Positioning Map of Apple

Analysis 

Apple Inc. is a designer and manufacturer of third-party digital content, hardware devices, online services, and software. The company has experienced tremendous growth since the founding in 1976. The company acquired a good reputation since its inception because the company had a goal of creating products renowned for innovation, quality, and design. The company has had a series of breakthrough products that have revolutionized the industry such as the iPad, Mac, iPhone, and iPod. The firm's products are known for their minimalistic designs, simplicity, and a focus on a practical user interface. The company began its successful path in 2001 when they launched the iPod. By 2008, the company had achieved market leadership in the digital music players industry after they sold 100 million iPods (Armstrong et al., 2014). The essay will analyze the positioning map of Apple products. 

In 2009, the company launched the revolutionary iPhone that had a distinct touch-based interfaces and the potential to host an unlimited number of third-party apps. The product entirely changed the mobile phone industry. The product was highly successful and became the company's top profit earner. A few months later, the party launched the iPad with the catchphrase "best browsing experience yet." The iPad is a tablet that is based on similar features and touch based interface such as the iPhone. However, the company's founder, Steve Jobs, died in 2011. Also, the company has had stiff competition from Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google (Krishnan, 2014). Currently, Samsung is the market leader in the smartphone industry. Apple should find innovative techniques for sustaining their competitive edge or they may lose their position as one of the best technology companies in the world. 

The marketing strategy of Apple is based on the firm's emphasis on style, innovation, luxury, and the minimalistic design of software and hardware. The company has positioned its products as premium brands that demand high prices while offering their clients with beautifully designed, easy to use, and high-quality products. Apple mainly targets customers who are focused on purchasing the best products and are less concerned with the high prices. The company prides itself on "changing the world" when they created game-changing and most innovative products that were uniquely designed and developed for their intended functions (Armstrong et al., 2014). The company has designed its products to appeal to varying demographics. Their products are developed to meet the needs of the upper and middle-class clients who are tech-savvy, youthful, and desire to pay for premium products. 

Apple products such as iPads are highly integrated into the business community because of their familiarity and ubiquity with workers who may also be consumers as well. The product provides a unique app-based platform that allows different corporates to design their own apps that address specific needs of their companies. However, the company has experienced stiff competition over the past decade. Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have tried to acquire some market share from Apple. Dell competes with Apple in the design and manufacture of hardware. Samsung offers high quality and low price mobile phones that appeal to all social classes, unlike apple which targets the upper and middle-class market (Armstrong et al., 2014). Due to Samsung's strategy, the company overtook Apple as the main company in the smartphone industry regarding sales. Google has made great strides because of their search engines and technology. While Microsoft offers stiff competition in the developing operating systems. 

Some of the strengths that have allowed the company to have products of high quality and price include its investment in research and development. The company is the main innovator in the market and has a strong reputation, brand awareness, and representation. There has been a rapid growth in the mobile phone industry that has boosted their sales and revenues. Moreover, the company has a strong customer loyalty. Their marketing department has remarkable advertising and marketing strategies. However, the company has to deal with the increasing competition. The company's competitors are closing the competitive advantage gap that Apple had built through its products (Krishnan, 2014). Furthermore, high tariffs in some markets such as Brazil have contributed significantly to the high prices. Therefore, the company is forced to increase its market in the already developed markets. The company should depend on new markets, continued innovation, and new products to boost their expansion. 

Conclusion 

The essay analyzes the positioning map of Apple products. Some of the company's breakthrough products that have revolutionized the industry include the iPad, Mac, iPhone, and iPod. Apple positioned its products as premium brands that require high prices while offering their clients with beautifully designed, easy to use, and high-quality products. The key features of their marketing strategy are excellent customer service, innovation, and design. The company has developed its success around its remarkable advertising and marketing strategies. Their target market mainly consists of people who purchase the best products and are less concerned with the high prices, especially in the middle and upper-income classes. Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are some of their key competitors. For Apple to maintain the high quality and prices, they should increase investment in research and development (Armstrong et al., 2014). It will improve their position as the leading innovator in the different markets. 

References 

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education. 

Krishnan, M. (2014). Marketing Strategies Of Google And Apple. Sansmaran Research Journal, 4(1), 51-52.