Market and Customers: Apple - Essay Example

Market and s – Apple Segmentation Apple, just as any other company employs market segmentation in introducing and retailing its products. The company launches unique products periodically most of which target particular segments of the market. The success of the company arises from the effectiveness of the market segmentation. The company for example segments the market in order of purchasing power of the individuals. Different segments of the market have diverse purchasing power, the rice of a product as a fundamental influencer of the profitability of product influences the ability of the people to purchase the product. Apple therefore has appropriate products for different market segments and is target yet other unique market segments. Among the unique segments is corporate organization. Apple strives to sell its products in bulk to particular corporate organizations, results of effective market researches that influence the profitability of the company. Apple’s target customers are individuals with high purchasing power since they are either within or above the middle class in the different economies. The fact that the company targets corporate organization has thus expanded the company’s market share. This increases the company’s profitability. However, the company’s target market requires specific features in the products they purchase. Key among such features is the quality of the product; this explains Apple’s commitment to the quality of its products. Pricing As an element of the marketing mix, price is a fundamental feature that influences the profitability of a product in the market. In setting the price of a product, the company considers numerous features of the product, the cost of manufacture and the cost of doing business thereby arriving at a cost that will enhance the company’s profitability. in determining the price of its product, Apple just as any other manufacture considers the numerous features discussed above thereby retiling its products at market friendly rates in order to not only sustain the profitability of the company but to also enhance the marketability of the product. In order to maximize its profitability, the company can reduce the quality of its products while increasing the price of the product. While such may increase the company’s profits, it will likely lower the company’s profitability. In order to minimize the cost of doing business Apple must embrace the use of technology and rely on e-commerce in overcoming some of the demographic factors that deter the success of trade. The internet provides for effective ways of carrying out e-commerce a feature that will eliminate transport costs for both parties. Additionally, the company should use the internet in marketing its products thereby reducing the cost of marketing (Johnson, 2005). This way, the company reduces the cost of doing business thereby possibly lowering the price of its products. By determining new and more efficient ways of doing business, the company eliminates other related costs thereby possibly lowering the price of the products. Market research Marketing is a fundamental operation in marketing that influences the operations of the marketers in order to position their products strategically. Marketing refers to a management function often mandated with the determination, anticipation and satisfaction of customer demands. This implies that marketers must carry out effective market researches and analyses in order to determine the demands of the market. Market researches provide marketers with appropriate platform to interact with their audience and therefore obtain their views on past products. This way, the marketing department influences the production of the company thereby influencing the nature of successive products of the company thereby ensuring that the company sustains its profitability. Apple can use varied research methods including empirical researches that investigate particular features of the product (Ireland, 2008). The researchers will obtain primary data from the people they interact with most of whom are the target audience. The primary data is essential since they provide the researches with the actual situation in the market. By interacting with the target audience and using such techniques as interviews and questionnaires in collecting the primary data, the researchers collect fundamental information that influenced the performance of previous products thereby providing the marketers with a blueprint of the new product. In most cases, Apple launches its products in a serial manner with each product series complementing the unique features of the previous. This portrays effective market research that the company carries out before launching a new product. Advertising and communication mix Apple just as any other large company has numerous marketing tools to use in increasing its market share. Among the marketing communication mix, elements the company can use include advertising and packaging among many others. Advertising is a paid form of non-personal representation. Through effective advertisement, the company will hire airtime in broadcast media and spaces in newspapers and billboards. Advertisement is an effective way of raising the customer’s awareness on the existence of the products in a particular market owing to the effectiveness of the different media used by the marketers. Packaging also provide effective platform for the company to advertise its products freely thereby increasing the customers’ awareness on the product. With the two, Apple will enjoy increased market awareness thus raising the need for the products in the market. Different media have diverse strengths and weaknesses; radio for example is one of the most common media that the company can use. The fact that audio is a complementary media implies that people listen to radio while performing other duties. This makes the media appropriate in advertising the company’s products (Lardi & Fuchs, 2013). Television on the other hand provides a marketer with increased concentration on televisions thus the advert. This way, televisions provide marketers with effective platform to display the unique features of the product thereby positioning it strategically alongside other players in the market. However, effective marketers use numerous media thereby making as they complement each other thus improving the efficacy of the advertisement. Personal selling and sales management Personal selling refers to the physical interaction between a salesperson and a target customers. The success of the engagement thus relies on the ability of the sales person to articulate the features of the product thus convincing the customer to purchase the product. This requires the salesperson to understand both the product and the target market effectively. This way, it becomes possible for the salesperson to convince the customer to purchase the product. Personal selling creates yet another effective medium for advertising, word of mouth is among the most appropriate media since it provides the customers with an opportunity to ask varied questions on the suitability of the product. With such, the customers will develop a personal attachment with the product thus use the same zeal arising from the satisfaction they gain from the product to convince their friends thus increase the products market share. Apple’s salesperson must therefore possess appropriate personal features in order to articulate the unique features of the product appropriately with the view of convincing the customers to purchase the product. She must for example portray the unique features of the product that will convince the customer on the need for the product. In order to achieve this, the salesperson must portray the product as beneficial and one that will provide the users with increased efficiency (Benkler, 2006). Personal selling creates a rapport between the salesperson and the market, through such relationships customer loyalty becomes reliable owing to the ability of each of the two parties to respond and attend to the unique requirements of the other. This increases customer satisfaction. E marketing E marketing refers to the use of the internet in marketing a product. The internet has unique features that enhance the exchange of products and services besides providing effective platform for increasing the customers’ awareness on the existence of a product. Apple as an international brand must therefore embrace different features of the internet in order to increase its profitability (Clow & Baack, 2007). The company can use the social media to carry out effective market researches and to market its products. Social networks are dedicated platforms for social interactions on the internet. Such networks as Facebook and Twitter provide marketers with unparalleled access to their target customers a feature that enhances the efficiency of carrying out effective market researches. The company can therefore maintain numerous dedicated pages where it interacts with the target market in not only carrying market research but in also advertising its unique products. Additionally, the company can use the internet to facilitate financial transactions. Through the internet, people can make payments for products. Apple can thus use the internet in increasing its global presence. Among the advantages of e-commerce include the fact that it overcomes the traditional demographic barriers and will therefore provide Apple with a spontaneous international presence. Additionally, e-commerce requires minimal operational costs. Unlike in traditional advertising where a marketer must pay for either airtime or space depending on the media, the social media provide marketers with free space for running adverts and carrying market researches. The major disadvantages of the internet include the numerous security threats that may affect the reliability of the internet. However, commercial companies employ effective security measures to curb such threats. Brand management and NPD Brand management sustains the profitability of a company, this implies that a company must position and manage its brand effectively in order to enhance the company’s profitability. Apple has maintained its brand owing to its attribution to the unique features of the product. Among the features that enhance Apple’s brand management include quality. The company prides itself in the production of high quality mobile telecommunication devices. The company thus has a series of product that share the name a feature that has contributed to the success of the product. Brand management requires fidelity to the vision and mission of the brand. The company strives to achieve an international acceptance. The vision motivates the managers and marketers who device appropriate marketing strategies and ways of maintaining the brand. The new product development team faces numerous challenges in introducing and sustaining the management of their brand owing to the fact that the company strives to introduce a new brand (Lotz, 2007). As stated earlier, Apple is a major brand the company has unique way of naming its products often ensuring that the Apple logo remains in every product. The market is therefore likely to reject the new product. The new team therefore strives to convince the market on the usefulness and quality of the product. In retrospect, Apple is among the most successful brands in the world owing to the ability of the marketers to maintain fidelity to the company’s vision thus culture. This way, the brand becomes more conspicuous (Elizabeth & Michelle, 2008). Customer relationship management and retail Customer relationship is an element of marketing and a contemporary marketing technique that enhances the profitability of the company. Apple has dedicated customer service desk that obtains claims and complains from the customers. Through the customer relations desk, the company obtains the responses of the market on its product. The quality of the customer care services influences the profitability of the company since the customers become attached to the company based on the reliability of the service they get from the customer care desk. Additionally, the customer care desk provides the company with an effective platform to carry out an extensive market research thereby obtaining the market’s feedback on different products. Through the customer relations desk, Apple for example will obtain different complains from the market. By analyzing the nature of complains, the company obtains reliable information on the features of past products thereby influencing the production of successive product series thus resolving some of the problems (Kotler, 1997). In developing customers who are less price sensitive, the marketing commercial director must analyze the features of the product thereby making the quality of the product conspicuous. Customers often overlook the price of a product in case the quality of the product validates the price charged. Apple are quality products that promise reliability and efficiency, with such a product coupled with effective advertising, it becomes possible for a manager to convince the customer to purchase a product irrespective of its price. Apple must therefore maintain reliable relationship with its network providers thereby sustaining the quality of the products. SWOT Among the strengths of Apple are its diversity and product quality. Apple produces numerous which include smart phones, music players, computers and laptops among many other communication devices. As such, the company operates in diverse products a feature that extends its target market ensuring that in case of a fail in one product the others will enjoy relative success thereby cushioning the company from incurring overall loss. Additionally, the company enjoys a large market share owing to the quality of its products. The positive reputation that its products enjoy will continue to sustain its profitability. However, the company has a few weakness that may limit its profitability (Shirky, 2008). Key among such is the failure by the company to cover the global market effectively. Place is a fundamental feature of the marketing mix that enhances the profitability of a product. The fact that Apple misses in different countries globally despite being an international brand creates a conducive environment for a counterfeit product to thrive. The opportunities that Apple enjoys include the global market. This implies that the company can manufacture more products and target other regions globally. As discussed earlier, Apple is a global brand. This gives the company a large market which if utilized effectively will contribute to the growth of the company. The company’s major threat is heightening completion. Such companies as Samsung, Sonny and Blackberry among many others continue to perfect their products thus heightening the competition against Apple for the same target market. 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