Lessons for Samsung from Apples Marketing Strategies - Research Paper Example

Lessons for Samsung from Apple’s marketing strategies Contents Contents 2 Literature review 4 Methodology 4 Discussion of findings5 Conclusion 8 Introduction Apple is arguable the most successful smart phones manufacturer in the world. Apple’s success arises from the strategic marketing technique that ensures that every product they launch is a success story. Through Apple’s successful marketing strategies, other players in the market can make lessons in order to improve their profitability. Samsung is one such brand, a company that prides itself in product diversity and quality but still has a minimal market share especially in Europe and the Americas. The reports below is therefore a result of an effective research on the marketing strategies that Apple employs in order to sustain the large market share the company enjoys currently. The researcher investigates the unique marketing features that enhance Apple’s success by interviewing the users of the products in order to quantify their satisfaction and the factors that motivate them to purchase the company’s products. Marketing is a fundamental function of management mandated with the sustenance of a company’s profitability. The marketing function thus encompasses the determination, anticipation and satisfaction of the market’s demand. Apple’s success is a natural portrayal of effective marketing strategies (Cutlip, Allen & Glen, 2011). The research therefore investigates the strategies, their application and effectiveness in Apple’s operations. Additionally, the research analyses the marketing strategies that Samsung employs with the view of criticizing them thereby recommending the effective strategies that Apple employs. Among the research questions that the researcher strives to answer are; what are the marketing strategies that Apple employs? What is the success rate of the marketing strategies? Moreover, how does Apple develop the marketing strategies? By answering these, the researcher will gain an effective understanding of Apple’s marketing thus derive effective lessons that can benefit Samsung thus improving the performance of the Korean based smart phones manufacturer. Literature review Kotler & Kevin, (2010) explains that effectiveness of a marketing strategy must resonate in the performance of a product. Just as defined earlier, marketing as a management function strives to address the customer demands. With effective marketing therefore, a company manufactures appropriate products that satisfy the demands of the customers. This way, the company improves both its profitability and market share. Marketing has three major objectives which include increasing the satisfying the current market, increasing the market share and increasing the product awareness. The three primary objectives must therefore influence the operations of marketers. In doing so, the department increases the profitability of both the product and the company (Kidder & Hoffman, 2013). Apple has an effective marketing department, one that has effective understanding of both the industry and the market. This way, the company develops unique products that satisfy the demands of the market. Among the marketing tools that any marketer uses include the SWOT, PEST and the marketing mix among many others. The tools are effective in ensuring that a marketer has an effective understanding of both the industry and the market. The two are fundamental aspects of business operations that will influence the operations of a company (Cavanagh, 2002). Numerous companies that compete for the same market will employ unique strategies in order to gain a larger share of the market; this therefore requires marketers to understand the operations of their competitor in order to employ strategic operations that compete favorably against other companies. Methodology The research employs the effective random sampling technique. This ensures that the researcher develops a realistic view of the company. The researcher selects the respondents randomly thereby developing an effective understanding of the disparity in the market. With such an effective sampling technique, the researcher employs numerous data collection techniques, which include interviews and questionnaires. The two techniques have different strengths and weaknesses (Homburg, Sabine & Harley, 2009). When used together, they complement each other thus contributing to the effectiveness of the data collection process. The researcher will have effectively structure questionnaires in order to complement the interview process. Discussion of findings From the research, it became evident that most of the smart phone users use Apple gadgets. The disparity is evident in Europe with Samsung performing poorly in the market in terms of client based. As the chart below portrays, Apple has the largest market share in Germany while Samsung has a small percentage. Other brands in the market also compete against the two for the same market but Apple beats all of them singly. Apple enjoys 41% of the European market while Samsung has 15%. The remaining 46% belongs to an assortment of other brands in the market including Nokia, Sonny and HTC among many other brands. However, the market share of each of the numerous brands is negligible compared Apple. Apple popularity arises from the unique features of both the smart phones and the company. While the particular smart phones often satisfy the unique demands of the consumers, the company on the other hand ensures that the products are available in the regions that constitute the company’s market. Currently, Apple enjoys an international acceptance as the products have become famous in every part of the world. This portrays the effectiveness of the company’s marketing strategies that that have succeeded in ensuring that they infiltrate their target market with the desired products while incorporating the creativity desired by the consumers of similar electronic devises. The interviewees gave varied reasons for purchasing and using Apple gadgets. Additionally, they gave varied reasons to validate their preference for Apple to Samsung. Among such were: The product’s creativity, the respondents most of whom used Apple products just as the chart above portrays explained Apple products do not disappoint. The company ensures that they incorporate the latest technology in their products in order to enhance the usability of the phones. The company has a series of smart phones that exhibit unique technological features thereby enhancing both the efficiency and the usability of the products. Additionally, the serial trend ensures that the company has diverse products that target different target groups. As such, the company has products that satisfies and befits the financial constrains of each market group while promising the appropriate efficiency and usability that each market group would demand. The different respondents cited diverse media that influenced them to purchase the Apple products. The media is a fundamental marketing platform that increases the customer awareness of a product thus influencing the consumers. Adverts serve numerous functions key among which is to influence the target audience to purchase particular products. Apple employs an assortment of media in advertising its products. The graph below portrays the unique media the company used in advertising its products. Apple employs numerous media in advertising it products. While the chart above portrays the popularity of the different media, it also portrays the numerous media the company employs. The fact that different respondents cited the different media portrays the diversity in the company’s advertising techniques. Websites are the most famous medium; the company employs numerous online marketing techniques including social networks and a dedicated websites that enhances the company’s e-commerce. In validating their preference for Apple to Samsung, the numerous respondents cited numerous reasons including the fact that Samsung was not as popular as Apple is especially in the European market. This portrayed Apple’s marketing advantage over Samsung. Some other respondents cited the size of the phones claiming that while a smart phone should have an adequate screen size to facilitate the numerous applications, the size would be reasonable. Conclusion From the analysis of the research findings, it became evident that Apple enjoys a larger market share than Samsung in the European market. The difference in the market share of the two companies arises from the uniqueness of the marketing strategies that they both employ. Apple exhibits effective understanding of both the industry and the market and therefore employs numerous marketing strategies some of which Samsung can learn in order to improve its European market share (Black, 2003). Among the fundamental lessons that Samsung can learn include; The need to influence change in the society, Apple is among the earliest manufacturers of smart phones in the world. As such, Apple pioneered a social change in the demand for mobile telephones by introducing new unique features that later influenced the development of the smartphones. As the case portrays, effective brands influence change in the society. In doing so, a marketer creates a market niche for its products. Samsung misses a potential market share owing to its inability to innovate unique new products. The subsequent court cases between the two companies portrayed Samsung’s inability to innovate unique products since Apple accused Samsung of imitating its applications. This contributes to a negative reputation for the product in the market thus affecting its market share. As the discussion above portrays, product promotion is an equally important feature of marketing that increases the consumers’ awareness on a product. Promotion performs numerous functions including teaching the customers on the performance of the product a feature that may possibly increase the demand for a particular product (Parente, 2005). Apple carries out intense and equally effective advertising with the view of increasing the customers’ awareness its new product features. The company carries out extensive marketing on different media including the social media, televisions and radio among other contemporary media. This enhances the reputation of the product thus increasing the demand. Bibliography Black, R. (2003). Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success, London UK: Sage Publications. Campbell, J. Y., Lo, A. W., & MacKinlay, A. C. (1997). The econometrics of financial markets. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Cavanagh, J. (2002). Alternatives to economic globalization: A better world is possible : a report of the International Forum on Globalization. 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