Executive Summary

The Company designs, manufactures and markets personal computers and related software, services, peripherals and networking solutions. Apple computers also designs, develops, and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services. The companys situation, marketing strategies and mix relate to the quality value of Apple products and services such as the Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, the iPod line of portable digital music players, the Xserve server and Xserve RAID storage products, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the Mac operating system, the iTunes Store, portfolio of peripherals that support and enhance the Macintosh and iPod product lines, and a variety of other service and support offerings and sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force and third party wholesalers, resellers and value-added resellers and sells products for the purpose of education, consumer, creative professional, business as well as government customers .

About Apple Inc.

Apple Inc., formerly Apple, Inc., is a multinational corporation that creates consumer electronics,

computer software, and commercial servers. Apple's core product lines are the iPad, iPhone,iPod music player, and Macintosh computer line-up. Founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak effectively created Apple Computer on April 1, 1976, with the release of the Apple I, and incorporated the company on January 3, 1977, in Cupertino, California. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL; formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics,computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWorksuite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products;Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; the Safari web browser; and iOS, a mobile operating system. As of July 2011, the company operates 357 retail stores in ten countries, and an online store where hardware and software products are sold. As of September 2011, Apple has recently been the largest publicly traded company in the world by market capitalization, and the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit. Established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977, the company was previously named Apple Computer, Inc., for its first 30 years, but removed the word "Computer" on January 9, 2007, to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers. As of September 2010, Apple had 46,600 full time employees and 2,800 temporary full time employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of $65.23 billion.19761980: The early years

Apple 1 - Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Wozniak and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)less than what is today considered a complete personal computer. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66 ($2,572 in 2011 dollars, adjusted for inflation.)

Apple 2 - The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977 at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because it came with character cell based color graphics and an open architecture. While early models used ordinary

cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface, the Disk II. The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of the business worldthe VisiCalc spreadsheet program. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II, and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple IIcompatibility with the office. According to Brian Bagnall, Apple exaggerated its sales figures and was a distant third place to Commodore and Tandy until VisiCalc came along.

Apple 3 - By the end of the 1970s, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The company introduced the ill-fated Apple III in May 1980 in an attempt to the compete business

with IBM and Microsoft in

and corporate computing market. Jobs and several Apple employees

including JefRaskin visited Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the Xerox Alto. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for the option to buy 100,000 shares (800,000 split-adjusted shares) of Apple at the pre-IPO price of $10 a share. Jobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a graphical user interface (GUI), and development of a GUI began for the Apple Lisa. When Apple went public, it generated more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956 and instantly created more millionaires (about 300) than any company in history.

First Macintosh 1984 Steve Jobs began working on the Apple Lisa in 1978 but in 1982 he was pushed from the Lisa team due to infighting, and took over JefRaskin's low-cost-computer project, the Macintosh. A turf war broke out between Lisa's "corporate shirts" and Jobs' "pirates" over which product would ship first and save Apple. Lisa won the race in 1983 and became the first personal computer sold to the public with a GUI, but was a commercial failure due to its high price tag and limited software titles.

In 1984, Apple next launched the Macintosh. Its debut was announced by the now famous $1.5 million television commercial "1984". It was directed by Ridley Scott, aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984, and is now considered a watershed event for Apple's success and a "masterpiece". The Macintosh initially sold well, but follow-up sales were not strong due to its high price and limited range of software titles. The machine's fortunes changed with the introduction of the LaserWriter, the first PostScript laser printerto be offered at a reasonable price, and PageMaker, an early desktop publishing package. The Mac was particularly powerful in this market due to its advanced graphics capabilities, which had necessarily been built in to create the intuitive Macintosh GUI. It has been suggested that the combination of these three products was responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing market. In 1985 a power struggle developed between Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired two years earlier. The Apple board of directors instructed Sculley to "contain" Jobs and limit his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products. Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from his leadership role at Apple. Sculley found out that Jobs had been attempting to organize a putsch and called a board meeting at which Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and removed Jobs from his managerial duties. Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year.

1986-1993: Rise and Fall

Having learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable in 1989, Apple introduced the PowerBook in 1991. The Macintosh Portable was designed to be just as powerful as a desktop Macintosh, but weighed 7.5 kilograms (17 lb) with a 12-hour battery life. The same year, Apple introducedSystem 7, a major upgrade to the operating system, which added color to the interface and introduced new networking capabilities. It remained the architectural basis for Mac OS until 2001.

Apple saw the Apple II series as too expensive to produce, while taking away sales from the low end Macintosh. In 1990, Apple released the Macintosh LC with a single expansion slot for the Apple IIe Card to migrate Apple II users to the Macintosh platform. Apple stopped selling the Apple IIe in 1993.

1994-1997: Attempts at Reinvention

In 1994, Apple allied with IBM and Motorola in the AIM alliance. The goal was to create a new computing platform (the PowerPC Reference Platform), which would use IBM and Motorola hardware coupled with Apple's software.In 1996, Michael Spindler was replaced by Gil Amelio as CEO. Gil Amelio made many changes at Apple, including extensive layoffs. After multiple failed attempts to improve Mac OS, first with the Taligent project, then later with Copland and Gershwin, Amelio chose to purchase NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple as an advisor.

19982005: Return to profitability

On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive, who would later design the iPod and theiPhone. The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design, and sold almost 800,000 units in its first five months. Through this period, Apple purchased several companies to create a portfolio of professional and consumer-oriented digital production software. In 1998, Apple announced the purchase of Macromedia'sFinal Cut software, signaling its expansion into the digital video editing market. The following year, Apple released two video editing products: iMovie for consumers and, for professionals, Final Cut Pro, which has gone on to be a significant video-editing program, with 800,000 registered users in early 2007. In 2002 Apple purchased Nothing Real for their advanced

digital compositing applicationShake, as well as Emagic for their music productivity application Logic, which led to the development the of their year consumercompleted

level GarageBand application. iPhoto's theiLife suite.

release

same

On May 19, 2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and California. Later on July 9 they bought Spruce Technologies, a DVD

authoring company. On October 23 of the same year, Apple announced the iPod portable digital audio player, and started selling it on November 10. The product was phenomenally successful over 100 million units were sold within six years. In 2003, Apple's iTunes Store was introduced, offering online music

downloads for $0.99 a song and integration with the iPod. The service quickly became the market leader in online music services, with over 5 billion downloads by June 19, 2008.

2011present: PostSteve Jobs Era

On January 17, 2011, Jobs announced in an internal Apple memo that he would take another medical leave of absence, for an indefinite period, to allow him to focus on his health. Chief operating officer Tim Cook took up Jobs' day-to-day operations at Apple, although Jobs would still remain "involved in major strategic decisions for the company." Apple became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world. In June 2011, Steve Jobs surprisingly took the stage and unveiled iCloud. iCloud is an online storage and syncing service for music, photos, files and software which replaced MobileMe, Apple's previous attempt at content syncing. This would be the last product launch Jobs would attend before his death. It has been argued that Apple has achieved such efficiency in its supply chain that the company operates as a monopsony (one buyer, many sellers), in that it can dictate terms to its suppliers. Briefly in July 2011, due to the debt-ceiling crisis, Apple's financial reserves were greater than those of the US Government. On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned his position as CEO of Apple. He was replaced Tim Cook and Jobs became Apple's chairman. Prior to this, Apple did not have a chairman and instead had two co-lead directors, Andrea Jung and Arthur D. by

Levinson, who continued with those titles. On October 4, 2011, Apple announced the iPhone 4S, which includes an improved camera with 1080p video recording, a dual core A5 chip capable of 7 times faster graphics than the A4, a voice recognition system named Siri, and cloud-sourced data with iCloud. It was released on October 14, 2011. On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that Jobs had died, marking the end of an era for Apple Inc. On October 29, 2011, Apple purchased C3 Technologies, a mapping company, for $240 million. C3 is the third mapping company Apple has purchased so far.

Product Strategies
Apple Company has designed a range of products and services to meet the needs of education customers. These products and services include the iMac and the MacBook, video creation and editing solutions, wireless networking, professional development solutions, and one-to-one learning solutions. The iPod remains a mostly closed and vertically-integrated platform. Although Apple provides

documented interfaces for hardware accessories, developers have no supported way to add features to the software and although the iPod supports the mainstream MP3 and AAC formats, the iPod does not support other proprietary formats like Windows Media and Real Audio, and Apple refuses to license

its FairPlay DRM to other online music vendors. Apple did add Windows PC support with their second generation iPod series. The service itself is a key component to marketing mix as the service should be the best advertisement as there is specialization on product valuation intended for international product marketing means and develop contacts with people who can be loyal buyers and recommenders. The taking of the products across national boundaries into fresh markets, explore channels, guide customers and establish better relationships. The service itself is a key to the markets. Product Length and Product Width

Portable Computers including Mac products such as Mac Book Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, Xserve

Servers including Xserve, Xsan, MacOS X Ser, MobleMe. Accessories including MagicMouse, Keyboard, Led Cinema Display. Wi-fi Based Stations - including Airport Express, Airport Extreme, Time Capsule. Developer including Developer Connection, Mac Program, iPhone Program. iPod including iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, ipod Classic. iPhone including iPhone3GS, iPhone3G, iPad. iTunes including movies, TV shows, audio books, games. Periphal products including Printers, Storage devices, digital videos and cameras.

Mac and Accessories

Mac mini, consumer sub-desktop computer and server introduced in 2005. iMac, consumer all-in-one desktop computer introduced in 1998. Mac Pro, workstation-class desktop computer introduced in 2006, replacing the Power Macintosh.

MacBook, consumer notebook introduced in 2006, replacing the iBook, now only being sold to educational institutions.

MacBook Pro, professional notebook introduced in 2006, replacing the PowerBook.

MacBook Air, ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook introduced in 2008.

Apple also sells a variety of computer accessories for Mac computers including the AirPort wireless networking products, Time Capsule, Thunderbolt Display, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Wireless Keyboard, and the Apple Battery Charger.

The MacBook was

a brand of Macintosh notebook

computers built

by Apple

Inc. First introduced in May 2006, it replaced the iBook and inch PowerBookseries notebooks as a part the AppleIntel of of 12-

transition.

Positioned as the low end of the MacBook family, the Apple MacBook was aimed at the consumer and education

markets. It was the best-selling Macintosh in history, and according to the sales-research organization NPD Group in October 2008, the mid-range model of the MacBook was the single best-selling laptop of any brand in U.S. retail stores for the preceding five months. There have been three separate designs of the MacBook: the original model used a combination of polycarbonate and fiberglass casing that was modeled after the iBook

G4. The second type, introduced in October 2008 alongside the 15-inch MacBook Pro, used a similar unibody aluminum casing to the 15-inch Pro, and was updated and rebranded as the 13-inch MacBook Pro at the 2009 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2009. A third design, introduced in October 2009, used a unibody polycarbonate shell as aluminium is now reserved for the higherend MacBook Pro. On July 20, 2011, the MacBook was quietly discontinued for consumer purchase in favor of the new MacBook Air. However, Apple continues to sell the MacBook to educational institutions.

iPAD The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEOSteve Jobs. Its size and weight fall between those of contemporary smartphones and laptop computers. The iPad runs the same operating system as the iPod Touch and iPhoneand can run its own applications as well as iPhone applications. Without modification, the iPad will only run programs approved by Apple and distributed via the Apple App Store (with the exception of programs that run inside the iPad's web browser.

Like iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad is controlled by a multitouch displaya departure from most previous tablet computers, which used a pressuretriggered stylusas well as a virtual onscreen keyboard in lieu of a physical keyboard. The iPad uses a Wi-Fi connection to access local area networksand the Internet. Some models also have a 3G wireless network interface which can connect to HSPA or EV-DO data networks and on to the Internet. The device is managed and synced by iTunes running on a personal computer via USB cable. Apple released the first iPad in April 2010, and sold 3 million of the devices in 80 days. During 2010, Apple sold 14.8 million iPadsworldwide,representing 75 percent of tablet PC sales at the end of 2010. By the release of the iPad 2 in March 2011, more than 15 million iPads had been sold selling more than all other tablet PCs combined since the iPad's release. In 2011, it is expected to take 83 percent of the tablet computing market share in the United States.

iPOD iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle. iPod Classic models store media on an internal hard drive, while all other models use flash memory to enable their smaller size (the discontinued Mini used aMicrodrive miniature hard drive). As with many other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic. The iPod line was announced by Apple on October 23, 2001, and released on November 10, 2001. All of the models have been redesigned multiple times since their introduction. redesigns The were most recent iPod on

introduced

September 1, 2010.

Apple's iTunes software can be used to transfer music to the devices from computers using certain versions of

Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems. For users who choose not to use iTunes or whose computers cannot run iTunes, several open source alternatives are available for the iPod. iTunes and its alternatives may also transfer photos, videos, games, contact information, e-mail settings, Web bookmarks, and calendars to iPod models supporting those features. For iOS versions prior to iOS 5, the iPod branding is also used for the media player applications included with the iPhone and iPad; the iPhone version is essentially a combination of the Music and Videos apps on the iPod Touch. (As of iOS 5, separate apps named 'Music' and 'Video' are to be standardized across all iOS-powered products.) In either event, the iPhone and iPad have essentially the same mediaplayer capabilities as the iPod line, but they are generally treated as separate products. Discontinued models of the line include the iPod Mini and the iPod Photo, the former being replaced by the iPod Nano, and the latter reintegrated into the main iPod line (now the iPod Classic).

iPHONE The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled bySteve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007. The 5th generation iPhone, the iPhone 4S, was announced on October 4, 2011, and released on October 14, 2011, two days after the release of iOS 5.0, the Apple operating system for handheld devices. An iPhone can function as a video camera (video recording was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS was released), a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client with email and web browsing capabilities, can

send texts and receive visual voicemail, and has both WiFi and 3G connectivity. Theuser interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual

keyboard rather than a physical one. Third-party as well as Apple application software is available from the App Store, which launched in mid-2008 and now has over 500,000 "apps" approved by Apple. These apps have diverse functions, including games, reference, GPS

navigation, social networking, security and advertising for television shows, films, and celebrities. There are five generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the five major releases of iOS (formerly iPhone OS). The original iPhone was a GSMphone that established design precedents like screen size and button placement that have persisted through all models. The iPhone 3G added 3Gcellular network capabilities and A-GPS location.

The iPhone 3GS added a compass, faster processor, and higher resolution camera, including video recording at 480p. The iPhone 4 has a rear facing camera (720p video) and a front facing camera (at a lower resolution) for FaceTime video calling and for use in other apps like Skype. The iPhone 4 featured a higherresolution 960x640 display; it was released on June 24, 2010. In the U.S., AT&Twas the only authorized carrier until February 10, 2011, when a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 launched for Verizon. On October 4, 2011, Apple announced the iPhone

4S. The iPhone

4S added

higher

resolution

camera

(8 megapixel)

with 1080p video recording, face detection, and video stabilization, a faster, dual core processor, world phone capability (allowing a single handset to operate on networks based on both GSM/UMTS and CDMA technologies), GLONASS support and a natural languagevoice control system called Siri.It will be available in 16 GB and 32 GB, as well as a new 64 GB capacity. In the United States, it was announced that two carriers, C Spire and Sprint, would begin carrying the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on October and November 2011, respectively.

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media receiver

developed and sold by Apple. It is a small form factor network appliance designed to play IPTV digital content

originating fromthe iTunes Store, Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, MobileMe,MLB.tv, NBA

League Pass or any Mac OS X or Windows computer running iTunes onto an enhanceddefinition television. Apple offered a preview of the device in September 2006 and began shipping it the following March. It initially shipped with a 40 GB hard disk; a 160 GB version was introduced two months later and the earlier model was ultimately discontinued. In September 2010, Apple announced a second-generation version of the Apple TV. About one quarter of the size and one third of the price of the original Apple TV, the new device can stream rented content from iTunes and video from computers or iOS devices via AirPlay. The new version no longer has the hard drive; however, it does have an undocumented internal 8 GB flash storage, speculated to be used for smoother playback of streamed media. All content is drawn from online or locally connected sources. or high-definition widescreen

Price
The Price forms one of the 4 Ps of the marketing mix. The Pricing decisions and strategies have an implication on the overall profit of the organization since it is the factor which determines the income source. Pricing strategy refers to the methods by which a business calculates how much it will charge for a product or service. It is based not only on the cost of the product, but also on profit margin and a holistic view of the market and future viability. One can say that apart from technology or design, Apple sells pricing. Steve Jobs is a master of using pricing decoys, reference prices, bundling and obscurity. Apple's Sept. 1 announcement of new products was a classic example. The popular iPod Touch media player has been revamped at three price points - $229, $299, and $399 - all costing more than the iPhone, which does everything the Touch can plus make phone calls. Such pricing games are vital for Apple, because competition is fierce in the tech world and product hits just don't last. The current iPad costs $499 in its lowestpowered configuration vs. the Archos 7 Home Tablet ($189) or the Dell Streak ($299 with a two-year AT&T contract). And competitors are rushing to offer more functionality for hundreds of dollars less; the Streak tablet throws in a videocam and phone, which iPads don't yet match.

Pricing Strategy: Apple uses skimming and premium pricing strategies. Price skimming involves charging a high price because you have a substantial competitive advantage. However, the advantage is not sustainable. The high price tends to attract new competitors into the market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased supply. A classic example is Apple's iPod. Most iPod consumers are technically sophisticated, and 75% of them are previous Apple customers. This consumer base is very likely to contain people who are nearly not price sensitive to Apple products: The consequence of the iPod's pricing strategy is to progressively skim off the demand (starting with the less elastic portion), sacrificing high sales to profit at the beginning. Premium pricing uses a high price where there is uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is used where a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are charged for luxuries. Price list of its products: ipad2- from$499 iphone- from $49 ipod touch- from $199 ipod nano- from $129 ipod shuffle- just $49 ipod classic- just $249 apple TV- just $99 Macbook Air- from $999 Macbook Pro- from $1199 Mac mini- from $599 imac- from $1199 Macpro- from $2499

Marketing tricks adopted by Apple in pricing : 1. Price decoys Decoys, in marketing, are products, services, or price points that a business doesn't really want you to take, but rather use as a reference to make another product look better. The addition of iPad to its product portfolio, potentially cannibalizing product to its lineup of iPods, iPod Touches, iPads, laptops and computers, one realize that this gadget is likely a decoy. Economist Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, gives the classic example of a Realtor who shows you a home that needs a new roof, right before taking you to a higher-priced house she really wants to sell. Now consider $499 for an iPad. Well, compared with a smaller one with fewer features, it suddenly looks great.Decoys explain why Apple often sells each gadget in a pricing series, such as the new iPod Touch's $229, $299, and $399 price points for different storage capacities. The $399 "decoy" has clouded peoples judgment. Apple wins the best of both worlds - stoking demand for products that look like bargains and for all the decoys it sells at much higher prices. Yes, some people will spend $399 for a music player with slightly better technology - and Apple makes even fatter margins. 2. Establish a high reference price

Consumers constantly need "reference prices" for comparison to make decisions about the value. A dress costs Rs.1000.. Is that too much? Not if it's marked down 50 percent from Rs.2000. The trick is, that artificial Rs.2000 reference price may not really exist. Apple has played this game by launching products such as the iPhone at artificially high reference prices - the iPhone cost $599 when it first hit the streets and then rapidly lowering that price. Apple in essence is using its first-iteration pricing as a reference to make its current products feel affordable.

3. Obscure the reference price

This is a more clever Apple marketing trick; instead of giving consumers a reference price, hide the pricing altogether. Candy in movie theaters is a classic example of price obscurity, because it comes in unusual, large boxes that are shaped nothing like what you see at other stores. Apple also obscures references by making its products look like nothing else, from the first iPod with a unique scroll wheel to the current iterations wrapped in gleaming aluminum. Apple seems wondrously unique, until you consider aluminum is the same material you wrap leftover fish in and then it hits you: Apple is disguising itself so you can't compare prices. 4. Bundle price components to hide what you can

Buy an Apple product and you'll spend more downstream. For every iPad or iPhone sold, Apple likely counts on your future song purchases, video rentals, and soon iAd clicks on app advertising. Apple is not unusual here; almost every mobile handset, for instance, has some of its costs buried in future monthly data fees over a two-year phone contract. All of this "bundling" means the price over time is much more than what you think picking up the Apple gadget. The pricing strategy is brilliant. By staging a series of perceived technology innovations and then adding price decoys, reference prices, obscurity and bundling, The communication breakthroughs are mostly an illusion, but with shiny aluminum in our hands, cost takes a secondary seat.

Place
Apple has over the years developed a very strong distribution system. it spreads from the more conventional distribution to the more recent online store Apple online store The apple online store was started in 1996 soon after apple acquired NEXT..apple built the store using nexts web application server.it was an immediate success because the online store did a business of US$ 12million in the first year of its operation.the setting up of online store was keeping in mind the following benefits.

Making savings in set-up and operational costs. You don't need to rent high street premises, pay shop assistants or answer a lot of pre-sales queries.

Reducing order processing costs - customer orders can automatically come straight into your orders database from the website.

Reaching a global audience, thereby increasing sales opportunities. Competing with larger businesses by being able to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Being able to receive payment more quickly from online transactions. Attracting customers who would not normally have investigated your type of high street outlet.

Improving your offerings using the data gathered by tracking customer purchases.

Using your online shop as a catalogue for existing customers.

Apple store Conflict with the existing retailers drove apple to open their own retail stores..customers didnt have a pleasant experience when they entered a compUSA or Sears to buy apple products. Realizing that they were being held over a barrel by big retailers that were used to calling the shots with computer OEMs and frequently provided a horrible purchasing environment for Apple products, the company did

what it had to and took control of distribution. Apple took a lot of heat and fought off a lawsuit from disgruntled retailers when Apple launched the retail stores. But the truth is that many of those retailers were damaging Apple's relationship with its customers, at a time when the company was being relentlessly pressured by Dell's direct distribution model. The combination of Apple's retail stores and well-implemented online store have helped boost Macintosh sales to record levels. Apple has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening i retail stores in key cities around the world in up-market, quality shopping venues. Apple provides Apple Mac-expert retail floor staff staff to selected resellers' stores (such as Australian department store David Jones); it has entered into strategic alliances with other companies to co-brand or distribute Apple's products and services (for example, HP who was selling a co-branded form of iPod and pre-loading iTunes onto consumer PCs and laptops though in retrospect this may now just have been a stepping-stone). Apple has also increased the accessibility of iPods through various resellers that do not currently carry Apple Macintosh systems (such as Harvey Norman), and has increased the reach of its online stores. The very successful Apple retail stores give prospective customers direct experience of Apple's brand values. Apple Store visitors experience a stimulating, no-pressure environment where they can discover more about the Apple family, try out the company's products, and get practical help on Apple products at the shops' Guru Bars. Apple retail staff are helpful, informative, and let their enthusiasm show without being brash or pushy. The overall feeling is one of inclusiveness by a community that really understands what good technology should look and feel like - and how it should fit into people's lives.

Promotion
Promotion is one of the 4 Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion). It is a link of communication between sellers and buyers for influencing, informing, or persuading a buyers purchasing decision. 5 elements: personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and publicity which together form the promotional mix. Objectives like increasing sales, new product acceptance, brand equity creation, positioning, etc. basically define the budgeting to be allotted for each element. However, promotion has 3 main objectives: 1. To present information to consumers as well as others 2. To increase demand 3. To differentiate a product. Promotion is done via different mediums. It may be in form of internet advertisements, endorsements, television commercials, special events, and newspapers to advertise their product. Apple went through the entire gamut of promotional mediums to create a brand for itself that people could relate to and recall in an instant. Its advertising and marketing campaigns often had that edge, that little quirkiness that kept them interesting yet functional. Lets look at some of the successful integrated marketing campaigns that Apple has had over the years.

Advertising Campaigns
Apple has always been well known for its creative advertising campaigns, designed to reflect their innovative ideas to market to creative individuals. Some of their notable ad campaigns include the 1984 Super Bowl commercial, the 1990s Think Different campaign, the iPod people campaign in the 2000s, and the Get a Mac campaign in 2006.

1984 It is Apples most iconic advertisement which launched the Apple Macintosh personal computer for the first time. This ad showed a young unnamed heroine wearing a tank top and shorts running with a large sledgehammer, chased by a 4 police officers in complete riot gear. She races towards a large screen with an image of a Big Brother-like figure giving a speech and hurls the hammer at it. As the screen is destroyed, shocking the people watching it, the ad concludes with a black text scrolling over the screen which reads: On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And youll see why 1984 wont be like 1984. Its been lauded as a classic winning critical acclaim over time. It is now regarded as one of the most memorable and successful American television commercials of all times.

Think Different Think Different is an advertising slogan created during the 1990s for advocating the use of Apple computers instead of the usual IBM-derived Windows computers. It was used in TVCs, print ads and several promos for Apple. The TVC featured 17 20 th century personalities, iconic in their own respect. The commercial ended with a young girl with her eyes closed, as if making a wish. Print ads in the same campaign had a portrait of a famous historic figure with a small Apple logo and the words Think Different in one corner. In many ways, the new ad campaign marked the beginning of Apples reemergence as a technical giant. This campaign, along with the return of Steve Jobs at Apple, put Apple in the spotlight and with many new successful products, it marked as the new birth for the tech giant.

iPod People Apple introduced this campaign in 2002 when they launched the iPod. The campaigns included TVCs, print ads, posters, and for the first time wrap advertising campaigns. These campaigns were uniquely different and followed a consistent style that different from Apples usual ads. The commercials simply featured dark silhouetted characters against bright-coloured backgrounds. The silhouettes were usually dancing, (usually accompanied with music in TVCs) holding iPods.

Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning Analysis
Market Segment
Apple Inc. With its entire product range reaches out to a market which can be segmented into four broad categories which include households, education, professional and commercial. This classification is done on the basis of need usage and purchasing power. Table A illustrates the details of market segmentation. sector segment Power macen tosh 4G consu mer Individual s Small home office Students Teachers profes sionals creative Large business Media publishin g Here we can see that the market segmentation covers a large market area across demographics but one common feature is high disposable income. Apple competes for profits. The company carefully picks and chooses its product markets and defines which segments of these markets in which to compete. This is why Apple doesn't manufacture nor sell cheap PCs, cheap phones, etc. Apple competes in select market segments such as the $1,000+ PC market because in that segment Apple has greater pricing control and thus greater opportunities to realize higher profits. / Power book G4 IMAC Power macentosh 4G server ibook Emac Iphone Ipad

Targeting strategy The target market of the company involves almost all sectors of the society. 1. They want to provide Apple Computers Inc to young or old, boy or girl. 2. Middle/Upper income folks who are willing to pay a bit more for a better user experience. paying 500 more for a computer is not a huge deal if you have a decent income. 3. People who like to have fun with technology. No other platform offers as many entry level tools (the whole iLife bunch and more). This includes people who like to shoot a lot of digital photos or video. It's the whole digital hub concept. People are starting to buy into it. 4. Music enthusiasts and fans ages 12-35. 5. Professionals in media and design. This target market is a larger source of income. The company has different marketing strategies that can cater to the taste and appeal of such markets. The company makes sure that its stores and branches are located in the most profitable places where clients can easily see the store and they can be encouraged to visit the store and buy products. The company also makes sure that competition in the

location they want to put up the branch will not be too heavy.

Positioning strategy Apple uses the Positioning by attribute and also positioning by user. Positioning by attribute: iMac Extreme hardware, costlier than the regular PC Mac OS X - Good graphics, many user oriented features more stable than windows Final Cut pro World class movie editing softwares, used by Steven Speilberg iPhone Changed the face of smart phones, the best hardware and software combination at the moment. Ipod Durable, and well segmented into shuffle, nano, classic, touch, and many more to yet launch. Positioning by user: Apple has positioned itself to a certain type of customer, wealthy people, innovators, peoplewith good jobs, good lifestyle, etc. If Apple targets the poor man type, the trendy guys will stop buying Apples, because everybody can and Apple is not the Porsche of the computers anymore, this would hurt more the brand than maybe the increasing sales because of lower prices, and in good times, where everybody has more money, Apple would have the problem that they cannot rise prices, because everybody expects a cheap.

SWOT Analysis Strengths iTunes Music Store is a excellent source of revenue, especially with the iPod and the accessibility on Windows platform. Apple Computer are expert in Developing own software and hardware.

Apples niche audience provides the company with some lagging from the direct price competition. Giving a face-lift to desktop and notebook lines. Web technology can be used to improve product awareness and sales. Low debtmore manoeuvrable. Apple Computers have good brand loyalty. Partnership with Intel Computers in 2006 Present. Strong Research & Development Department.

Weaknesses Weak relationship with Intel and Microsoft. Weak presence in business arena.

The product life cycle of Apple products are very small for that reasons revenues are more depend on launch of new products and services. Weak presence in markets other than education and publishing. Slow turn around on high demand products. Apples market share is far behind from major competitor Microsoft.

In past the relationship between Steve jobs and employee were not good which result in reputation loss.

Opportunities Increase in worms and viruses on PCs so the antivirus solution can be developed by Apple Large population (Gen X&Y) which are extremely individualistic and name brand conscious. The ties of apple other companies are weak, Apple can develop good relationship for joint ventures Downloadable music and MP3 players are highly marketable. The online sales of computer are increasing with rapid speed.

The laptop market growth is high; Apple Computers should focus to develop new models to cater the need of customers. Threats Companies not seeing Apple as compatible with their software.

Apple facing strong competition from Dell, HP, Sony and Toshiba in laptop segment. Downloading free music from other online source without paying cost is common it may impact the iTunes sales. Apple software, Cell phone and hardware are expensive as compared to other competitors such as Dell. The long lasting recession may impact the sales of the company due to higher prices of the products and services Microsoft launched Microsoft Vista, Windows 7 which is gaining market share. The switching in technology is very fast.

Conclusion

We feel that Apple must focus on several key aspects to continue to grow and succeed. They must continue a stable commitment to licensing, push for economies of scope between media and computers, and become a learning organization. Apple apparently made a commitment to licensing. Although it should continue, Apple may want to consider other forms of strategic alliances. An equity strategic alliance may offer Apple the opportunity to obtain additional competencies. An

effective way for a company like Apple to accomplish this would be in the form of a joint venture. Apple should continue pushing the new line of media-centric products. Meanwhile, Apple should not lose focus on its computers. Macintosh computers were 39% of Apples sales in 2005. (Burrows) This very innovative company exploits its second-mover position. In the future, they will need to continue innovating to expand the boundaries of both media and computers. One persistent element of both competitive advantage and risk is Steve Jobs. He is both synonymous with Apples success and has a large equity interest in Apple and Disney. If he were to divest his leadership position, the reaction of both the market and consumers would be uncertain. Given his position within the organization as well as the history of the company when he was gone, Apple must find a way to learn as an organization. This will allow the company to withstand a departure by Jobs. Based on the actions of the organization, we feel that the mid-term performance of Apple will be strong. This period allows Apple time to overcome their challenges if they move swiftly. For this reason, we feel that they will

continue to succeed and will continue to outperform their peers.

Bibliography
www.apple.com forums.appleinsider.com www.entrepreneur.com www.bloomberg.com Marketing management -Philip Kotler Positioning the battle for your mind- Al Ries and Jack Trout