronics Industry).
Technological
Innovations.
Extend new products to
loyal customers.
High Potential music
phone market.
Strategic Alliances.
(A Strategic Alliance is a relationship between two
or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon
goals or to meet a critical business need while
remaining independent organizations).

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

High Price Proprietary System.

Niche Market, Less Penetration.

Cannibalization.

OPPORTUNITIES.

THREATS

Fast Growing Industry(Customer

Electronics Industry).
Technological Innovations.
Extend new products to loyal
customers.
High Potential music phone market.
Strategic Alliances.

APPLE Inc.

Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of Competitors.
Technical Advancements.
Economy downfall.

THREATS
Extensive Competition.

(Extensive Meaning(a.) Capable of being extended. (a.)

Having wide extent; expanded; large, etc)

Substitute Products.
Low prices of
Competitors.
Technical
Advancements.
Economy downfall.

APPLE Inc.

THREATS
Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.

(Definition: Different goods that, at least partly, satisfy

the same needs of the consumers and, therefore, can be
used to replace one another).

Low prices of
Competitors.
Technical
Advancements.
Economy downfall.

APPLE Inc.

THREATS
Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of
Competitors.

(The lesser the competitors (product) price, the more would

be the chances of the customer to switch to their product).

Technical
Advancements.
Economy downfall.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

THREATS
Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of
Competitors.
Technical
Advancements.
Economy downfall.

APPLE Inc.

THREATS
Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of
Competitors.
Technical Advancements.
Economy downfall.
(There is no precise definition of an economic collapse.
The term has been used to describe a broad range of
bad economic conditions from a severe, prolonged
depression with high bankruptcy rates and high
unemployment, such as the Great Depression, to a
breakdown in normal commerce caused by
hyperinflation (such as in Weimar Germany), or even an
economically caused sharp increase in the death rate
and perhaps even a decline in population).

APPLE Inc.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Branding.
Innovation.
Differentiated Product.
Superior Quality.
Retail Strategy.

High Price Proprietary System.

Niche Market, Less Penetration.

Cannibalization.

OPPORTUNITIES.

THREATS

Fast Growing Industry(Customer

Electronics Industry).
Technological Innovations.
Extend new products to loyal
customers.
High Potential music phone market.
Strategic Alliances.

APPLE Inc.

Extensive Competition.
Substitute Products.
Low prices of Competitors.
Technical Advancements.
Economy downfall.

BCG MATRIX
Apple Inc.

APPLE Inc.

BCG Matrix Apple Inc

Larger organizations often find it hard to decide in which proportion, they should allocate resources among
different small business units. There are often smaller segments, products and business lines which combine
together to form a larger business unit. The business portfolio will perform best if the organization will stress
on its strengths and avoid its weaknesses and exploit the striking opportunities that will bring maximum
benefit for the organization both financially and in the form of increased market share.
For this purpose, an organization must take following in to account.
First of all, critically analyze its present position, relevant market share and also take in to consideration the
stage of the product life cycle our products are in.
Adopt new development strategies for adding new product lines, divesting any of the current ones on the basis
of poor performance or loss of market share or if the product is on declining stage of product life cycle.
There are several methods which could be used for portfolio planning but BCG Consulting Group or BCG matrix
is the one which is being used most often. For this purpose an organization first of all has to categorize its
Strategic Business Units.
According to BCG matrix, the SBUs are divided in to four categories,
The Stars, The Cash Cows, the Question Marks & finally The Dogs.
APPLE Inc.

In our case, Apple is a very successful company and renowned worldwide for its
product innovation and heavy investment in its research and development
department due to which apple is a pioneer and market leader in its field.
The list of top 30 successful Apple products is as under,Macintosh 128k, iMac , iPod
,Apple II ,iTunes Music Store, Mac OS X ,LaserWriter, Titanium PowerBook
G4,QuickTime ,iMac Core Duo ,iLife ,iBook , AirPort ,Mac mini ,Final Cut Pro, Power
Mac G5,AppleScript ,The Apple decal, Fifth-generation iPod ,MacWriteand
MacPaint,iTunes ,System 7,PowerBook 100 series ,HyperCard ,Mac II ,Power Mac
G4Cube ,XServe RAID ,Newton ,First-generation Power Macs ,20th Anniversary Mac.
So it will be quite hard to apply BCG matrix on apple due to such large number of
successful products. It has a very strong portfolio of highly successful products and
business lines which are at different stages of their respective product life cycle.

APPLE Inc.

APPLE Inc.

Stars
iPad - In January 2010, Apple revealed the iPad in a further extension of the digital
hub strategy. The iPad is a computer with no physical keyboard but a touch screen
device offering internet connectivity with Wi-Fi and on the move 3G capability.
Basically the iPad looks like a bigger iPhone, an iPhone with just a bigger display.
Apple is proposing the iPad as a mobile device to read e-books, browse the web,
write and receive emails, view movies and photos on a screen.
I have categorized iPhone and iPod also in Star category which means they both need
further investment in product development and there are greater opportunities
available in the market for growth. Latest figures reveal that the growth rate for iPods
is currently 28% and for those of iPhones its 48%.Apple enjoys 60% more market
share in iPod than its closest rival Scandisk in the market. In iPhones, Apple is not the
market leader but has 28% market share where manufacturer of Blackberry RIM has
41% market share. So, Apple is a challenger for RIM with significant proportion of
relative market share. Both iPhone, iPad and iPods are very critical for Apples success
in the long term. Organizations need Stars which will eventually later become Cash
Cows and will be critical for future cash flow generations for the organization.
APPLE Inc.

Cash Cow
I have placed Apples iTunes digital downloading software as a cash cow. Apple
clearly is a market leader in this market segment with 82% market share, its
closest rival is Napster with only 3% relative market share. The huge
difference of 79% shows that Apple has out played all its counterparts in this
market segment. Growth rate for iTunes is 7.6% which indicates that it is a
stable and mature product and it does not needs further heavy investments
for product development by Apple Inc. This stream of cash flow is essential
for providing cash for Question mark products.

APPLE Inc.

Question Mark
I have placed Mac Os Xs and Mac Software in Question mark category, there
is a possibility to capture further market share if provided with funds for
product development and innovation, otherwise they will fall back in to Dog
category. Apple has a comparatively lower market share in both market
segments and there are further opportunities available as the growth rate is
quite high. Apple enjoys 31.7% market share for Mac Os X and 0.09% relative
market share while for Mac Software the growth rate is 32% and relative
market share is0.01%.These lower percentages may suggest that Apple should
pay attention on development of its other products and should divest from
Computer market completely. But market synergies exist between Apples
computer business and its other product lines, so divesting from computers
might affect adversely for its other products. So any decision of such kind
should be made after careful thinking and keeping these factors in mind.

APPLE Inc.

Dogs
Apples Macs could be considered under dog category as Apple is not a market
leader in this market segment and does not enjoy majority percentage of
relevant market share and there are few chances of capturing further market
share even if further investment in product development is done.

APPLE Inc.

SUMMARY

APPLE Inc.

Apple Inc + Steve Jobs

=
Brand + (Creation,
Innovation & Marketing)

APPLE Inc.

CONCLUSION

APPLE Inc.

Apple's profitable products are putting them

ahead of all the competition.

APLLE Inc.

The truest characters of ignorance are ?

APPLE Inc.

vanity, and pride and arrogance.

APPLE Inc.

Regardless of your level of

competence you can always learn
from others. That's what truly makes
this profession so great.

APLLE Inc.

7 Key Strategies That You Must

Learn From Apples Marketing
Coming off the heels of yet another successful Apple launch debut, its increasingly
clear that Apple is on top of their game in a way like no other. Which other company
could turn an ordinary press conference into a live global event?
The secret lies beyond their product line and design standards; it lies beyond even
Steve Jobs emphatic adherence to Apples core philosophy, which is that the user
doesnt always know what they want.
Looking at the companys latest product lines and revenue models, Id be a fool to call
them anything less than what they are, which is:
A design firm
A media platform
A publishing company
A software powerhouse
A computer builder
A movement
Break down each of these bullets individually and youll find a company at the top of
their respective industry, but combine them into a single entity and youve got the
recipe for building one of the most influential businesses of all time.
APPLE Inc.

So how did they do it?

Rather than tell you how I think they did it, I thought instead Id turn to their
fans on Twitter, who helped me uncover 7 of the greatest marketing lessons
that Apple brings to the table.

APPLE Inc.

1. Ignore Your Critics

As an entrepreneur, youll hear a lot of people tell you that you need to reach
out and figure out what people want, which means listening to your critics,
often times more patiently than youd like.
Apple decides to flip the script and instead focus on building what they want
to build, no matter the perceived cost. When Steve Jobs debuted the iPad,
the critics stood in line, throwing every insult they could muster. The critics
said that the iPad would fail. The numbers say otherwise.
Each and every time Apple decided to innovate, they were laughed at. They
prevailed anyway.
Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.
- Albert Einstein

APPLE Inc.

2. Turn the Ordinary into

Something Beautiful
For quite some time, PC fans enjoyed the work of buying their own parts and
building their own tower systems. At the same time, PC makers were building
standard hardware for standard applications.
Apple would have none of that.
Theyve been pioneering not only the features of standard operating systems
and computer systems, but simultaneously reinventing the design standards
as well. As a result, we have the gorgeous iMac, the beautiful new Macbook
Air, and who could forget, the amazing iPhone 4.
Where others focus on one aspect of the equation, Apple focuses on the
entire product, and it shows.

APPLE Inc.

3. Justify Your Price

Were in a time when pricing strategies are all over the place. People dont know what
to charge, and in many cases, prefer to race to the bottom instead of pricing
strategically to a market that can bear the cost.
Once more, Apple ignores the standard by not only pricing their technology more than
2x what their competitors charge, but doing so without blinking. How can they get
away with it?
Well, the answer is twofold:
1. They build beautiful products for an audience that loves them passionately.
2. They justify their price with features and benefits that cant be matched.
Since weve already hit point 1, lets work on #2.
No other computer can match the display of a 27 iMacit simply cant be done.
No other software can match what iTunes brings to the table.
No laptop is as thin as the Macbook Air.
No software is more intuitive, no product more valuable than the Apple product. Any
other smartphone looks like it was developed by rookies when compared to an iPhone
4. You simply cannot compare the two.
Critics will play on the fact that the core features are the same, and they might be, but
thats not the point. The point is that Apple is the Rolls Royce of the technology and
design world, and their customers will gladly pay a premium because of it.
APPLE Inc.

4. Communicate in the Language

of Your Audience
It makes no sense to talk about things like megabytes, gigahertz, and processing
power to customers that simply dont care about technical jargon.
Take a look at any Apple product page and youll find that though they do discuss
product specifications and technical information, its hidden behind the benefits that
their audience is truly after.
Instead of display resolution, youll see phrases like edge to edge glass, retina
display, and LED backlighting.
Sure, the jargon is there for those that need it, but its presented in a way that makes
you want to learn about megapixels, rather than shy away from them. The art is in the
copy, not in the features.

APPLE Inc.

5. Extend the Experience

Have you ever heard of an unboxing? I hadnt either until recently, when I learned that
not only was I not the only one keeping Apple packaging post-sale, but that there are
legions of people that record the actual process of unwrapping their newly purchased
Apple products.
Do a search on YouTube and youll find hundreds of Apple unboxings, each from
different users from across the globe. Its pretty crazy right?
No one tells these people to video their experience, but they do it because the
process is so Zen that you cant help not to.
Apple does this by making sure that the experience doesnt end at the cash register.
They take great care in designing a user experience from browsing to unwrapping,
which relies on incredible packaging and installation procedures.
By reducing installation to the lowest common denominator, they make buying new
products a snap, and by spending as much time on designing packaging as they do on
the products themselves, theyve ensured that the box matches whats inside.
As a result, theyve built an experience that is nearly impossible to match.

APPLE Inc.

6. Build a Tribe
Its no secret that Apple has built one of the most hardcore fan bases of any product
and of any time. Theres a reason theyre called fanboys.
But who cares, right? Most of the chatter is out of jealousy more than anything, but
Apple doesnt really care. They know that they serve an elite audience, and rather
than back away from that fact, they embrace it.

APPLE Inc.

7. Become The Name

You dont buy tissues, you buy Kleenex.
You dont buy MP3 players, you buy an iPod.
You dont buy a smartphone, you buy an iPhone.
Have you noticed what theyre doing here? Apple isnt content with being a leader in sales alone,
they want to own the market itself, which explains why theyve engineered iTunes as the major
music provider that it is, and why the iPad, having the luxury of being the first, has now set the
trend for future tablet devices.
From here on out, everything will be compared to the iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iTunes. Sadly, this
sort of thing is tough to duplicate, but its not impossible. You need to have one of two things:
1. A clear head start in terms of being first to market.
2. A USP that differentiates your product in a way that makes people wish it were first.
The iPhone wasnt the first phone, but they engineered it to be so unique that you couldnt help
but think it was. The iMac isnt the first all in one, but it became the only one that mattered.
Its not so much the marketing angle that matters as it is the way that people identify with that
angle. Take a look at any Steve Jobs product release and youll watch as he tells you why every
other product in the market pales in comparison to what hes created.
You know what? We believe him.

APPLE Inc.

The Acknowledgement
With profound sense of gratitude and regard, I convey my sincere thanks to
my guide Mrs. Rajani Advertising faculty, for her valuable guidance and the
confidence she instilled in me, that helped me in successful completion of
this presentation.
This acknowledgement would not be complete without thanking all of you
being good, who inspired me to work hard in order to present my Company
in a best way.
My deep sense of gratitude to all of you once again for being supportive and
patient during my presentation.
Thank you!!

APPLE Inc.