Strategic Marketing Plan Template
Wk. 2 – Part A: Environmental Analysis and SWOT Analysis
Business Description
The plan is for Apple Inc. The company’s vision is “To bring the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services” (Apple, n.d.). The company’s vision is “To make the best products on earth and to leave the world better than we found it”: Strategic Marketing Plan Template.
Apple has been ranked among the top five smartphone companies since 2009. With the decline of former market leaders such as Nokia and RIM, Apple emerged as the top smartphone seller, jostling for the opposition with strong rivals such as Samsung. Currently, Apple ranks second in smartphone sales, with a market share of 17.7% in the second quarter of 2024 (Laricchia, 2024).
Environmental Analysis
Competitive Forces
Apple’s main competitor in the computer hardware industry is Dell. The Chinese group Lenovo also competes with Apple in this industry. Besides, Hewlett-Packard (HP) gives Apple significant competition because the company has notable global operations outside the US.
Notably, Apple’s main product is the iPhone smartphone, which faces significant competition from Samsung, which manufactures various products with varying price ranges. It is worth noting that Samsung has a slightly higher market share than Apple in the smartphone market, mainly because it caters to customers from all socioeconomic classes. With their entry-level phones, Samsung caters to low-budget customers.
Apple differentiates its iPhone from competitive pressure by focusing on design and functionality. The iPhone has unique features, including a sleek design, attracting a young demography that values cosmetic features. Similarly, Apple invests heavily in research and development, producing an innovative product with top-notch functionality features.
Economic Forces
The economic stability in developed countries where Apple has a significant presence has helped the company expand successfully. Further, the rapid economic growth in developing countries such as China has helped Apple grow its sales significantly. However, unstable disposable income among the target customers is a threat since such customers avoid upgrading or acquiring new Apple products when faced with economic difficulties.
Political Forces
One of the political factors facilitating Apple’s growth is the free-trade policies with EU countries, allowing the company to export its products to the country and, hence, generate higher revenue. Also, the political stability across the North American market and Europe has contributed to Apple’s success. On the flip side, trade disputes between China and the US will likely threaten Apple’s expansion strategy.
The trade wars may lead to increased tariffs on imported electronic components, increasing the cost of production. Notably, Apple’s core manufacturing processes take place in China.
Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues
A key regulatory requirement that has affected Apple’s processes is the privacy requirement. Most governments, particularly the US, have implemented regulatory requirements to protect citizens’ data in the digital age. The privacy requirement will likely increase the production cost because the company has to adjust its production processes.
Another legal challenge facing the company relates to its after-sale services. Regulatory agencies in the US, the EU, and Australia have expressed reservations about Apple’s policy of using third parties to offer customers repair services (Jin et al., 2023).
Technological Forces
According to Jahan and Sazu (2023), the rising demand for cloud services has influenced Apple’s product expansion strategy. Today, Apple offers iCloud services to a limited extent, including its cloud storage business segment. Also, the growing demand for technology integration services promises to help the company expand its product offers.
Additionally, the growing demand for mobile services has contributed to the growth of Apple’s business portfolio. To that end, the company offers Appstore services and related digital content distribution through iOS and iPadOS platforms. However, technological advancements have provided an opportunity for new entrants who will give Apple stiff competition in the relevant markets.
Social Forces
The increasing penetration and demand for mobile services offer Apple growth opportunities. The demand for tablets and smartphones is rising globally these days, and Apple is among the businesses that will profit most from this societal trend. However, the increasing anti-Apple sentiments, especially regarding the company’s reliance on third-party repair services, pose a significant social threat.
With the increasing lawsuits against third-party repair arrangements, Apple risks a tainted brand image. These sociocultural factors require Apple to implement solid CSR interventions for its key stakeholders, including customers and governments.
Current Target Markets
Apple’s primary target market is young to middle-aged adults, with its products being popular among women. Demographic characteristics of the target market include middle to high-income earners. Although the company initially focused on North America and Europe, it has since expanded to the rest of the world.
In particular, recent developments show that the company is making inroads into emerging economies, especially in Asia. A significant portion of the market is skewed toward entry-level phones, but Apple has made significant gains thus far.
Current Marketing Tactics
Apple’s popular products are at the centre of its marketing strategy. The company leverages corporate events to announce upgrades, new product launches, and the entry into new service industries. For instance, the company creates a buzz on social media to market new iPhone upgrades. Apple uses this marketing strategy to emphasize innovative and functional features incorporated in its devices to appeal to the premium market.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Apple Inc. is one of the strongest and most valuable brands worldwide. The company leverages its strong brand image to successfully introduce new products into the market, including a new mobile phone series (Doan & Nguyen, 2022). The latest series of its iPhones is the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has attained significant social media buzz and high sales, similar to the earlier versions. Another strength is the premium pricing strategy, which ensures that the company makes profits even with low sales.
For instance, MacBook sales have been notably low, but the high prices charged for the device ensure the company makes profits and continues to sustainably manufacture more MacBooks. Additionally, Apple’s aggressive research and development initiatives have ensured that the company manufactures highly innovative products that give it a competitive edge.
Weaknesses
One of Apple’s weaknesses is its exclusive distribution strategy. The company carefully selects third parties to distribute its products, especially MacBooks and iPhones, limiting access to such devices in some locations (Doan & Nguyen, 2022). Another weakness is the company’s overreliance on the high-end market.
With a premium pricing strategy, only middle- to high-income range customers can afford its products. Thus, the company misses sales to the low-income segment since it does not offer entry phones.
Opportunities
As stated earlier, Apple has a limited distribution network due to its exclusive distribution strategy. This presents the opportunity to expand its distribution network to reach more customers. Another opportunity for Apple is the potential to expand its mobile device distribution. The opportunity is based on the worldwide social trend in which customers demand more digital mobile devices.
Threats
The threats facing Apple include stiff competition in various business segments. In the consumer electronics and online services industry, Apple faces competition from Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, and Amazon. Besides, Apple TV Plus faces competition from players that offer streaming services such as Netflix, Meta, and Disney (Doan & Nguyen, 2022).
Another concern is the possibility that local firms can partially imitate its products, especially the iPhone. If the trend continues, the company risks losing sales to companies that imitate its products and sell them at relatively lower prices. Additionally, the rising cost of production, particularly in the company’s manufacturing plants based in China, threatens to increase the overall production cost.
Converting Weaknesses and Threats to Strengths & Converting Strengths to Opportunities
The lack of sufficient distribution networks means the company can strengthen its distribution by easing the exclusive distribution strategy. By partnering with reliable third-party distributors, the company will ensure it attains more sales (Doan & Nguyen, 2022). Another weakness was the premium pricing strategy.
The company can consider introducing entry-level devices to cater to the low-income market. On the other hand, the company can address emerging competition by bolstering its investment in research and development. This will prevent new entrants from edging out Apple due to investment in advanced technology.
Marketing Objectives
Apple will expand its consumer electronics by easing its exclusive distribution strategy and partnering with reliable third-party distributors by December 2025. By expanding distribution, especially to developing countries, the company will enhance its consumer electronics sales by 20% by the end of 2025. Moreover, the company should leverage its strong brand image and invest in innovation by increasing the R&D budget by 50% by December 2025.
This strategy is expected to help the company launch new products to increase its revenue. This will also help Apple stop overlying on iPhone sales as its core business portfolio. The strategy will help Apple expand its revenue by 20% by December 2025.
Wk 4 – Part B: Marketing Data Analysis
Internal Data
Evaluate internal data sources for information that would be available to you if you were employed by the business and what information you will receive from each source.
Identify 3 to 6 sources of internal data and list them in the Source column of the Internal Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
Internal Data Table
| Source | What it Measures | Data Type | Potential Data Usage |
| Example: Sales data | Example: Monthly sales by specific product | Example: Average sales that month in US dollars for each of 10 products; data can be segmented by business and consumer markets | Example: Can be used for trend analysis, projections, and to measure effectiveness of promotions |
| Customer Relations Management systems (CRM) | Purchase history of a certain product | Levels of brand loyalty will be indicated by how frequently certain clients have bought products from the company. | CRM data can be leveraged to help personalize ads, measure brand loyalty, and enhance customer retention strategies. |
| Operations data | Operational efficiency and the quality of business operations | Process completion times; for instance, how long it takes the business to replace a product on warranty | The data can help the business cut wastage by streamlining operations |
| Website and digital analytics | User behavior, for instance, what set of products specific customers view whenever they visit a website | The number of page visitors who become customers per 1000-page visitation | Digital analytics data can be leveraged to improve digital marketing strategies and facilitate the company to segment online target audiences. |
Primary Data
Evaluate primary data needs to create and evaluate the marketing plan.
Identify 3 to 6 sources of primary data and list them in the Source column of the Primary Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
Primary Data Table
| Source | What it Measures | Data Type | Potential Data Usage |
| Example: Focus group | Example: Product usage, motives, identify group level satisfaction, decision process, etc. | Example: Qualitative | Example: Identify different reactions of market segments to product. Identify marketing opportunities, product/service flaws and opportunities. |
| Interviews | Individual experiences and insights about the business | Qualitative | Understanding customer pain points and motivations |
| Surveys and questionnaires | Customers’ behavioral patterns and satisfaction levels | Qualitative and quantitative | Collecting data regarding specific product aspects and designing customized customer targeting strategies. |
| Observation | Measures customer interactions with the business, such as the number of times customers visit the business. | Both qualitative and quantitative | Analyzing the effectiveness of the business’s customer service strategy |
Secondary Data
Evaluate secondary data sources and the specific information you need from each source.
Identify 3 to 6 sources of secondary data and list them in the Source column of the Secondary Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
Secondary Data Table
| Source | What it Measures | Data Type | Potential Data Usage |
| Example: U.S. Census Bureau | Example: Income over the last 4 years by family structure | Example: Household structures with the highest income capacity | Examples: Market share analysis and
customer segments |
| Statista industry reports | Performance trends in respective industries, including competition and market trends. | Consumer preferences that give a brand a competitive advantage | The reports can be used to analyze industry-level competition and leverage the benchmarks to improve the business |
| Federal Reserve | Economic performance variables such as the level of disposable income | National trade data such as the average disposable income | Assessing economic conditions to help make key decisions, including whether it is viable to expand the business |
| Facebook Insights | Consumer sentiment toward a specific product | The product with the highest levels of engagement in terms of likes, comments, and shares | Facebook insights can be leveraged to monitor the brand health and its public perception |
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Establish customer touchpoints and develop appropriate CRM events for customer acquisition, retention, and profitability.
Identify 3 to 6 sources of CRM data and list them in the CRM Touchpoint column of the CRM Touchpoint Table. For each CRM touchpoint, input purpose and CRM objective, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
CRM Touchpoint Table
| CRM Touchpoint | Purpose and CRM Objective | Data Type | Potential Data Usage |
| Example: Customer profile information on website | Example: Starts the account for visitors: name, geography, email address (customer acquisition)
|
Examples: Presale: geographic location, customer id, source of reference, email address
Post–sale: address, product purchased, quantity, price. |
Examples: Track new and returning customer counts, total period purchases by customer ID, geographic sales data; Can be used for loyalty rewards, retention, and targeted marketing |
| Data from email campaigns | Used to monitor customers’ interaction with the business’s | Rates of email bounces, click-throughs, conversion rates | Depending on engagement metrics, the business can leverage the data to improve emails’ content and timing |
| Customers’ Purchase history | Monitoring customers’ interactions to determine their preferences | Purchase dates, frequency of purchasing, and service bought | By analyzing buyers’ behavior, the business will be able to predict future purchasing patterns |
| Customer service interactions | Monitoring customers’ interactions with support channels to bolster response times | Satisfaction rating by customers, resolution times | Identify issues that seem to recur and resolve them permanently, improving customer service employees’ training to enhance their efficacy. |
Wk 6 – Part C: Market Strategy, Marketing Channels, Implementation, and Monitoring
Use the information you researched in your Week 5 assignment for the sections they correspond to in this section.
New Customer Segments
Determine any new customer segments for your strategy and describe how you will provide value to each segment.
Marketing Mix for New Customer Segments
Determine adaptations for each new customer segment. Include:
- Products
- Price
- Distribution
- Traditional promotion
- Online promotion
Marketing Implementation
Create the implementation for your marketing strategy plan. Describe how you will organize and implement the plan, such as whether it will be organized by market or geography, and who is responsible for marketing decisions.
Marketing Communication Channels
Evaluate the digital and traditional marketing communication channels you will use to reach selected audiences.
Identify 3 or 4 channels to convey key messages and list them in the Channel column of the Marketing Communication Channels Table. For each channel, input target market, advantages, and disadvantages in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
Marketing Communication Channels Table
| Channel | Target Market | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Example: Direct mail | Example: Middle class residential | Example: Can include coupons | Example: Expense and low return rate for given product |
Strategic Actions
Develop strategic actions required to implement the marketing plan and list them in the Strategic Action column of the Strategic Actions Table. For each strategic action, provide the date for completion, person/role responsible, and standard or metric to indicate the action is complete in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
Strategic Actions Table
| Strategic Action | Date for Completion | Person/Role Responsible | Standard or Metric to Indicate the Action is Complete |
| Example: Design flyer for direct mail campaign | Example: 1/1/2024 | Example: J. Smith, graphic designer | Example: Approval by senior marketing team and legal |
Strategic Action Monitoring
Develop the measurement to identify how you know you have been successful for each strategic action. Specify the measures to track performance against goals. Identify standard reports from your online and traditional marketing efforts.
For each action listed in the Action column of the Strategic Action Monitoring Table, provide the overall target, person responsible, and inter-measurement in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.
Strategic Action Monitoring Table
| Action | Overall Target | Person Responsible | Inter-measurement |
| Example: Direct mail flyer | Example: Generate 1,100 new inquiries. | Example: Western regional manager | Example: Generate 500 new inquiries during the first month of campaign. |
References
Apple. (n.d.). Vision and Mission of Apple Inc. – Apple Community. Discussions.apple.com. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251301665?sortBy=rank
Doan, T. N. T., & Nguyen, H. H. (2022). Value creation and value capture: Analysis of Apple company. International Journal of Current Science Research and Review, 5(4), 1089-1095.
Jahan, S. A., & Sazu, M. H. (2023). Role of IoTs and analytics in efficient sustainable manufacturing of consumer electronics. International Journal of Computing Sciences Research, 7, 1337-1350.
Jin, C., Yang, L., & Zhu, C. (2023). Right to repair: Pricing, welfare, and environmental implications. Management Science, 69(2), 1017-1036.
Laricchia, F. (2024, April 19). Apple iPhone market share 2019. Statista; Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/216459/global-market-share-of-apple-iphone/
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Question 
This week you continue your strategic marketing plan for your selected business. The data analysis part of the plan is about analyzing the marketing data that’s available, including internal, secondary, primary, and customer relationship management (CRM) data. You will also need to identify sources for each type of data.
Access the Strategic Marketing Plan Template that you submitted in Week 2 (58946) that contains your completed information for Part A.
Strategic Marketing Plan Template
Review the feedback you received from your faculty member on your Wk 2 – Apply: Summative Assessment: Part A: Strategic Marketing Plan assignment and incorporate the feedback into the next part of your strategic marketing plan.
Complete Part B: Marketing Data Analysis of the Strategic Marketing Plan Template in the same document that contains your completed Part A. You will complete Part C later in this course.
Submit your Strategic Marketing Plan Template that contains completed information for Part B and revised information for Part A.