For a while now, Apple has been one of the world’s leading technology companies with its wide range of products from mobile handsets to laptops and personal computers. It was founded in the year 1976 by Steve Jobs & Co and by then, it was only dealing with computers. Later on, Apple Inc. grew from a basic computer company to a technology company. It is from these days that Apple became a legendary for producing glamorous and classy products as well as modern and advanced technology. Steve Jobs also became the company’s iconic figure as was worldly known for his aggressiveness towards the realisation of the company’s goals to become the world’s giant tech company. However, to achieve the status and name recognition that Apple Inc. has today has been not without its highs and lows due to the nature of the market structure.
Apple has had to fight its way up by maximising on its strengths and minimising on its weaknesses. The company gained brand recognition over time and developed a loyal customer base. This was accredited to its diversification strategy that saw it venture into not only computers, but also mobile phones, music players, laptops, television, and tablets.
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Strength and weaknesses Analysis of Apple Inc
In SWOT analysis, internal environment analysis focuses on two key components which include the strengths and weaknesses whereas the external environment analysis centres on the opportunities and threats. Both of these elements of the SWOT contribute largely to the development strategies of Apple and their realisation. The paper looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Apple Inc. and how they influence the company’s presence in the tech market.
Strengths
Apple Inc. is a diversified technology brand (Smithson, 2015). The company has gone into the diverse production of technological devices something which most of its competitors do not produce. Its key competitors like Microsoft only produce computer hardware and software and recently engaged in the unsuccessful production of mobile phones, a field which Apple has turned out successful. Its iPhones and the iOS have become a success due to their unique and classy stature. Since its diversification, Apple has experienced tremendous growth in sales which has made it become the leading brand at Forbes with a aggregate capital of $416.62 billion.
Apple is also recommended by a large brand (Smithson, 2015). The founder, Steve Jobs, gave the company a strong recognition due to his aggressive nature especially in creativity and innovation of new and outstanding products (Khan, Alam, & Alam, 2015). The innovative culture adopted by the organization consequently led to increased investment in R&D. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, the figures were $2.4 billion, $3.4 billion, and $4.5 billion respectively in investments.
Further, Apple boasts a loyal customer base (Jurevicius, 2016). Most of its customers have found satisfaction in its products and have thus become affiliated with the company. This has made them prefer using the company’s products over its competitors because they are guaranteed of efficiency and quality. With this kind of following, sales are bound to be sustained at relatively high levels. The probability of registering new and loyal customers is also quite significant.
Weaknesses
Despite having a strong strategy for the promotion of direct sales, Apple still lacks behind (Jurevicius, 2016). A 2015 report indicated that Apple had direct sale locations in only 13 countries worldwide which are a relatively small number. This means that most of Apple’s consumers are not reached by the company on a one-to-one basis. As it is well known, the greatest aspect of consumer satisfaction is the direct relation with their producers. This is one field that still lacks behind.
Again, Apple is largely dependent on iPhone and iPod (Smithson, 2015). Being the key revenue providers for Apple’s income, the company seemingly directs all its energy and resources in developing the two. This hinders or slows down the growth of new products in the company.
Most of Apple’s products are quite expensive (Smithson, 2015). Apple is famous for being the most expensive company. The products they produce are high quality and thus their prices are also highly placed. This inconveniences a lot of people because most of Apple’s loyal customers are the affluent group of people in the society and senior government parastatals. Only a few people in the middle class can afford Apple products.
Similarly, Apple came up with its own Operating System (iOS) which is complex and not easy to use (Smithson, 2015). The iOS inconveniences a lot of people as they are used to the much common android OS which is easier to use and less complicated. Consequentially, a number of potential customers could forego Apple’s products for the android leading to a loss in potential customers.
Capabilities of Apple Inc
Apple is characterised by its long string of threshold capabilities. Threshold capabilities of Apple are both the tangible and intangible assets. Apple’s one most valuable asset was Steve Jobs who was the company’s pillar of strength. His demise was quite a big blow for the company. However, Apple has quite talented and skilled professional programmers, engineers, and designers. This group of skilled personnel is capable of producing award winning software like the OS X. They also have the capability of coming with more new and innovative products even without Jobs.
Conclusion
On the verge of its greatness, Apple Inc. is a company with a great and promising future. It has topped a number of times in the Forbes biggest company of the year severally defeating its arch-rival, Microsoft. However, additional strategies and policies need to be adopted to strengthen its internal capacity so as to ensure that it actualizes its long-term goals. An improvement in direct sales reach out would, for instance, be a great way to start with.
References
Khan, U. A; Alam, M. N; Alam, S. (2015). A critical analysis of internal and external environment of Apple Inc. International Journal of Economics, Commerce, and Management, 3 (6). 955-957.
Jurevicius, O. (2016). Apple SWOT analysis 2016. Strategic Management Insight . Retrieved from https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/apple-swot-analysis.html.
Smithson, N. (2015). Apple Inc. SWOT analysis and recommendations. Panmore . Retrieved from http://panmore.com/apple-inc-swot-analysis-recommendations.
