Consumer Engagement in a Virtual Brand Community

Questions: 1. What have been the benefits of planning at Apple Inc.? 2. Do you think Apple has done a good job of evaluating the gap between its current position and assumptions about the future? 3. How would you describe Apples strategy in the highly competitive consumer electronics industry? Answers: Benefits of Planning at Apple Inc. In order to grow and protect the resources, a firm must conduct an effective and efficient strategic planning. Apple is one of the most famous and popular company in the world. Apple Inc. is a multinational company that produces and sells electronics appliances, computer hardware and software. By the implementation of proper strategic planning Apple Inc. has achieved a favorable position in the market. Strategic planning is method by which the managers maintain a fit between the objectives and resources of the organization with the potential market opportunities[1]. Through strategic planning, the organization has now become eligible to supply the best and most top-notch products in the market. The company has also ensured long-term profitability in providing products and services. Again, the most important one is the marketing strategy adopted by the company. Apple Inc. starts the marketing of a product before it is introduced in the market[2]. This helps the company to popularize i ts product at a previous stage in order to achieve competitive advantage. With respect to the competitors in the market, Apple Inc can be referred to as a leader in the electronics and computer market. Analysis of gap evaluation At first stage, an organization assesses its present situation and designs the strategic planning program. In the second stage, it is necessary for the organization is to determine the gap between the present situation and the anticipated situation of where the company will be in future. A gap analysis is a report that depicts the current situation of the company along with where the company might reach in near future. This helps the company to determine what are the changes that are to be made in order to cope up the gap. Generally, gaps may exist in three different genres, people, processes and technology. When the people lack in their skill sets or the job role is not properly defined, it can be said that there are gap in the peoples skills. Again, the business may be redundant excessively or there may be lack of technological factors these are the technological and process gaps. With the conduction of gap analysis, the decision makers of the company may gain a broader insight of the organization or the technology or operation. This in turn helped Apple Inc. to determine whether the available resources within the organization are sufficient to meet the goals or not[3]. It has also helped the organization to channelize its efforts in the proper direction and to make information-based decisions. The difference between the expected outcome and experienced outcome gives rise to dissatisfaction. The company has detected gaps in the people as some of the people were lacking in skills. However, Apple Inc has addressed this issue, as soon as possible. Therefore, the key factor that plays behind the enormous success of Apple Inc. is the proper analysis of this gap[4]. Strategies of Apple Inc. Apple Inc.s CEO stated that the company never aims at selling a low cost phone rather its prior objective is to sale a great phone with a superior user experience. Eventually the company has found a way to perform all these with a lower cost. The traditional four-pillar strategy of Apple Inc. is to offer a small range of products to the customers. All the products produced by Apple Inc. are high-end products. The most important among all is the effect that the company creates in the market, which makes the potential consumers to stave for the products. Furthermore, the company is solely focused on the profits rather than focusing on the market share. Apart from these there are few more strategies that the company makes use of. The first and foremost among them is the differentiation strategy. Apple Inc. increases its market demand by differentiating its products from the existing products prevailing in the market[5]. They perform the differentiation by producing unique and attractive products. Although, there is a huge level of competition Apple Inc. has always stayed a step ahead in the market compared to its competitors. This has become possible only because Apple has become able to create extensive market demand for its products. The unique pricing strategy adopted by the company is another strategy adopted by the company. The company always aimed at producing a premium product and charging the justifiable price for that product. The cheapest product of the company is priced between the mid ranges, but those products provide a high quality service[6]. Moreover, the hardware and the user interface provided by the company again provide a lot of value so that the company may charge higher prices. These strategic choices of Apple Inc. have allowed it to stand a step ahead from the crowd[7]. Thus, it is evident from the above discussion that the company is flourishing only because of the proper implementation of proper strategic planning and gap analysis. Reference List Brodie, Roderick J., et al. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis." Journal of Business Research 66.1 (2013): 105-114. de Wit, Frank RC, Lindred L. Greer, and Karen A. Jehn. "The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis." Journal of Applied Psychology 97.2 (2012): 360. Galliers, Robert D., and Dorothy E. Leidner. Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge, 2014. Gamble, John E., and Arthur A. Thompson Jr. Essentials of strategic management. Irwin Mcgraw-Hill, 2014. Morgan, Neil A. "Marketing and business performance." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 40.1 (2012): 102-119. Priem, Richard L., Sali Li, and Jon C. Carr. "Insights and new directions from demand-side approaches to technology innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management research." Journal of management 38.1 (2012): 346-374. [1] Priem, Richard L., Sali Li, and Jon C. Carr. "Insights and new directions from demand-side approaches to technology innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic management research." Journal of management 38.1 (2012): 346-374. [2] Morgan, Neil A. "Marketing and business performance." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 40.1 (2012): 102-119. [3] Brodie, Roderick J., et al. "Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis." Journal of Business Research 66.1 (2013): 105-114. [4] de Wit, Frank RC, Lindred L. Greer, and Karen A. Jehn. "The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis." Journal of Applied Psychology 97.2 (2012): 360. [5] Galliers, Robert D., and Dorothy E. Leidner. Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge, 2014. [6] Morgan, Neil A. "Marketing and business performance." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 40.1 (2012): 102-119. [7] Gamble, John E., and Arthur A. Thompson Jr. Essentials of strategic management. Irwin Mcgraw-Hill, 2014.