Apple Computer Inc Was Incorporated

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

 Incorporated:

Apple computer, Inc was incorporated on January 3, 1977 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, & Ronald Wayne

Employees:

Approximately 10,176 worldwide

Sales till date:

Above 28 million Macintosh systems sold

Company Profile

Apple Computer, Inc., ignited the personal computer revolution in 1970s with Apple II and reinvented p. c in 1980s with Macintosh. Apple is presently committed to its original mission - to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, scientists, engineers, designers, business persons & the consumers in over 140 countries all around world.

Research and Development

In fiscal 1996, Apple invested nearly 6% of its annual sales in research and development. R & D sites are located in California; Tokyo, Cupertino, Japan, Zhuhai, cork, ireland and China.

Manufacturing

Apple owns manufacturing facilities in Ireland and Singapore. Distribution facilities are located in Canada, Australia, U.S, Singapore, Europe & Japan.

Hardware -Mac,

The Apple Remote Desktop Software -Mac OS X & Mac OS X Server ,

Quick Time is i Life, i Work & Logic pro

Electronics for -i pod, i pod hi-fi, i phone & Apple TV

No of Employees -19,787 full & 3,399 temporary (March 31,2007)

No of Retail stores -284(1st in Manhattan, New York)

Competitors -HP, IBM & DELL

What is apple inc.?

Apple Inc. is the American multinational corporation

Design electronics and computer software

As of January 2010, the company operates 283 retail stores

As of 2010, company is largest technological corporations across the world

History:

It was founded in April 1st 1976

Place: Cupertino, California

Steve Jobs

Steve Wozniak

Ronald Wayne

It was made to make..

Computer Hardware & Software.

Consumer electronics

Digital distribution

Early years with the company:

Apples first product was Apple I

It was Hand built

Went on sale July of 1976

Market priced was $666.66

The product was made by Jobs, Wozniak & Wayne

Apple was incorporated in the the month of Jan. of 1977

Wayne sold the share of his company to jobs & Wozniak for an amount of $800.

In month of April 16, 1977 Apple II was introduced

It was unique & different from major rivals at that time (Commodore PCT & TRS-80)

It had colored graphics

Open architecture

By the end of 1970’s, Apple had a staff of many computer designers & production line.

In month of May 1980, Apple III was introduced to compete with IBM & Microsoft.

In month of December of 1980, Apple gave public offering of its stock .

As it went public, it created more millionaires than any other company.

The Apple lisa:

The personal computer was sold in 1980’s.

First personal computer was sold to public with GUI

It was an extreme failure because of the limited software titles and high price.

In 1982- Due to the fighting Steve jobs kicked off Apple Lisa project & then went on to low cost computer project of the Macintosh!

Macintosh:

Designed in the year of 1984.

Sold very strong in the beginning but because of high price, the consumption was low.

1986-92: rise

After Macintosh Portable’s very low success rate, Apple learned several lessons on what different can be done.

In the year of 1991, Apple introduced the PowerBook

In this period , Apple experimented with various products

Portable CD speakers, camera, TV & video consuls

The products were "really little but too late" for Apple due to market share & stock.

In the year of 1990, Macintosh LC was launched.

1994-97:

All this while, Apple continued to reinvent the new softwares which could be installed & used in Macintosh computers

In the year of 1997, Steve Jobs announced that Apple will join Microsoft to release new versions of office.

In the month of november 10th 1997, Apple introduced Apple Store where the consumers could browse and shave Apples newest products.

1998-2005:

In the month of august 15th 1998 Apple introduced new all in one computer same as iMac.s

May 2001, Apple opened more Apple retail stores, including in Virginia & California

Same year, Apples iPod was designed a huge success

In 2003, Apple iTunes store was opened.

2005-2007 Intel transition:

January 2006- Macbook Pro & iMac became first Apple products sold with Intel’s Core Duo

The PowerMac, iBook and PowerBook were retired & replaced with Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro.

Apples success was soaring and its market cap surpassed that of Dell’s

2007-present:

Period of time known as Mobile Consumer Electronics Era

January 2007, Jobs annocuced that Apple’s logo name will be changed from Apple Computers to Apple Inc., due to that fact they no longer produced computers

The iPhone & Apple TV were created in July of 2007, Apple introduced App. World

ITunes, to sell applications to iPhone iTouch

Throughout these years, new & improved versions & different sizes of iPod were introduced.

Includes iPod nano, Shuffle, classic, touch and video

After hearing many rumors of the new creation, on April 3rd 2010, Apples newest product the iPad was launched in the U.S.

Sold 300,000 units that day

500,000 that same week

Apple is one of the leading IT brands, second only to Microsoft. Most recently, it has successfully broken into the MP3 marketplace with the iPod, and adapted that success to break into the smartphone and e-reader marketplaces with the iPhone and iPad respectively. It has also ventured into advertising with the launch of iAd.

Apple has been able to accumulate massive success and riches over the years. Many people associate this success to their relentless hard work and their ability to foresee and act on the changing marketing trends.

However, if there is one single factor Apple can crown as the reason of its success then it is the simplicity. Apple and simplicity? Now that may seem like a far fetched notion but it is true.

Apple, just like some other big names out there, has been able to strike a chord with its customers but over the course of years, it has also been able to significantly increase its market share in the mobile industry which is becoming an increasing competitive market. Given the current popularity and status of iPhone, it is over whelming to imagine that the phone only came out in 2007. It’s been successful, all right. But how did Apple do it?

Here’s marketing strategy of Apple.

Presentations:

If there is one area where Apple beats all other industrial giants such as Microsoft, Nokia or even Samsung hands down, it is the presentations. Each time Apples goes into producing any new product, the whole world stops and zooms in to analyze and counter-analyze the specs of the upcoming products. Despite having plenty to share, Apple chooses the simplest route and that is of addressing the general public.

As far as I am concerned, Steve Jobs alone can give all tycoons a run for their money. The man, other than being a genius, speaks a language a common person right off the street can understand and that is the beauty of just about any given Apple Presentation, which is meant as much for the general public as it is meant for the media.

Brand Loyalty:

Apple Inc. was founded only a year after Microsoft, at the moment it is on the pinnacle of its popularity and success. Unlike most of its rivals, Apple especially is not known to care for the budget of a commoner. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that Apple, ever since it’s foundation, has only targeted a certain brand conscious class. For that very reason, none of the products of Apple are meant to fall within the budget of a normal man but more and more people are covetous of Apple products than ever before, since it is established to represent a certain ‘class’. Apple fever proved to be an epidemic and now it has spread far and wide.

Take the example of Nokia on the other hand. It manufactures all kinds of phones, not just the ones meant to drill some major holes in your pockets (and purses). Despite being economical as well as reliable, Nokia has lost significant market share to Apple, the brand that refuses to lower its prices. More and more people are changing their loyalties in favor of a brand that comes with a promise of delivering or more importantly, enrolling them in ‘the class’.

Effective Advertisement:

Apple has successful employed the same strategy here as well. In its advertisement campaign, rather than challenging people’s intellect and throwing all kinds of computing or mobile jargons at them, Apple sticks to the basic. The latest ad campaign for iPhone 4, rather than concentrating on its oh-so-powerful processors simply magnifies some of its very basic functions such as improved picture quality and email experience.

From presentations to advertisements, Apple marketing strategy has been in a language people can understand and that is definitely one of the biggest reasons why they are so successful in everything they do.

Coming off the heels of yet another successful Apple launch debut, it’s increasingly clear that Apple is on top of their game in a way like no other. Which other company could turn an ordinary press conference into a live global event?

The secret lies beyond their product line and design standards; it lies beyond even Steve Jobs’ emphatic adherence to Apple’s core philosophy, which is that the user doesn’t always know what they want.

Looking at the company’s latest product lines and revenue models, I’d be a fool to call them anything less than what they are, which is:

A design firm

A media platform

A publishing company

A software powerhouse

A computer builder

A movement

Break down each of these bullets individually and you’ll find a company at the top of their respective industry, but combine them into a single entity and you’ve got the recipe for building one of the most influential businesses of all time.

So how did they do it?

Rather than tell you how I think they did it, I thought instead I’d turn to their fans on Twitter, who helped me uncover 7 of the greatest marketing lessons that Apple brings to the table.

1. Ignore Your Critics:

As an entrepreneur, you’ll hear a lot of people tell you that you need to reach out and figure out what people want, which means listening to your critics, often times more patiently than you’d like.

Apple decides to flip the script and instead focus on building what they want to build, no matter the perceived cost. When Steve Jobs debuted the iPad, the critics stood in line, throwing every insult they could muster. The critics said that the iPad would fail. The numbers say otherwise.

Each and every time Apple decided to innovate, they were laughed at. They prevailed anyway.

"Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds."

- Albert Einstein

2. Turn the Ordinary into Something Beautiful:

For quite some time, PC fans enjoyed the work of buying their own parts and building their own tower systems. At the same time, PC makers were building standard hardware for standard applications.

Apple would have none of that.

They’ve been pioneering not only the features of standard operating systems and computer systems, but simultaneously reinventing the design standards as well. As a result, we have the gorgeous iMac, the beautiful new Macbook Air, and who could forget, the amazing iPhone 4.

Where others focus on one aspect of the equation, Apple focuses on the entire product, and it shows.

3. Justify Your Price:

We’re in a time when pricing strategies are all over the place. People don’t know what to charge, and in many cases, prefer to race to the bottom instead of pricing strategically to a market that can bear the cost.

Once more, Apple ignores the standard by not only pricing their technology more than 2x what their competitors charge, but doing so without blinking. How can they get away with it?

Well, the answer is twofold:

1. They build beautiful products for an audience that loves them passionately.

2. They justify their price with features and benefits that can’t be matched.

Since we’ve already hit point 1, let’s work on #2.

No other computer can match the display of a 27" iMac…it simply can’t be done.

No other software can match what iTunes brings to the table.

No laptop is as thin as the Macbook Air.

No software is more intuitive, no product more valuable than the Apple product. Any other smartphone looks like it was developed by rookies when compared to an iPhone 4. You simply cannot compare the two.

Critics will play on the fact that the core features are the same, and they might be, but that’s not the point. The point is that Apple is the Rolls Royce of the technology and design world, and their customers will gladly pay a premium because of it.

4. Communicate in the Language of Your Audience:

It makes no sense to talk about things like megabytes, gigahertz, and processing power to customers that simply don’t care about technical jargon.

Take a look at any Apple product page and you’ll find that though they do discuss product specifications and technical information, it’s hidden behind the benefits that their audience is truly after.

Instead of display resolution, you’ll see phrases like "edge to edge glass," "retina display," and "LED backlighting."

Sure, the jargon is there for those that need it, but it’s presented in a way that makes you want to learn about megapixels, rather than shy away from them. The art is in the copy, not in the features.

5. Extend the Experience:

Have you ever heard of an unboxing? I hadn’t either until recently, when I learned that not only was I not the only one keeping Apple packaging post-sale, but that there are legions of people that record the actual process of unwrapping their newly purchased Apple products.

Do a search on YouTube and you’ll find hundreds of Apple unboxings, each from different users from across the globe. It’s pretty crazy right?

No one tells these people to video their experience, but they do it because the process is so Zen that you can’t help not to.

Apple does this by making sure that the experience doesn’t end at the cash register. They take great care in designing a user experience from browsing to unwrapping, which relies on incredible packaging and installation procedures.

By reducing installation to the lowest common denominator, they make buying new products a snap, and by spending as much time on designing packaging as they do on the products themselves, they’ve ensured that the box matches what’s inside.

As a result, they’ve built an experience that is nearly impossible to match.

6. Build a Tribe:

It’s no secret that Apple has built one of the most hardcore fan bases of any product and of any time. There’s a reason they’re called "fanboys."

But who cares, right? Most of the chatter is out of jealousy more than anything, but Apple doesn’t really care. They know that they serve an elite audience, and rather than back away from that fact, they embrace it.

7. Become "The Name":

You don’t buy tissues, you buy Kleenex.

You don’t buy MP3 players, you buy an iPod.

You don’t buy a smartphone, you buy an iPhone.

Have you noticed what they’re doing here? Apple isn’t content with being a leader in sales alone, they want to own the market itself, which explains why they’ve engineered iTunes as the major music provider that it is, and why the iPad, having the luxury of being the first, has now set the trend for future tablet devices.

From here on out, everything will be compared to the iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iTunes. Sadly, this sort of thing is tough to duplicate, but it’s not impossible. You need to have one of two things:

1. A clear head start in terms of being first to market.

2. A USP that differentiates your product in a way that makes people wish it were first.

The iPhone wasn’t the first phone, but they engineered it to be so unique that you couldn’t help but think it was. The iMac isn’t the first all in one, but it became the only one that mattered.

It’s not so much the marketing angle that matters as it is the way that people identify with that angle. Take a look at any Steve Jobs product release and you’ll watch as he tells you why every other product in the market pales in comparison to what he’s created.

Fast forward to 2012. When referring to the marketing successes of Apple, people tend to point to the company’s creative advertising campaigns, the fact that Steve Jobs was a charismatic CEO, or the diverse array of industry-changing products that have been conceptualized (beginning with the iMac in 1998, followed by the iPod in 2001, the unveiling of iTunes in 2003, the iPhone in 2007, the launch of the App store in 2008, and the iPad in 2010). But none of these observations consider the whole picture or driving force behind Apple’s strategic vision, which was to capitalize on the trend of the convergence between digital consumer electronics and the PC.

Strategy Drives Tactics:

When Jobs took over the reigns of the company as CEO in 1997, his goal was to re-structure the company based on a vision that would position Macintosh as the center of a digital hub for complementary products and services. Some of the ways he achieved this included cutting down the total number of products offered, investing millions in research and development, and revamping the distribution process. Once the iMac was launched in 1998, Apple Computer was rebranded as "Apple Inc" and the company subsequently embarked on a differentiation strategy that included creative advertising, a new web site to manage the sales process, an education initiative through the launch of Apple retail stores, and a heightened focus on customer service. In short, as you can see it was not a particular tactic that fueled Apple’s marketing success, but rather a combination of several components that tied back into the company’s larger strategic vision.

According to the text Contemporary Strategy Analysis, the three prerequisites for effective implementation of a successful strategy include 1) formulating simple, consistent, and long-term goals 2) possessing a profound understanding of the competitive environment, and 3) objectively appraising resources. Steve Jobs inherently understood this, and because of it he was able to turn the company around: following his return Apple posted a $309 million profit in its 1998 fiscal year, reversing the previous year’s $1 billion loss.

Key Marketing Takeaways:

In terms of developing a strategic vision as it relates to marketing, below are some of the key takeaways to consider from Apple when formulating a long-term strategy for success:

Identify Trends – By recognizing such trends as digital consumerism and that the PC industry was becoming highly commoditized, Jobs was able to visualize a strategy for a product that met consumer needs. To uncover such insights, it’s important to look across industries, strategic groups, buyer groups, the scope of a product or service, the functional-emotional orientation of an industry, and time. More info on that topic is available in a blog post here.

Analyze Competitors – When research pointed to the fact that Apple was losing market share and cannibalizing sales due to their strict licensing policy, Jobs ventured out to contract with Microsoft to develop core products, while at the same time making the decision to utilize Intel chips in their computers, enabling Apple to build laptops that were both faster and less power hungry. By thoroughly understanding his competition, he was able to partner with competitors in ways that were not only mutually beneficial, but downright advantageous.

Innovate – By following a Schumpetarian model of creative destruction and focusing on the needs and wants of the consumers rather than how to just improve upon an existing product, Apple was able to continuously re-think its product line and invent new products that re-defined the traditional boundaries of the market. Innovation allows for companies to capitalize on the "first mover advantage," resulting in the realization of high up-front market share and profit margins.

Position Your Product - Because many computer systems and related products can be easily replicated, finding ways to extend the life of a product through complementary offerings is almost as important as re-invention. For example, the App Store served as a complement to the iPhone which resulted in $1 billion in annual profits. And upon the launch of the iTunes store, an exponential demand for iPods was created.

Build Brand Awareness – Through utilizing creative campaigns and non-traditional advertising channels for the Mac brand, Apple embarked on a truly unique differentiation strategy, which helped grow brand awareness.

Optimize Distribution – Apple revamped its distribution system to move from smaller outlets to national chains. They also opened their own retail stores (280 stores in 10 countries), which now account for 16% of Apple’s total revenue. The retail stores were a success because they provided users with an opportunity to learn about, experiment with, and test drive products.

Don’t Forget Your Customers - Apple is known for superior customer service. In fact, just the other day I corresponded with a customer service representative though their online chat function and received a thorough answer to my inquiry. By creating and sustaining a superior customer service model, competitive advantage can be easily achieved.

Although the steps outlined above contain all the makings of an impressive strategic marketing plan, it is important to keep in mind that strategic planning is only as effective as a company’s ability to implement a strategy. In an era of hypercompetition, where competitors must move quickly to build new advantages and erode the advantages of their rivals, the ability for a company to be flexible and adaptable may be more important today than ever before.