Apple Inc is a multinational American company that design and sells computer software, consumer gadgets and personal computers. It was co-founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Apple Inc is well-known 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.
In a nutshell, the key to Apple’s success is down to creating a unique product with the ability for it to be customized to suit each individual’s needs.