Individual Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan Phase 1 for Apple ipod (Situation Analysis)

Executive Summary

This report will throw the light on new ipod which has created the demands in the market. This product allows the customer to download the music. You can also download literature and other books which you can read easily and listen. Apart from this is it can be used in the cars as well.

This report has focused on the situation analysis and has concluded with a SWOT analysis. Within this situation analysis, I have focused on market analysis, competitor analysis, product analysis and SWOT analysis.

Competitor Analysis

First of all we have identify the competitors of the Apple ipod who are in the industry and engaged in same kind of production and you have to look your competitors from the customer perspective. To understand the competitor is also very crucial and try to recognise the factors which are making you different from your competitors.

Rio Carbon (5GB) is the number one competitor of Apple Ipod and Iriver H10 is the second competitor. The objective of this product is to increase the market share by 10 % and become the number one supplier of MP3 players in the industry after competing. And for doing this the strategy is to sell the product at reasonable rate as compare the competitor and in profitable prices. Meeting the customer expectation through product technology by innovating the new ideas is also another product current strategy. What are its weaknesses and strengths? The Rio Carbon is a new competitor in the market and it is difficult for them to capture the market share. Moreover it's an unknown brand and it is difficult for them to win the loyalty of the customers. Most of the customers buy the product which is well known in the market and which is in the market from a long time. The price of Iriver H10 is higher as compare to their competitors and as a result the customers would buy the product of its competitors those who are selling in a reasonable price. As we all that price plays as a important role in choosing the product. Rio Carbon is selling its product in very competitive price which will help them to attract the customer and at the same time they are maintaining the quality as well. On the other hand Iriver H10 is offering the different features to the customers, so basically they are focusing on the features of the product.

How an Apple ipod is in advantage position in the market? The Apple ipod is well known product in the market and every customer who use these kinds of items is aware of the Apple ipod and because of this it is in advantageous position. Rio Carbon is selling its product in very competitive price and it's a new competitor in the market and it may give the fierce competition to the Apple ipod. The Apple Ipod is more popular in the market as compare to Iriver H10 and its an advantage of Apple ipod over Iriver H10 though Iriver H10 is getting excellent reviews because of its new technology. It may be an intimidation to the sale of Apple ipod.

Customer analysis

Customer is the key of success for every business. Previous customer used to buy pre-recorded music or used to buy the entire album. In short customer had limited choice in music world and more over it was expensive as well. The Apple ipod has changed the scene completely as now customers prefer to go for MP3 music and Apple ipod is the leader in MP3 music. With its new innovation of downloading books and literature has increased its popularity in the market. Because of this feature now parents may also see this device as a educational device. In this way it is targeting another segment of market and the music lover (male or female) has more choice in music world.

Market Analysis

Market analysis means to look the market from every angle to determine the policies which can help the company to capture more shares in the market. For companies coming up with the new ideas is very crucial part of market analysis. Further market analysis can we classified into two ways:-

Internal influences: For the development and training of the employees, effective management is necessary and it is important for continue innovation of the Apple ipod and to retain sufficient funds to give fierce competition to its competitors at the time when they would come up with new products. The sufficient capital availability is also very important. To compete your competitor you should have enough capital otherwise competition may become hindrance in the cash flow. When competitor is introducing its product in the market unpredictably at that time sufficient fund must be available. You should be aware of the latest technology in the market and must be adopted to improve the overall production, so that you can full fill Ipod's order on time and can be delivered on time and date.

External influences: The introduction of the new product of the competitors will influence Apple ipod greatly. It has to keep an eye on the competitors strategies like what, how, when and why strategies is adopted in order to be in the competition. The breakdown of barriers between two countries will increase the size of the market of Apple ipod as it help Apple ipod to get more customers and can increase the sale of it. Male and female from the age 12 years and over are more interested in this product because of its new technology. Now you can not only play the music but you can download the books and other literature as well and which is more attracting feature for the customer.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis is an important tool in every business and organisation to understand and for making decision related to all kinds of situation. The SWOT analysis is a short form of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Below is the SWOT analysis of a Apple Ipod:

Strengths:

For the production of this product, sufficient resources are allocated like finance, assets, people etc.
The best feature of this product is, it can attract both male and female customer and this is the unique selling point.
Good competitive skills.
In the past its other product had commendable reputation in the market and goodwill always play important role.
It has the advantage of key technology.

Weaknesses:

It has limited market because the product has a narrow product line therefore unable to expand into other markets.
Price always plays an important role in decision making. The affordable price of competitors may attract the potential customers.
Introducing a new product, when the niche market is already controlled by other competitor's.
Poor use of promotional policy as customers was not introduced to the important use of the product.
For first time buyer , they might find hard time to learn how to use it.
It only offers synchronization so you can't add or delete songs directly on ipod.

Opportunities:

It has the opportunity to make most use of its capital financially.
It has developed a praiseworthy image in the market which can bring monetary value in future.
It has commendable technology development and innovation because of that there is an opportunity for fast market growth as parents may see this product as an educational device as it is able to read the book and other literature.
Season and weather do not effect in its sale however fashion may influence it up to some extent but not too much.

Threats:

Tough competitions as new competitors are entering in the market constantly.
The threat of not appealing to target market at all therefore generating a loss as opposed to profit.
The threats from imitators who just try to copy the same features and function as Apple ipod has.
MP3 download has become difficult as tough laws are being placed on the internet MP3 downloads.
Threats of losing key staff as human always go for the better opportunity.
The biggest threat to IT companies such as Apple is the very high level of competition in the technology markets.