iPhone Maintain its Initial Momentum Case Study

Question: Discuss about the iPhone Maintain its Initial Momentum. Answer: Introduction: Apple Incorporation is one of the most observable companies in the world and has a very good brand value which is recognize by consumers and appreciated worldwide. The dominance of the brand Apple in Asia especially in India is huge. Except from being a computer manufacturing company Apple has made evolution in the Smartphone industry by introducing the most sophisticated and premium quality Smartphone known as iPhone which changed the face of Apple Incorporation. The man behind this innovation of iPhone is Steve Jobs. Not only in the field of Smartphones but also introducing sophisticated electronics goods like Apple iPod, Apple Mac Book and Apple Watch. The iPhone was launched in January, 2007 and from that period it has created a noise among several consumers. For this case study the researcher has selected India among others Asian countries to evaluate the questions and provide solutions accordingly. In a market place there are two types of environment which are not controllable but they affect various marketing strategies. The two environments consist of micro and macro environments. The micro environment is all the internal factors which include the suppliers, sellers, customers and the general public. And the macro environment consists of demographic forces, economic factors, and technological factors, social and cultural factors of any organization. Both this above mentioned environment are to be judged carefully before entering into a market as it provides detail information about the market scenarios. For evaluating the impact of micro and macro environment in Indian the researcher is going to describe it with a SWOT Analysis. Strengths: One of the most differential factors of Apple is their Brand Value and quality of products they provide to their customers. Not only Apple manufacturer good products but also promotes innovation. In Indian marketing place if a brand like Apple has to survive it has to promote consumer loyalty. As Indian customers are committed to their brands and have social and cultural behavior attached to them. The brand Apple has the ability to promise brand value to their customers by providing exceptional quality of products, high class technology and premium image (Rachet . 2014) Weakness: The weakness associated with the Brand Apple is that they charge a very high price for their products and there are lots of restrictions in the software of the iPhones which creates a great hazard for consumer to adapt the technology. And there are many companies those sale there product at a cheaper rate compared to Apple. So if Apple needs to succeed in India it has to lower its price (Tar . 2013) Opportunity: As the growing potential of Smartphones are getting larger. There is large market potential in India which Apple can utilize to capture and retain valuable customers. Due to constant technological advancement Apple has always been able to delivered sophisticated products and this encourages Indian customers to purchase iPhone more than any other brands (Rachet . 2014) Threat: The biggest threat associated with Apple is Android and Samsung. As iPhone runs on iOS software which is not so much user friendly and android software which is known as the best operating mobile software are getting consumer preferences more. Another important threat to Apple is the Brand Samsung which is very much in competition with them. The differentiation factor of Samsung that it has a varied number of products. While Apple only concentrates only with iPhone. To penetrate and explore the Indian market place Apple needs to make changes in their product line with much more number of Smartphones and a consumer friendly operating system (Tar . 2013) So with the help of the SWOT Analysis we can get a wider view of what are the factors Apple must concentrate on before launching iPhone in India and how Apple can solve those issues permanently. The Strengths and Weakness of Samsung and Apple are as follows: Samsung: It is one of the largest manufacturers of television sets and mobile phones. It is also one of the companies that is dominating the market share of 21.4% of Smartphones. It has a very intensive research team and exceptional design capabilities. With strong manufacturing units and spontaneous marketing abilities they are impressing lots of consumers (Cive. 2013) The weakness related to Samsung that it is not able to cope up with the marketing strategies implemented by Apple. Competition from several other brands like Xiaomis and Huaweis are penetrating the market (Cive. 2013). As Samsung devices are mostly equipped with Google Android operating system most consumer have a perception that Android is an inferior product in respect to Apple iOS operating software. Consumers also think that Samsung products are not so technologically advanced as compare to Apples. Another weakness of Samsung is that their marketing strategies are not classy as Apples. Apple: The Strengths of Apple are it is one of the most valuable brands across the world. With constant innovation of products and a positive brand image Apple is leading the Smartphone market globally. Apple always penetrates the market with market skimming pricing strategy with the help of which they receive high initial returns on their investments. Apple incorporation is always innovating so they are quite aware of the new technologies which provide them a competitive benefit over other brands. The weakness prevailing with Apple is that they have a very rigid distribution network which only enables them to select certified seller of its product. As the distribution of the product get limited the market reach of Apple decreases. Due to their high pricing strategies Apple products are not entertained by low end markets. And it is only consider for those consumers with a high level of purchasing power. As in India low end marketing customer are more than 70% of the market the sales growth of Apple tends to fall (Hill et al. 2014). Recommendation to Apple: If Samsung needs to dominate the Asian market then it is necessary for them in innovating their products and uniqueness of their smart phones. The main problem with Samsung mobile devices is that they are very slow and often needs a lot of charging. The battery life is also poor. Another crucial factor is that Samsung does not put lot of efforts when it comes to marketing and promotion. With high quality of advertisement and promotional awareness they can dominate the market. Samsung concentrates not only in mobile phones but with a huge numbers of products which deteriorate its image and brand value. So if they want to establish themselves as one the leading Smartphones Brand in Asia they must focus on mobile devices only (Sarwar et al. 2013). There are few strategies with the help of which Apple can surpass Samsung growth in Asian Market. The first step that Apple needs to follow is to expand their distribution network across Asian countries, by not only selecting authorized sellers but also including sellers from different domains. This can gradually increase the potential customers in global marketing scenario. The next step is to increase the demand of Smartphones and tablets among Asian countries. As Apple only promotes iPhone, and focus only on that product it will be beneficial for them if they increase the number of product lines and innovate more products they will be getting a competitive advantages over other companies. Another important factor by which Apple can succeed is by lowering it prices (Cusumano . 2013). This decreasing of prices can be done by charging less to the consumer and having low limits of profit from them. Innovating low cost product for Asian countries and maintaining same quality standards. Accomplishment of all the services related to product features should be available to the customers. For example basic apps, Apple News, Apple Pay and iBooks are not available in Asian countries. Absent of local languages in iPhones are also a barrier for apple in Asian countries. If Apple has to grow in Asia the above mentioned factors should be properly analyzed and evaluated accordingly to make Apple as dominant leader of Smartphones in Asia (Sarwar and Soomro 2013). Conclusion: The assessment deals with the impact and effects of different marketing environments on the strategies of Apple while launching its iPhone in India. Apple is one the most innovative companies in the world. And with their high skilled employees they can literally transform the evolution of Smartphones globally. As far India is considered it is one of the growing economies and if Apple uses its strategies right they can really become the market leader. While Samsung is dominating the market with new product lines and comparatively less prices than Apple it is necessary for Apple to adapt to these changes. Moreover Apple needs to focus on customer retention by providing them valuable after sale services and introducing more new features in their product. 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