History, Products and Market Share
Samsung is considered one of the biggest technology providers globally. It began as a small trading firm in South Korea in 1938 and exported different products to China. The small enterprise gradually developed into a conglomerate (Samsung Electronics) in the seventies. It became the primary manufacturer of electronic items in Korea. More than two decades ago, Samsung diversified into mobile devices (particularly phones). It produced the lightest mobile phone (SCH-800) in 1993. Samsung focused on the 3-G industry to sustain demands of consumers.
Apple is a multinational that manufactures personal computers, consumer electronics, software for computer, and servers. It also distributes digital media content. Apple computers came out in the market (April of 1976). Apple’s original product lines were Apple (II), Power Mac and Macintosh. The return of Steve Jobs in 1996 helped Apple reach the top position in this industry. Jobs became responsible for introducing a unique corporate philosophy and better products such as the I-Mac in 1998. This was followed by the iPod and iTunes Music Store in 2001 and 2003 respectively. In 2012, the market ceiling of Apple exceeded Microsoft and Google.
In terms of current market share for mobile products, Apple sold 47.5 million I-phones during the 2nd quarter of 2015. However, Samsung had a 21.7 share of the smart phone market worldwide with 73.2 million units. These figures were provided by the IDC Research Company. Samsung always managed to surpass Apple in this market. IDC statistics also listed Apple in the top five vendors of PCs for 2014. It is number four with 8.9 percent Lenovo, Acer and Dell companies comprise the top three.
Sales and Marketing Strategies for Global and Domestic Markets
Samsung has a massive product portfolio and present in nine product categories. These include mobile phones, household appliances, cameras/camcorders, and laptops. The company employs multiple pricing strategies and matches these with their products. It skims prices and obtains higher value before competitors can finally draw near. Samsung decreases the price significantly if a competitor launches similar merchandise. It also utilizes competitive pricing for smart phone products. It seldom opts for penetrative pricing schemes since it is never late in the market. Samsung is also present in numerous market channels. The company chooses single distributors for one market area. Likewise, the corporation’s marketers make use of various forms of marketing and promotions.
Apple also implements certain sales and marketing strategies which have some similarity to the competition specifically Samsung. However, it focuses more on branding. The Apple Brand continues to evolve while the corporation expands its products. It highlights easy-to-use personal computers that fit into the needs and styles of consumers instead of technical concerns and traditional values. The core competence of Apple is to deliver incomparable customer experience using remarkable interface systems. Apple prefers simple but effective promotions and advertising programs. Yet, it underscores the need for convincing value propositions, important benefits for users, information that can persuade potential customers to make fast decisions, and present the information in a very simple manner.
Product Innovation
Samsung has often been scored for copying and modifying innovations made by competitors. However, it remains the world leader in television sets, screen technology, chip design, and batteries. Samsung goes for tolerant circumvention and never fails to go after patent areas where the completion has protection. It makes sure to look for new ideas that can be patented right in the backyard of competitors.
On the contrary, Apple has a universal strategy in innovation as it is said to be the most inventive corporation in the world. Apple has extraordinary business models and “game-changing novelties.” The company’s innovation experts conceive unique platforms and channels. They push the speed of innovation persistently. Competitors find out that they are behind by several months after Apple unveils a new product in the market. Apple has unique designs as part of its innovation management strategies.
R &D Budgets
The sales of Samsung dropped in 2014 by 9.8 percent. An audit report revealed the company will increase its budget for research and development roughly 7.4 percent to $13.8 billion for 2015. Apple experienced record sales for its Mac and I-Phone but it has already spent $2 billion for research and development for the 1st quarter of 2015. This is an increase of over 40 percent one year ago. Nonetheless, its R & D budget is still below what most of its competitors allocated for the previous years.
Lawsuits
The most prominent lawsuit involves Apple Incorporated and Samsung Electronics. Actually, these are several court cases involving the designs of tablet computers and smart phones. Apple started to litigate versus Samsung because of alleged infringement of patents. On the other hand, Apple and Motorola were also engaged in a legal patent war. Apple is a participant in many legal disagreements and claims specifically intellectual property concerns.
Consumer Benefits and Losses
The benefits of using Apple products include enhanced efficiency especially with Mac computers; advanced media options; sophisticated technology; custom Information Technology; and, one-stop shopping for apps. Samsung products also have similar advantages except that its image as an innovative provide makes it more beneficial for customers. There are technical limitations for both products which mean losses for customers. However, it is up to the users to look at the disadvantages and make their choice.
Conclusion (Comments from CEOs)
According to the CEO of CYANOGEN (Kirt McMaster), Samsung has to come up with more innovations. Otherwise, it will be overtaken easily by the completion in three to five years. The CEO of Oculus says more Samsung products are forthcoming. Meanwhile, the CEO of Motorola said Apple is the product of the future because its prices are shocking. Now, it is up to consumers to pass judgment on these tech giants.
