Marketing Plan Analysis and Presentation: Part 3 – Place and Advertising Promotion
Ana-Stall21
MarketingPlan.pptxAPPLE MARKETING PLAN ANALYSIS
STUDENT NAME
ISNTITUTION
COURSE
DATE
Introduction
Company name- Apple Inc.
Mission
Bringing best experience to consumers
Vision
Leaving the world a better place
Marketing objective
Retention of loyal customers and building new relationships
Apple is a publicly-traded company whose mission is “to bring the best user experience to its consumers through innovative hardware, software, and services." This mission statement was first included in the 2018 annual report by the current CEO, Tim Cook. Apple’s Vision statement is “to make the best products on earth and leave the world better than we found it.” This vision guides the company's operation, strategic management, and decision-making. The company’s marketing objectives are retention of its loyal customers and building new relationships with future customers. The main focus is to keep the customers happy to continue using the company's products.
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Segments and Target Market
Divided according to income, gender, age and life-cycle (Dudovskiy, 2018).
Divides customer into groups.
Must be sustainable, actionable and measurable Dudovskiy, 2018).
Identifies active segments
US and International market
Urban population
High income earners
20-45 years
According to Dudovskiy (2018), Apple's market segmentation is divided according to age, income, gender, and life-cycle stage. The market segmentation divides that customer into groups according to specific traits. The market segmentation must be sustainable, actionable, and measurable (Dudovskiy, 2018). The company focus on identifying segments that are very attractive to their business. Geographic target markets are the US and international, mainly the urban population. The company targets consumers between 20 to 45 years, males and females with high income who are mainly students, managers, and professionals.
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Characteristics of Target Markets
Psychological, social and personal characteristics
Ambitious and determined people
Social media culture
Succeeders and inspirers
Middle and upper class (Dudovskiy, 2018).
Willing to pay extra for quality
Risk neutral and risk avoiders
Apple uses psychological, social, and personal characteristics to determine its target market. Its consumers have ambitious and determined personalities and can be users or non-users. Social characteristics such as social media culture among the young generation are another aspect the company considers in product production. Moreover, the company targets middle and high-income earners who are succeeders and aspirers (Dudovskiy, 2018). These well-off people are willing to pay extra for high-end technological products and appreciate the products' quality, design, and performance. Lastly, they are risk-neutral, risk avoiders, and explorers who want advanced functions
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Product Differentiation
Pricing its products
Showing products are better
Hype before launch
Unique product design
Distinctive features (Kopp et al., 2021).
Brand loyalty
Inclusivity vision
Apple's main product differentiation tactic is pricing its products higher than other technological competitors. The company shows that its products are better and have the latest technology. Moreover, the company has mastered the art of product hyping before its official launch through its effective distribution and marketing strategies. The company has a unique product design different from its competitors, which includes unique features; the iPad, iPhone, and iPod have distinctive features and packages (Kopp et al., 2021). The company has created a brand loyalty that has differentiated its products from the rest of the electronics through an inclusivity vision.
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Consumer Behavior
Personal, psychological and social influence.
Occupation influence consumption
Age affects buying power
Digital communication behavior
Internal motivation
Positive attitude
Loyalty
Consumer buying behavior is personal influences, social influences, and psychological influences. Some personal influences include occupation, people with low income are less likely to buy Apple products, while high-income earners such as high and middle income can purchase the products. Another personal influence is age; a seventy-year-old person may not require a smartphone. On the other hand, the young generation between 20 to 45 years is embracing digital communication and has a high chance of purchasing an iPhone. Psychological behaviors influencing consumers to buy Apple products include internal motivation and a positive attitude towards the company. The company has long depended on loyal customers’ behavior to make huge sales.
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Product Mix
Divided into four
iPhones
Mac computers
iPads
Wearables and accessories and home appliances
Each category has various products (Dudovskiy, 2021).
Apple product mix is divided into four categories. The first category is the iPhone, a smartphone line operating on iOS. The 2021 additions of the iPhone products are the iPhone 13 Pro, Pro Max, and mini (Dudovskiy, 2021). The second product category is the Mac, and this is a line that specializes in the production of personal computers using the macOS operating system. The third category is the iPad, a multipurpose iPadOS on different tablets, and the Home, accessories, and wearables. These are Apple Watch, Apple TV, and iPod touch, among other Apple-branded goods (Dudovskiy, 2021).
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Product Lines
Focus on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Wearables and home accessories
Manufactures tablets, wearables, PCs and smartphones
Focus on few products
Product are brilliantly made
Simplicity over complexity
Uses uncomplicated matrix
Apple’s product line includes iPad, iPhone, Mac, wearables, and home accessories. According to Reuters, the company manufactures tablets, wearables, personal computers, and smartphones. The company focuses on a few products which are brilliantly made, an aspect that has given the business an upper hand over its competitors. The company embraces simplicity over complexity, which has made it thrive for over twenty years because it uses an uncomplicated matrix.
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Apple Service Process
Business should benchmark at Apple (May, 2022).
Makes customers feel special.
Five-step service delivery
A- Approaching customer
P- Probing politely
P-Presenting solution
L- Listening and resolving
E-Ending with farewell
According to May (2022), any business that wants to thrive on how to treat customers should consider learning from Apple. The company makes its customers feel special through service delivery. The company has developed a five-step service process that all employees must follow in every customer conversation (May, 2022). The service process has an acronym, APPLE. The first step entails Approaching a customer with a warm welcome. Secondly, the employee should Probe politely to gain insight into the customer's needs and Present a solution that the customer will embrace. The fourth process is Listening to and resolving all customer issues and concerns, and lastly, Ending with a farewell and inviting the customer to return.
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Physical Evidence
Brings tangible expression to customers
Customers rely on physical cues
Apple has
Interior layout,
Temperature,
Ambient equipment
Focuses on quality
Focus on ambience of customers and staff
Environment resonate with the brand
Physical evidence is part of Apple's marketing mix to bring a tangible product expression to the customer by showing them how it is bought and used. Consumers rely on physical cues to evaluate a product before they purchase it. Apple has interior facilities with a layout, temperature, and ambient equipment for the customers. The physical evidence is crafted to resonate with the brand and its retail stores. Apple has focused on the quality of its products and the ambiance of its customers and staff. Their environment is well thought out to resonate with their brand.
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Roles of Company Employees
Company attract millions of shoppers
They embrace building relationships
Customers are the soul of the business
Employees communicate effectively
Every employee is trained on APPLE approach (Gallo, 2022).
Employees are students of human psychology
Understand emotional level of customers
Apple attracts millions of shoppers who visit its premises after a release of a new product. Apple has a magic formula that embraces building relationships to sell more products to its consumers. The soul of Apple products is based on its customers; therefore, employees are trained to communicate effectively and adapt personal relation techniques. According to Gallo (2022), every employee in the organization is trained to take the customer through the APPLE service process, which focuses on building a relationship with the employees and improving people's lives. Employees at Apple are students of human psychology, and they understand the emotional level of customers and know customers need people they can trust.
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Pricing Objectives
Rely on product differentiation
Focus on unique products
Creating demand for goods
Embrace customer loyalty
Set artificial barrier to competitors
Use MAP
Maintain clear distribution channel
Company is sales-oriented
Apple’s pricing objectives are mainly relying on the company’s product differentiation. The company focus on making unique products that attract customers. The success at Apple has been achieved through product differentiation, creating demand for its goods. They embrace customer loyalty and keep their process high by setting an artificial barrier for its competitors. The minimum advertised price (MAP) ensures that the goods are not sold below a set minimum price to maintain the company's popularity. The company uses this pricing objective to maintain clear distribution channels and avoid the decreased profit. Thus, the company is sales-oriented rather than profit-oriented.
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Pricing Strategy
Has unique pricing strategy
Focus on increasing demand
They use value-based approach (Dost and Geiger (2017).
Competition-based pricing
They keep competitors at bay
Maintained image of the brand
Apple has a unique pricing strategy. They are always focused on increasing the demand for their products by making unique products. According to Dost and Geiger (2017), value-based pricing plays a key role in competitive situations. Apple has utilized a value-based to sell the right product to their customers at the right price. Moreover, the company uses a competition-based pricing strategy to keep its competitors in a crowded tech market at bay. The smartphone market is saturated with Samsung, Google Pixel, Microsoft, and OnePlus among other companies competing for customers. Using these strategies, Apple has managed t maintain the image of its brand.
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Pricing Tactics
Does not offer discounts on products Only offers gift cards during Black Fridays
Customers can win gifts for buying Apple products
Offers discounts to students
Student discounts applies always
Applies to all Apple products
Apple is known for not offering discounts on its products as the company embraces MAP. The only time of the year when the company offers gift cards is during Black Friday shopping. The four-day event every Friday of November allows Apple customers to win gift cards upon purchasing Apple devices selected by the company. However, Apple offers discounts to students and parents working in the education sector. The Apple student discounts help students save on Apple products by discounts on their purchases. The most important thing to note about this student discount is that it applies to all products in Apple stores, be it a spanking new phone, Mac or iPad.
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References
About Apple Inc. https://www.reuters.com/markets/companies/AAPL.O/
Apple Marketing Mix (Apple 7Ps of Marketing) Retrieved September, 20, 2021. https://research-methodology.net/apple-7ps-of-marketing/
Apple’s Pricing Strategy. https://globalmarketingprofessor.com/apples-pricing-strategy/
Dost, F., & Geiger, I. (2017). Value-based pricing in competitive situations with the help of multi-product price response maps. Journal of Business Research, 76, 219-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.01.004
Dudovskiy, J. (2018). Apple Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. Retrieved September 20, 2018. https://research-methodology.net/apple-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/
Gallo, C. (2022). Apple's Secret Employee Training Manual Reinvents Customer Service in Seven Ways. Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2012/08/30/apples-secret-employee-training-manual-reinvents-customer-service-in-seven-ways/?sh=51bccf0a64fd.
Cont.
Kopp, C, M, James, M. & Munichiello, K. (2021). Product Differentiation. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/product_differentiation.asp#:~:text=Apple%20differentiates%20its%20products%20by,clever%20marketing%20and%20distribution%20strategies. Dudovskiy, J. (2021).
Marketing Plan - Apple Inc. Business Portfolio. Sites.google.com. (2022). Retrieved 12 July 2022, from https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/jpbusportfolio/marketing-plan.
May, M. (2022). 5 Steps to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. Business Class: Trends and Insights | American Express. Retrieved 12 July 2022, from https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/book-review-the-apple-experience-by-carmine-gallo/.
Statements, M. (2022). Apple Mission Statement 2022 | Apple Mission & Vision Analysis. Mission-statement.com. Retrieved 12 July 2022, from https://mission-statement.com/apple/.
