Marketing Plan For Apple: Health Care Technological (Essay Sample)

Market plan for Apple shoe
Name
Institution
Executive summary
Product description
This is a health care technological product by apple called the apple smart shoe. The products’ intended users are runners. It has a threefold way of operation. First, it counts the calories burnt by the users. Secondly, the steps walked. Thirdly, the heart rate as the runner uses the product. Finally, the product measures the speed of the runners as they use the product. The product has several in built features that include a vibration system and a reminder. The reminder and vibration system keep the users informed of the number of steps they need to take to achieve their hourly target steps. Moreover, they also remind users to drink water periodically during the day. The product also has an advanced connectivity feature. The feature enables the product to be connected to smart phones. Through the feature, one can share his progress on social media. Moreover, the connectivity feature enables users to know of an incoming call or message.
Target market
The target markets of the product are runners. Currently, many runners do not have a smart way of tracking their progress. Additionally, they do not have a way of getting information about standard practices. Lastly, the runners do not have a way of sharing their progress on social media. This product was incepted to fill this market gap. Apart from runners, users who are interested in their personal fitness and wellness can also use the product. It enables them to track their progress and inform the rest of the world about their initiatives.
Market plan
This market plan will strategize on how to penetrate the market. Internal competencies of the company that it can use during market strategy formulation will be identified. The external environment of the business will be analyzed at length. Lastly, an appropriate marketing strategy will be conceived.
Company description
Apple is a technology company that was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Woznac and Ronald Wayne in 1976. The company specializes in computer hardware, software, consumer electronics, and digital distributions (Apple, 2016). The company’s headquarters is in California in the US with primary listing in the New York stock exchange. The main products associated with the company include Apple bay, Apple store, itunes and ibooks (Apple, 2016). As of 2016, the company had a 115, 000 employee portfolio, and a net income of over 45 billion. It is the biggest publically traded company in terms of market capitalization and was the first company to hit the 700 billion dollar mark in terms of revenue (Apple, 2016). About marketing in the company, the company is famous for successful marketing stints. An example is the ‘Byte into an Apple’ slogan that was used to advertise the company’s products in the early seventies. Marketing professionals have observed that the level of brand loyalty by consumers of Apple products is amazing. Currently, it is the highest in the world.
Strategic focus
Mission statement
To create a good marketing strategy it is imperative to create an appropriate marketing mission. A mission serves to identify the market in which the product is going to compete. Furthermore, it determines the range of marketing activities to engage in. a good mission for any marketing initiative must be clear and direct. For this specific report, the marketing mission is to be the leader in consumer health care technology products.
Goals
The primary goal of this marketing plan is to increase Apples market share of health care technology products. Another goal is to inform the market and consumers of the apple shoe product, its merits, and level of differentiation. A financial goal is to initiate marketing plans that will increase Apples revenue by 5 % resulting from the sale of the Apple shoe product.
Core competencies and sustainable advantage
The core competencies of Apple that it can use in marketing strategy formulation are its strong brand. The Apple brand is easily recognizable and one of the strongest in the world. Another core competency is the company’s financial resources that it can leverage on to come up with the best marketing plan. A final competency is the level of customer loyalty by Apple users. Regarding that, the loyalty to Apple products as observed by experts is phenomenal.
Situation analysis
SWOT
Strengths
The main strengths of the company also double up as its core competencies. As pointed out earlier, the first strength of the company is its staff. The company has employed some of the best staff in the industry. More specifically, the company’s marketing team is respected globally (Apple, 2016). A second Strength of the company is its strong brand. The company’s brand is one of the strongest globally. A third strength of the company is the loyalty by its customers, which has received worldwide recognition. A final strength is its massive financial resources that it can channel to its marketing ventures.
Weaknesses
One weakness of the company is its size. The company is global. Its massive scale of operations demands that a different marketing strategy should be formulated for each of the market segments. However, such strategies must be in line with the global strategy. Achieving the before stated is tough. This poses such a big weakness to the company. Other weakness is legal suits. Of late, legal suits to the company have been on the rise. An example is the legal tussle between the company and the FBI. The FBI demanded that the company should supply confidential information about a suspect (Business insider, 2016).
Opportunities
The consumer health technology market remains untapped (Deloitte, 2016). This presents an opportunity for additional revenue for the company. Another opportunity is the current demand for technological products. Again, seizing this opportunity will increase the company’s revenue.
Threats
One threat to the company is competition. Other technology companies like Samsung are also eying the same market that apple wants to exploit. The competition from such company’s is strong because they are equal in size and have the necessary technical prowess to come up with similar competing products. Another threat to the company is new entrants. The health care market is attractive. Both Technology Companies and pharmaceutical companies want a share of the market (Artkearney, 2016). The threat of new entrants into the market is, therefore, high.
PESTEL analysis
Political
The health care market in the US is a target for politicians. They view it as a lucrative area to woo the voters. In the 2016 presidential campaigns, health care was a strife battle for the presidential aspirants. Therefore, companies wanting to venture into the health care market must be very careful because a wrong move could court much controversy. An example is the Affordable care act by president Obama. The act is still a subject for many political debates.
Environmental
There is pressure on companies in the US to factor in environmental concerns in their operations. In fact, environmental impact assessment reports are expected from the companies before any major venture. The environmental dimension poses a challenge of compliance.
Social factors
Population in the US is on the rise (US census bureau, 2016). The number of middle-income earners in the government is also increasing. Another social concern is the level of connectivity among people. Regarding that, the internet, social media and other factors have made the modern consumers highly social
Technological
Technology is changing at a fast rate. The changes in technology are affecting the way people interact, and the business-operating environment (Jega, 2012). Some of the latest technological developments include the inception of smart devices, increase in the number of applications and social media. Companies need to carefully to observe, and react to changes in technology to ensure they are not phased out.
Economic
The amount of disposable income among Americans is increasing. The per capita income is increasing too. About corporation tax, it has remained the same over the years and is not likely to change. Lastly, the economic environment of the US as analyzed by experts is favorable for technology companies.
Legal environment
Of late, the company has been faced with a series of legal suits. The suits are expected to increase because of the changing legal environment surrounding matter like confidentiality, privacy, and security. Therefore, the legal environment is volatile, and as such, it might pose a threat to the company. Another legal concern regards health care marketing, which is regulated. Being that this product has a health care component to it, care to observe legal concerns are demanded.
Industry analysis
Competitor analysis
Three groups of companies’ are competing with Apple in this market category. The first group is other technology companies. They include Samsung among others. Most of these companies are almost similar to Apple in terms of size, technical prowess, and revenue potential. Worse of, the companies are keen on penetrating this market segment. Competition from these companies is strong. The second group of completion is health care and pharmaceutical companies. They include GlaxoSmithKline and others. Such companies are also targeting a share of the technology health care market. They have initiated partnerships with other technology companies to roll out new products for this market segment. The competition from this group is also strong. The last group of competition is new market entrants. Many...