Running head: APPLE’S BUSINESS STRATEGY 1

Apple’s Business Strategy

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APPLE’S BUSINESS STRATEGY 2

Apple’s Business Strategy

Introduction

Apple has a concentration towards producing the best products in the market
(Machajewski, 2017). It is a company that has the aim to bring creativity and innovation in the
market. This innovation is not locked to the new products that are brought in the market but also
focuses on the existing products that have already entered the market. They have synchronized
their product development strategy with the marketing strategy of the products and company. It
is in this aspect that they are better than their competitors. Apple has discovered that people who
have financially strong backing enjoy the products that are beautiful to be held with the promise
of something outside the box (Machajewski, 2017). It has become a luxury brand for the elite
concerning technology. It has also focused on keeping things simple. Apple has utilized the three
principles which are empathy, input and focus on generating value in its output which has
enabled the company to come up with most worthy of the brands.

Generic Business Strategy

Differentiation is one of apple's generic business strategy used to outcompete their

competitors (Machajewski, 2017). The company owns different hardware, software and several
services which put it ahead of the rest. The company's innovativeness has enabled it to develop
its operating system and remarkable software that has changed the customers' experiences in
communication. The company also ventures into the manufacture of televisions, watches and
personal computers integrated with unique features that identify their brand. Its digital contents
and services are revolutionary, and they complement the products offered by the company.

Another generic business strategy used at Apple Inc is the overall cost of leadership.
Unique leadership style is, and vision method to business recognized Apple as an industry leader
in the commencement, and he saved the firm from a descending twisting when he refunded in the
middle of 1990s era (Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016). Under his direction, the firm has recovered
and outshined in many markets, often important groups of products. The company has a
knowledgeable sales team that it has entrusted with studying the market and conveying its
products and services in the best way possible hence, enabling it to attract new customers while
retaining the loyal ones. The company has also intensified on the strategy of expanding its online
and retail stores countrywide. The company also values its third-party distributors whom they
use to reach out for more customers by engaging them in advertising and rewarding the customer
(Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016).

The company has worked very hard to build a moat for itself. It has made sure that the
launching of each product is done through attractive and different advertising skills. Also, it has
enabled to create an image of out of box thinking and innovative product. The retail stores do not
offer any other product other than Apple. It has tried to keep itself away from combined
marketing strategies despite many offers. It has declined offers from Intel and Microsoft. For a
good marketing strategy, it is sometimes imperative to cannibalize products if there is a better
offering to do (Machajewski, 2017).
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Business Model

Apple has an innovative business model that has enabled it to achieve its success. The
elements in the business model are merged into the general business strategy; hence, making
them mutually supportive and reinforcing (Suranga, 2017). A good business model that is
incorporated into a lousy business strategy is doomed. Equally, joining a weak business model to
a good approach also ruins the business. These aspects are well understood by the company,
hence, ensuring business growth and expansion you new territories.

Apple Inc. mainly sells its products to its consumers, small firms or mid-sized ones,
education institutions, enterprises, and government institutions (Suranga, 2017). The firm sells
most of its products in major world markets through its owned retail and online stores. The firm
engages in selling off their third-party compatible products; these include applications software
and other accessories. There is the employment of indirect distribution channels such as network
carriers, especially mobile networks, retailers, wholesalers, and those added value retail sellers.

The firm has been able to sustain a competitive advantage by creating an integrative
model among other strategies (Machajewski, 2017). The firm uses a vertically integrated model.
It mainly focuses on providing the best user experience and be in a position to own it completely.
Apple Inc. can design and develop their OS, applications software, hardware, and services such
as iTunes and iCloud. The firm can integrate all those parts seamlessly and be able to create and
develop easy to use products. Unlike another firm, the company is independent of its partners for
any technical revolution. The firm innovates at its own time and pace, with no pressure.

There are other firms in the technology industry that build and assemble hardware
components. Creating a powerful operating system to ensure hardware runs is a challenge and
difficulty. The firm can build its developer communities in which other firms are not able to. The
strategy makes it hard for other firms producing personal computers or phones to beat Apple Inc.
at that. The model ensures that the firm practices product differentiation which helps the firm to
maintain a premium product pricing (Suranga, 2017). The firm can maintain higher profit
margins because of low-cost sourcing and the strategy of assembling their services. The
increased profits are vital to the firm as they ensure that they can be used in investments,
research and development, innovation, marketing and advertising of products (Purkayastha &
Sharma, 2016).

Apple’s Mission and Vision

The foundation for the company's achievements so far lies in its mission and vision
statements (Suranga, 2017). Some features are associated with the firm mission and vision to
serve as a motivation to firm's employees to ensure innovation and ambition. The original
mission statement of the firm has been altered to what is known now.

The firm mission statement has been in transition. The firm is well aware of altering the
overall business outlook which manifests what the firm is cable of achieving or have achieved.
The statement identifies some merchandise developed and manufactured by the firm. Apple’s
mission states that “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with
APPLE’S BUSINESS STRATEGY 4

OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software” (Wiley & Barrett, 2017). The company’s iPods
and iTunes have brought revolution to the digital music industry. The mission statement is
important as it highlights some of the products manufactured by the firm and those it’s planning
to accomplish. The mission statements mention some of the products that the firm has already
unveiled in the market, for example, Macs, iWork and iLife (Wiley & Barrett, 2017).

Market Approach and Competitive Advantage

Apple mission captures innovation. It has ensured that the firm maintains in being an
innovative firm ever. The firm can keep up with the change, for example, innovatively
developing iPhone 5 to iPhone 6 and so on. The firm can take their products into new levels, and
in doing so, they place the price of the product becomes premium. The firm has been mimicked
by many firms, for example, in 2011; Samsung Inc. follows the trend of Apple Inc. to produce S
series phones. The firm is innovative enough as depicted in the mission statement as it made the
iPod more comfortable to use than any other available mp3 player in the market (Purkayastha &
Sharma, 2016).

The mission and vision statement of the firm shows some of the products that Apple Inc.
produces, for example, iLife and iWork (Wiley & Barrett, 2017). The firm's manufacturer
markets various personal computers and consumer electronics in the market including
smartphones, music player and tablets. Hence, the products serve as the objective evidence, the
firm brand strength, innovation, premium pricing, and supply chain acts as factors promoting the
corporate competitive advantage.

Brand Strength

According to the annual rankings, published in 2017, Apple is the world leading best
brand ahead of Coca-Cola, IBM, and Google. Brand strength is essential to firms like Apple Inc.
because it ensures that the firm is visible in the marketplace and it helps in maintaining customer
loyalty. The firms stronger branding provides that loyal customers can buy and try another
product; for example, the iPhone users may decide to purchase iPods earphones. Products such
as iPhones, iPods or Macs are using the same Operating system, and hence, a user may prefer to
use such a product (Wiley & Barrett, 2017).

Innovative Products

Apple has a reputation for developing and innovating existing and newer products. For
example, in the mission statement, there are iPhones, Apple may produce iPhone 5 and after a
while innovates it to a more compelling product like iPhone 5 plus (Purkayastha & Sharma,
2016). The firm can build and design products that are innovative enough to use their own
software’s, applications and also the operating system. The ability to create products that are the
complement of each other makes the Apple customers remain loyal to the firm and try newer
products.

Strong Supply Chain

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Ecosystem associated with Apple suppliers, developers, and business partners makes the
firm to have a stronger competitive advantage (Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016). The firm operates
its stores, has its manufactures and strictly checks the software standards of the products. The
firms deal with the best music and entertainment corporations so it can provide its users with the
best and vast media for their users. The firm has its community of developers who work
independently to create more software for its users. The act gives Apple Inc. the power of control
from the entire process of product development, marketing and manufacturing and hence their
competitors find it hard to compete with them.

Corporate Level Strategy

The corporate level strategy used by Apple is the opening up of international retail stores
which gives it a significant advantage on both the offline and online fronts (Suranga, 2017). Its
continued availability in all corners of the globe helps it uphold its overarching objective of
satisfying its customers at an advanced level compared to its rivals (Eliot, 2012). Customers feel
more at ease when making purchases through the avenues as mentioned earlier which help the
company in interlinking their business processes. The management also uses the two channels
for monitoring their sales levels as well as the movement of goods across the globe.

The Apple Firm vision statement provides core details of the multinational firm itself. For
example, it states that the firm can innovate in the development of the products. The firm can
indicate its business model and strategy in the vision statement when it says that the "…strategy
of vertical integration" (Suranga, 2017). The vision statement is crucial as it can Impact the
Company's chain of supply and it focuses on emphasizing the firm’s Excellency.

Another corporate strategy employed at Apple is to engage in the production of quality

digital products that meet customer satisfaction without compromising their health as well as that
the environment (Suranga, 2017). The company in its vision statement states that it believes in
product specificity and would decline opportunities that would not allow them to make
significant contributions in the market. Apple is anchored on honesty to admit the existence of
the problems which they are willing to correct appropriately. Apple has recorded decent ethical
performances in its operations (Suranga, 2017). On environmental conservation, the company
leads the adoption of green energy campaigns by making it a policy that green energy powers all
their facilities in all its global subsidiaries.

The Goodness of Fit and Performance

Apple Inc. has one of the best business models, and it is generating a lot of revenue and
profit. In recent times, the firm has been able to scope nearly $6 billion of revenue in a quarter of
fiscal year (Machajewski, 2017). The firm of current, 2016 has been able to earn $51 billion
more than any firm (Machajewski, 2017). As it’s illustrated in the firm mission and vision
statement and objective to produce compelling and innovative products, the success of the firm
can be laid on iPhone successful penetration in the markets. The firm hence has the best business
model so far. The firm can, therefore, be said to pass the test of goodness fit following the
mission and vision statement when evaluative objective evidence, and it is supporting its strategy
well.
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Apple's mission statement can capture the formal presentation of product presentation
portfolio (Machajewski, 2017). There are some production lines mentioned in the firm’s
objectives, mission and vision comments as the successful performance of such products have
been witnessed so far. Production and concentration as they have been expressed in the mission
statement have been used by the firm as the guiding principle and achieved the best performance
so far. The firm is performing well when it comes to distribution to meet market demands and in
meeting production number (Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016). The firm can be said to pass the
performance test when it first dislodged Microsoft team with the product attraction, and it
continues up to date.

Conclusion

The firm's objective, vision and mission statement are comprehensive enough to show the
position and direction of the firm in the future. The firm business model and strategies are
making it to the top and maintain a competitive advantage. The firm approach is the best as it
sufficiently fulfills of the criteria being it in competitive advance, performance, and goodness of
fit. The company tends to focus on all innovative solutions. It not only has a learning and growth
model installed in the organization but also encourages education for all. Within the
organization, the company does not pressurize its think tank into rushing to produce a new
product. Apple takes its time to come out with its new product which stands in meeting customer
satisfaction and environmental safety. To add further upon this company also is innovating to the
extent of eliminating older version of products.
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References

Elliot, J. (2012). Leading Apple with Steve Jobs: Management lessons from a controversial
genius. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Machajewski, S. (2017). Steve Jobs: Founder of Apple Inc. New York: Power Kids Press.

Purkayastha, A., & Sharma, S. (2016). Gaining competitive advantage through the right business
model: Analysis based on case studies. Journal of Strategy and Management, 9(2), 138-
155.

Suranga, J. M. (2017). Importance of corporate vision. Proceedings of International HR

Conference, 1(1), 34-40.

Wiley & Barrett, M. (2017). The Future-Proof Workplace. Somerset: John Wiley & Sons,
Incorporated.