Strategy Approaches Apple Company

Apple has been at the forefront of technological innovation for many years. They have created user-friendly phones, computers and tablets with much success. The question is, who and what is behind the success of this company? Apple strategic approach uses broad differentiation that provides simplicity, exceptional customer service, and the ability to stay ahead of its competitors.

“A company’s strategic plan lays out it’s future direction, business model, performance targets and competitive advantage.” (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble & Strickland, 2018) With Apple being such a large company, the broad differentiation strategy works best for them.

Broad differentiation is when a company differentiates their products in a way that suits a wide range of customers. Apple has a product for everyone from students, business professionals or anyone who wants a seamless technology device. Apple provides state of the art design with the ability to connect anywhere with wi-fi or through your personal hotspot. Apple also provides computer hardware and the ability to pay for items electronically through Apple Pay. Apple doesn’t just stop there; they are continually researching new innovations to stand out from their competitors.

Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, focused on customer experience. He once said, “you’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to sell it.” (Georgia, 2013) From the start, the main goal of Apple was to create items that were for the customers and their own personalized experience. Steve Jobs implemented the broad differentiation approach for Apple. He created what the people wanted, and from that came much success.

So what sets Apple apart from their competitors? Apple has an executive committee who are dedicated to providing seamless products for the consumers. They all work together to make decisions about the company and the new up-and-coming products. Apple’s executive committee is a team effort to continuously put together the most progressive devices for their consumers. Apple also ties everything together with their cloud software, hardware, software OS and their apps so everything works all in one. The engineers at Apple design their products first, for themselves and they do this without a budget. Because Apple has such a high gross profit, they can spend a lot of money on research and development. A lot of other smartphone companies just do not have the amount of gross profit that Apple has, therefore they are at an advantage when it comes to exploration. “The more revenue and gross profit that a company generates, the more that it can afford to spend on research and development while still delivering robust profitability and profit growth for its stockholders.” (Eassa, 2018) Another thing that sets Apple aside from their competitors is their customer service. Apple has their own personal store dedicated to any tech issue that may arise. The employees are there to fix your device that day and to answer any questions you may have.

Apple created a revolution for music and technology. When Apple created the iPod, they also created the associated software, iTunes where consumers could legally download music to their device. They offered a new, cutting-edge service to their customers. “Rather than growing by simply bringing a new hardware product to the market, Apple radically transformed its business model to include an ongoing relationship with its hardware customers.” (Amit & Zott, 2010) This idea was revolutionary during a time where people were consistently downloaded music illegally through platforms like Napster and Limewire. Aside from having iTunes, Apple also has an app called Apple Music. For a low price per month, customers can listen to virtually any song they desire simply by searching for it. In this app, you have the option to save and download the song so you can listen to it anywhere.

A part of Apple’s competitive advantage is their commitment to creating new products. They can do this because all their devices run on the same operating system with the same software and applications. Apple can create new products with lower cost of development. “Apple’s innovative strategy of developing products that complement each other strengthens customer loyalty and helps build a barrier to competition.” (Linton, 2018) Apple has customer loyalty. People wait in long lines when the new iPhones make their debut. They continue to keep purchasing Apple products because of their reliability and the customer service they receive if anything goes wrong. These people tell their friends and family about their great experience and encourage them to purchase Apple products as well. With customer service and satisfaction at the forefront, their advantage is sustainable.

Apple’s current mission statement is, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.” (Investopedia) Apple’s mission statement coincides with their strategic approach of broad differentiation because they create a device for everyone. They continue to be at the top of their competitors, and they are continuously crafting new user-friendly devices and technology for the people.

Apple started with the values from Steve Jobs, that the product needed to be about the people and what they want. After Jobs passed, CEO, Tim Cook took over and continued to implement the original ideas of Jobs. For many years Apple has used their strategic approach of broad differentiation to intrigue the interest of many people who want reliable technology devices. They have a competitive advantage because of the research they can conduct, their customer service, and the user-friendly devices they create. They continue to be one of the leading electronic companies

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