Discuss about the electronic and non-electronic communication methods and practices utilized by Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American based company which specializes with manufacturing of computer software, personal computers, smartphones, and other related accessories. The company was launched on January 3, 1977 and currently has multiple segments including America, Greater China, Europe, and Japan. Over the years, the company has grown significantly as it offers its customers with stylish and [powerful devices. This report will look at the various communication strategies utilized by the company.
One of the key non-electronic media utilized by the Apple Company is verbal. This is a form of communication which is executed via face-to-face. The target audiences of this form of communication are mainly the customers and the company’s staff (Hutt, 2012 P.34). In the Apple store, for instance, a member of staff will rise up and explain a certain product to the public. The prime aim of this form of communication is to enlighten the Apple customers about the various products so that they can make informed purchase decisions. On their part, the customers are given a chance to ask questions and receive direct answers. In other cases, the supervisors apply the face to face method to communicate with their juniors and give instructions (Ginter, Shear, Spahn, Van Wie, and Weber, 2014 p.65). It is an excellent method of communication as both parties can express their wishes or give comments to each other. Besides that, this method enables Apple Inc. to exchange hard copies with the staff members.
Apple also uses billboards as a form of communication. This form of communication targets the general public. The billboard communicates to all the potential customers who have the ability to purchase the company’s products. Moreover, this form of communication shows the stylish and elegant nature of Apple’s products and also includes a short message to persuade people to purchase the product. The billboards are erected in strategic and busy places which mean that the message is not intended for a certain group of people, but rather a whole population (Mason, 2013 p.78). Another non-electronic media that is used by the company is the invoice. The invoice describes the quantity and quality of each commodity, description of service, the price, and the payment address. It is a legal document as thus it treated as such. In other words, the company can present the document in court as evidence of an incurred debt. The target audience for this communication method is mainly individuals with outstanding pay and the buyers.
Notably, Apple Inc. uses memorandums for internal communication purposes. The main targets are mainly the departments of the organization and the employees as well. The main contents of the memorandum are usually new developments within the company. Apple Inc. also uses letters to address various stakeholders including employees, customers, and suppliers. The letters are of high standards and often have a clear objective, introduction, details, and gives the reader clear instructions on how to respond (Iacono, Lyon, and West, D., 2011 p.73). The letters from the company can take various forms such as informal or formal, strongly advising or reasoned, and/or impartial or emotional. The letters can be sent to any of the stakeholders as long as they are literate.
The Apple Company utilizes DVDs widely to reach the target audience including the customers, employees, and suppliers. The contents of the DVD may, for instance, contain information regarding a new product that has been launched by the company and thus the need to learn more about the product (Chesher and Kaura, 2012 p.345). This method of communication is suitable for the Apple staff members as they will need to enlighten the customers regarding the new product. Another form of communication that is utilized by the Apple Company is multimedia which is mainly adopted to reach the members of the public.
Apple Company also uses its website to communicate to the employees, customers, and suppliers. This is a type of web-based communication. Web-based communication allows Apple to communicate with people globally on a single platform. The web platform allows Apple to tell the people what they need to know about the company. One of the main features of web-based communication is that it is one-sided. Putting this slightly differently, two or more individuals cannot communicate via the website. Instead, the company informs the customer or other target audiences (Choudhary, Pandey, Nayak, and Mishra, 2011 p.378). This form of communication is regarded as more formal given the fact that the company does not know the recipients of the message. The message that is communicated through the website is the most important information that the stakeholders need to know. For instance, Apple’s website contains relevant and useful information such as products, support questions, about the company and much more.
Another form of web-based communication that is used by the company to reach customers, staff, and employees is the emails, and in other instances, the company also utilizes blogs. Emails are often used to reach out to the suppliers and only in rare cases where the company sends emails to customers and staff. Apple applies this form of communication mainly because it can reach a wider audience and the customers can also raise their complaints or comments online. In cases where emails are used to reach the suppliers, the company is able to maintain confidentiality as the information is not exposed to the public (Lee, Gilliland, Bello, and Osmonbekov, 2011 p.123). In addition, Apple uses the short message service to remind the staff and customers about various appointments. Besides that, the SMS service is used by the company to send the customers special promotional codes.
Additionally, Apple uses video conferencing to communicate with other businesses. This is mainly done where the businesses are far apart. It helps the company save time as well as travel costs. Notably, this method allows more than two businesses to communicate without having to worry about their location (Martens, 2011 p.243). Thus, Apple views this method as a perfect option to communicate with business associates. Finally, social media possesses more chances for leveraging integrated communication strategies to increase preference for the products and also increase awareness. Some of the social media platforms used by Apple Inc. include Facebook and Twitter.
The current success of Apple Inc’s is connected to the capability of the organization to employ the strengths to minimize the weaknesses as well as threats, and make maximum use of the opportunities that prevail. Therefore, Apple’s SWOT analysis gives an insight into the communication strategies and practices. Through this SWOT analysis, the main issues are highlighted that Apple seeks to address through the adoption of the new Internal Communications Methods (Tar, 2013 p.987). Basically, the communication method and practices are designed to help Apple identify as well as support the working techniques and structures which arise from Foxconn, a significant Apple’s supplier of iPads and iPhones. Therefore, the evaluation of the internal and external elements ay Apple guides the investors towards evaluating the value of the organization. Through the communication strategy at Apple, a situational evaluation is recognized, stakeholders examined, as well as evaluation of outlined objectives hence the issues that prevail can be mitigated. The principle behind communications strategy and practices is to ensure good communication is upheld. For instance, ensuring information is well-distributed to ensure the Apple employees are conversant with relevant information. In addition, the communication strategies as well as practices present Apple in the best way possible and allow effective as well as accessible communication techniques, establish strong working relationships, and keep employees updated. Apple Inc. has experienced various issues which are connected to employees’ suicidal attempts, labor issues such as low salaries and un-conducive working environment.
To start with the strengths, the communication methods and practices help the company improve its business performance. For instance, the new internal communication strategies and practices make Apple have a brand which is respected on the international scale. Also, Apple Inc. employs effective strategies to produce various technological tools to the multitudes. Through the practices and communicational strategies, Apple Inc. leads an exceptional interface through technologies which earn it a high competitive advantage (Sammut?Bonnici and Galea, 2015 p.766). Apple Inc. is highly responsive to customers and provides immediate feedback which facilitates effective relations. Also, Apple Inc. ensures there is a comfortable and safe environment for employees through communication strategies and practices. Finally, Apple experiences various innovations that relate to the organization’s sophisticated growth strategies which make it challenging for other companies to compete due to the progressive management that prevails.
In the case of weaknesses, Apple Inc. experiences obstacles towards obtaining business growth. Therefore, various weaknesses that are connected to communications strategies and practices include labor challenges at Foxconn. Also, Apple Inc. has a limited network for distribution due to the exclusivity of its policies. It is evident that such exclusive strategies hinder the company from its market reach but supports the control of the pricing strategies. Due to poor communication at some point employees commit suicide at Apple due to the long working hours as well as low salaries. Finally, Apple experiences difficulties in ensuring there is consistency as well as the quality for its products due to the advances of technologies that prevail.
In the case of opportunities, Apple Inc. wishes to employ effective strategies that support its expansion. Such opportunities connect to the Apple’s weaknesses which prevail due to ineffective communication strategies which limit the distribution network of the institution. The opportunities allow Apple Inc. to examine options and decide on changing its distribution strategies. Apple Inc. focuses on expanding the communication networks, strategies, and practices to reach more customers who exist in the global market.
Apple faces threats which are connected to communication strategies and practices which can impact its financial performance. For instance, there is tough competition from other companies such as Samsung which employs innovation. Moreover, Apple faces a significant threat where other companies imitate its products (van den Eertwegh, van Dulmen, van Dalen, Scherpbier, and van der Vleuten, 2013 p.188). At some point, Apple may lose its reputation of the brand as well as share prices if the new internal communications strategies and practices are not well implemented.
The SWOT analysis shows that Apple Inc. embraces strengths of communication method and practices which can help in minimizing institutional weaknesses. The strengths provide the company with various opportunities to expand as well as implement effective communication methods and practices. Therefore, the company can adopt the rapid innovation processes as well as the brand’s image to help establish more strategies for product lines. Finally, the company should find effective actions using the patent portfolio to overcome the threats that prevail.
The Apple Company is always working hard to remain on top of competitors in regards to communication strategies. The iCloud, for instance, not only offers customers multiple products but also communicates to the company the number of loyal customers. In addition to this, new products are communicated to the customers through magazines, advertisement commercials, and billboards. Any event or news regarding the company is communicated via the event’s blog and news. Apple’s blog is constantly updated with all the latest news and events. RSS Feeds is a type of application that is used by the Apple Company to update music on i-tunes and also keep the customers up to date with the latest news (Khan, Alam, and Alam, 2015 p.961). Additionally, Apple has a users group whereby the stakeholders of the company unite and join the group. Essentially, the group offers the company an excellent opportunity to communicate with the stakeholders and members can as well become friends and share their ideas and views.
Looking at Samsung, various communication channels are applied to communicate to the relevant stakeholders. During the launch of Samsung Galaxy SII, for instance, the company integrated various communication channels to achieve success in marketing the product. Days before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy SII, the company had already started communicating to its customers about the new product through dancers who moved around big cities with boxes embedded with the Samsung logo. On the day of the release, billboards, TV advertisements, magazines in-store banners, YouTube videos, and sponsorships all worked collectively to pass the company’s message regarding the new product.
Another major competitor to the Apple Company is Sony. Sony uses various communication practices to reach its customers, employees, and suppliers. Some of the notable channels used by Sony include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. Sony has multiple Facebook pages the various products of the company. The most popular account is the Sony Playstation Facebook page which has approximately 32 million followers. Hence, the page acts as an excellent tool to communicate with the customers once a new product has been released. Like the Facebook page, the company’s Twitter page has its equal share of fans and important messages are communicated via the platform.
Apple has been excellent in communicating with its stakeholders in the recent years. However, the company has performed averagely when it comes to customer and developer related communication issues. Regardless of the hundreds of support questions, bugs, and threads in the company’s discussion forum, the support team has done very little in regards to offering suggestions or help (Colquitt, Lepine, Wesson, and Gellatly, 2011 p.543). In addition to that, the company needs to focus more on social technology rather than the email. Considering the fact that the new technological generation is becoming more and more popular in the modern business world, there is need to utilize the latest technology to remain competitive and on point (Hynes, 2012 p.446). In certain instances, emails can waste time for Apple Inc. as they are somewhat ineffective compared to the social media. The modern fast moving and complex business environment require the presence of improved efficiency without compromising effectiveness. By the time Apple Inc., for instance, autocorrects and proofreads an email and also ensure that the format is correct, the company could have just used a minute to post a video on Instagram or SnapChat. A recent research indicates that employees are 75% less likely to read documents than watch videos (Garon, 2012 p.765).
Conclusion
As seen in this report, Apple Inc. uses various electronic and non-electronic methods and practices to engage its employees, customers, and suppliers. One of the electronic methods used by the company is the DVDs. The DVDs may, for instance, contain information regarding a new product that has been launched by the company and thus the let the stakeholders know more about the product. Various events concerning the company are communicated through the news and event’s blog. RSS Feeds is a type of application that has been outlined in this report. The application is used by Apple Company to update music on i-tunes and also keep the customers up to date with the latest news. Besides this, Apple has a users group whereby the stakeholders of the company can share their ideas or comment on the various issues within the company. In brief, the group is an essential communication method for the company. Some of Apple’s competitors that have been identified in this report include Samsung and Sony. Looking at Sony, for instance, various channels including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest are utilized by the company to reach the various stakeholders. Despite the effective communication practices utilized by the company, there is still need to focus on the areas where the company has been performing averagely. In addition, Apple Inc. should consider focusing more on the social technology in this modern age.
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