Apple's Product Development and Marketing Strategy

With the development of technology at high speed, particularly in the field of electronic products, some companies have launched brilliant products which are full of imagination and creativity. These products are exercising an invisible and formative influence on society. Among these products, the series of products from Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc.) may be some of the most noticeable ones. Apple Inc., whose products have attracted people’s attention all over the world and have occupied considerable market share in global range, is one of the most successful international company currently. According to the statistics from NPD group, in the term of premium personal computer, Mac, which is the name of a series of Apple’s PC, revenue market share was 91 percent on June 2009. (Wilcox 2009). This consequence can be attributed to two major reasons: Apple’s product development and Apple’s extensive marketing (Schumacher 2009). In the meanwhile, Apple’s success affects society in two aspects, namely fashion style and changing people’s habits. This essay will expand the reasons mentioned above to analysis why Apple have achieved huge success worldwide, and then illustrate the positive effects on society owing to Apple’s products. Due to the success of Apple Inc. and its contribution to society, I would like to consider that Apple Inc. is one of the most outstanding companies at present age.

Key Reasons for Apple’s Success

Admittedly, the reasons which may bring about Apple’s success are various, nevertheless this essay mainly propose two most important reasons. Of major consideration is Apple’s product line, which is assuredly responsible for Apple’s success. Specifically, there are four sub reasons, which are constantly improving, innovative product line (Kingsley-Hughes 2009); simple design and user interface; high quality components; coherent hardware and software (Schumacher 2009), relevant to Apple’s product development.

Apple’s product development

First of all, Apple’s product line encompasses a series of brilliant and distinctive products, such as Mac (Macintosh), iPod, iPhone and iPad; and in the mean time the designers of Apple Inc. are improving and innovating on their product line constantly. Innovative spirit of Apple Inc. has been approved across the world. In 2005, Boston Consulting Group held a poll whose is called “Top 20 Innovative Companies in the World”, and collected the statistical data from 940 senior executives in 68 countries. The result of this investigation revealed that Apple Inc. was appraised as the most innovative company in the world and accounted for 24.84% of the entire vote (Nussbaum 2005). For example, iPod, as one of the representative product of Apple, was launched in 2001. Initially, although it attracted consumer attention, it only supported the Macintosh operation system, which meant that it could only be used on Macintosh computers and lost many other users who used windows operation system. Then, in 2002, Apple Inc. launched the second generation of iPod, which began to support Windows OS. As a result, iPod became more widely popular with both Macintosh and Windows users. Three years later, a new generation of iPod, which can play not only audio files but also video files, was launched on 12th October 2005. Moreover, for users’ convenience, the battery life was longer than before. In 2007, the newest generation with larger capacity which can store up to 4000 songs or 100 movies, was launched. (Identifying iPod models 2010) During the process of iPod’s development, we can see that Apple Inc. is improving their products constantly and adding innovative elements on the products to offer distinctive and unique user experience.

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The second element, which is considered to be relevant to Apple’s products, is their simple design style and friendly user interface. To take a panoramic view of Apple’s product line, whether an iPod, an iPhone or an iPad, they retain the simple design consistently. There are only a few buttons and different parts embedded into Apple’s products. The appearance of these products is one whole piece of technology and has no splicing traces on them. The simple user interface is a distinctive character, as well. For instance, an iPhone have no different submenus or other ways to display the menu, it is easy for users to reach the function which they want to use directly and avoid unnecessary confusion (Schumacher 2009).

Thirdly, high quality components could lead to the success of Apple’s products. These products do not tend to integrate newest hardware and offer highest available capacities. That is to say, Apple’s products use suitable components to provide suitable functions, which ensure these products can run stably. For example, although there may be only have a 2 mega pixel camera integrated into an iPhone and this camera could not satisfy any user to take photos, the moment it is necessary for people to take a picture, the camera is ready and gives full scope to photography. (Schumacher 2009)

Finally, the cohesion of hardware and software brings the success of Apple’s products. Apple Inc. not only focuses on developing the hardware but also developing the software, which enhances the performances of these products. For example, in order to improve iPod’s performances and provide convenience to users, Apple Inc. developed the software named iTunes, which is a software supporting a Mac or a PC. It arranges and plays audio and video files on a computer. Moreover, all media stored on a computer can be synchronized with an iPod, an iPhone and an iPad. In the meantime, it is a digital store on a computer and other apple’s products with a large quantity of music and movies (What is iTunes? n.d.). Additionally, iTune is updated on Apple’s website regularly, so that users can use newest version to enhance their iPods.

In brief, Apple Inc. insists on improving and innovating on the product line to develop brilliant products constantly. And these products offer friendly user interface and simple design style for users who can operate these products easily. Moreover, high quality components are integrated into Apple’s products to enhance their performance. In addition, Apple’s Inc. develops software to support their products in order to providing convenience to users. Therefore, Apple’s product development is the basis of Apple’s success.

Apple’s s marketing

Assuredly, Apple’s product development is a necessary premise to Apple’s success. On the other side, Apple’s extensive marketing plays an important role as well. Apple’s marketing strategies can be summarized as two primary sides. One is advertising; the other is the communication style.

Firstly, the success of Apple’s market could be caused by Apple’s advertising strategy. The slogans for Apple’s products can be seen in almost every place, such as in the streets, at the bus stops and on the large screens of squares. With Apple’s products, the slogans are creative and attractive, for instance, “The first music player that talks to you” (iPod shuffle n.d.) and “Soon there will be 2 kinds of people. Those who use computers, and those who use Apples” (Alex 2006). Due to these dense and eye-catching advertising with memorable slogans, Apple’s products are deeply rooted among the people quickly and accepted by people.

Secondly, one of the most brilliant points of Apple’s marketing strategies is the communication style. Midgley and Midgley decribe a successful communication style as “Golden Circle” in the following words:

If a company aligns itself with the customer’s values and consistently delivers its product or service in accordance with those values, then the customer will consistently utilize the company’s offering. Consistent utilization of a company’s offering will ensure a healthy top line. A healthy top line, in turn, produces healthy cash flow. (Midgley and Midgley 2005, 6)

Apple Inc. is performing this kind of communication described in Midgley and Midgley’s book. Apple Inc. develops their products based on consumers’ requirements and values, and then transmits its ideas and service to consumers in various ways. For example, in Apple’s stores all over the world there are lecturers propagating their products and explain why these products are consistent with consumers’ requirements and values. Besides the open lectures, Apple stores hold a series of events regularly to show the brilliant ideas integrated into Apple’s products. Via the interaction between Apple Inc. and consumers, how Apple’s products satisfy consumers’ values is accepted by consumers in global scope.

There is a diagram about the golden circle theory, which illustrates the marketing strategies of Apple Inc. vividly. According to the description in the figure below, “Why”, “How” and “What” means “Beliefs”, “Tactics” and “Results”, respectively (Gartland 2010). At first, Apple Inc. establishes the beliefs to meet consumers’ values, and then it realizes the beliefs via the development of its products. At last, Apple’s products are world wildly accepted by consumers. Therefore, Apple Inc. communicates with users in an “inside-out” way which is a remarkable way and has achieved huge success across the world in marketing.

Figure1: the golden circle

Source: (Gartland 2010)

In sum, Apple’s products infiltrate into people’s daily life via dense advertising, and these products, which benefit from the communication style of Apple Inc, are accepted by people. Hence, the marketing strategies of Apple Inc. are another key reason that brings about its success.

Effects on Society

The reasons mentioned above have led to Apple’s success. Two consequences may emerge, owing to Apple’s success, which are fashion style and changing people’s habits.

Fashion Style

With the increasing popularity with Apple’s products, an iPod or an iPhone is not only an mp3 player or a mobile phone but also a fashion symbol. Especially an iPod has become a synonym for an mp3 player. Lavey described the effects of Apple’s products on fashionable style as the words below:

After the iMac came out, suddenly things weren’t cool if the product name didn’t have a lower-case ‘i’ in it, and the word ‘pod’ after the iPod became popular. (Lavey 2009)

Thus, the names of Apple’s products have become fashionable words. Moreover, the exquisite and simple design style has also become the world trends being pursued by people.

Changing People’s Habits

Another effect brought by Apple’s products is the change of people’s habits. The Nike/iPod Sport Kit (Nike + iPod n.d.) is a typical example. It can track individual exercise performance of jogging and verbally report their results the moment users have progress. So that users can supervise their pace and distance circumstantially. While people usually use a stop watch record the total time they have run and then roughly calculate their average speed before using the Nike/iPod Sport Kit. Following this further, people used to prefer jogging with partners in order to motivating each other; however, it is not easy to find a partner who runs at the similar pace and duration (Shannon, Florian 2007). In order to resolve this problem, a piece of research was conducted in 2006 and showed that technology is helpful to motivate people to be active and allow for social communication (Consolvo et al. 2006). The Nike/iPod Sport Kit has realized the research theory because of the interaction between users and it. Therefore, according to the example mentioned above, we can see that Apple’s products have changed people’s habits in some aspects.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Apple’s product development and its extensive marketing have resulted in the success of Apple Inc. As a premise factor of the success, Apple Inc. persists in developing innovative products with friendly user interface and simple design style. Moreover, high quality components integrated into Apple’s products ensure the stable performance. In addition, coherent software and hardware of these products provide more convenience to users. Besides brilliant products, the marketing strategies of Apple Inc. are remarkable as well. people’s daily life is infiltrated by Intensive advertising of Apple Inc. and then its communication style is also approved by consumers in global range. Owing to the success, Apple Inc. have guided a new fashion style and changed people’s habits in some fields. Therefore, it is evidently reasonable to consider that Apple Inc. is one of most outstanding companies in the world currently.