Marketing Assignment

Global Market Analysis

Marketing plays an important role in ensuring that a business is successful in selling its products in the market. Effective market analysis ensures that a business is able to understand its target market and develop strategies that are capable of enhancing its market coverage (Pride & Ferrell, 2016). Marketing to a global audience requires the adoption of effective and dynamic approaches, which make it possible to deal with the continuously evolving challenges in the market. As such, companies that seek to maintain their competitiveness in the market such as Apple Inc. need to adopt innovative ideas and solutions to the marketplace challenges that arise (Marshall & Johnston, 2015). This is made possible through proper market planning which clearly defines the series of necessary activities that will facilitate the attainment of the desired objectives. Having an appropriate marketing strategy helps adopt a marketing mix that is most suitable for the target market.

Apple Inc. has managed to become a key player in the technology industry over the past few decades, increasing its market coverage significantly. The technology industry is highly competitive, which requires the firms in this industry to develop a clear understanding of the market patterns and changes in order to develop strategies that are most suitable for their target market segments (Stephen, 2016). Despite the intense competition, Apple Inc. has managed to achieve exceptional success by being able to gain greater access to the global markets through its wide range of highly innovative products. This has made it the leading company in terms of revenue since its sales have been increasing in the global market. Apple makes effective use of various global market development strategies that have enabled it to capture a larger global audience. Apart from the United States, the two main international markets that have proven successful for Apple Inc. are the European and Asia Pacific market regions (Lockamy III, 2017). To capture these markets, and enhance its competitiveness, Apple Inc. needs to take into consideration various factors that influence the success of its products in the target market.

There are many factors that affect the marketing decisions made within an organization. These factors influence the operations of a firm and might be uncontrollable, which leaves the company with the option of developing strategies that help manage these factors (Marshall & Johnston, 2015). These factors include the sociocultural, competitive environment, technological, political, and regulatory factors, which make up the firm’s marketing environment. Understanding each of these factors ensures that appropriate decisions are made when seeking to introduce a product to the target customers in the market (Rao-Nicholson & Khan, 2017). When marketing to an international audience, the behavior, culture, and social factors are the most critical factors that should be considered as they could significantly impact a firm’s international expansion efforts.

Over the years, Apple Inc. has relied on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach where similar strategies are used when marketing to their customers both in the local market and in the international markets. However, the recent changes in the global market have made it hard for the firms targeting international audience to continue relying on such an approach in marketing their products. Dealing with people from different cultures requires that the marketing strategy be adapted to match the needs of the target clients in the new market regions (Rao-Nicholson & Khan, 2017). The social factors refer to the demographic traits of the target market populations and the shared values of these people. For Apple Inc. these demographic traits include the cultural values, attitudes, diversity, buying patterns, and gender differences among the consumers in the market. These factors have played an important role in the company as it seeks to target young individuals who have a high preference for technologically advanced products that suits the personal and professional needs. In addition, the targeted customers for the Apple products are usually young professionals (Marshall & Johnston, 2015). Apple has been able to adapt their marketing approaches to match the needs of their target customers in the European and Asia Pacific market, thereby enhancing its performance in the global market.

The political environment is another key factor that needs to be considered when marketing their products. These political factors influence a wide range of aspects in the market such as the taxation policies that are established by the government. Higher taxation could cause a business to avoid entering a particular country as a way of minimizing the costs. Apple Inc. has found a strong and reliable market in Europe and Asia with a political environment that is supportive of their business (Marshall & Johnston, 2015). In addition, Apple has been able to gain access to a low cost source of inputs working with companies such as Foxconn in the Asian region. The economic factors significantly impacts the marketing techniques that are used by the organization (Lockamy III, 2017). Apple provides high end products to their target customers, which implies that the target market is made up of those individuals who are capable of paying the set prices. In addition, the company targets brand-conscious individuals which makes it possible to market to the consumers and increase market coverage in these regions.

The legal environment has also significantly affected Apple’s operations in the international market. The laws established within a particular country help guide on how businesses are expected to behave and conduct their operations. These legal requirements could increase the cost of running a business in particular jurisdiction in as much as it could make such as country suitable for the expansion of a firm’s operations (Rao-Nicholson & Khan, 2017). The legal factors may be established to enhance consumer protection or impose trade restrictions in the international markets. There are various international laws that Apple is expected to observe when marketing globally. These include the employment laws and environment protection laws. Abiding with these laws would ensure that the company does not get held up in legal battles such as the recent case of Foxconn, on the violation of labor laws (Lockamy III, 2017). In addition, since Apple is an American company, it is expected that its operations in other countries should abide with the U.S. laws on issues such as environmental protection, proper accounting practices, and employment laws.

The current marketing strategies and methods used by the company in the global market place have been very effective in ensuring that Apple is able to achieve its marketing objectives. A key strategy that the company uses is maintaining a consistent brand throughout the cultures and market segments. This has ensured that all the customers across the world are able to obtain quality products with the same desirable and unique features (Stephen, 2016). Apple Inc. has also been able to make effective utilization of localization in supporting the consistency of its brand and improve customer experience. While most of their products provide the same features to all their customers across the world, the company has been able to develop measures to interact with its customers across the world more effectively. In marketing their products, Apple uses customized contents that are aimed to ensure that their customers feel recognized and appreciated (Pride & Ferrell, 2016). In the Chinese market, Apple has been able to customize its marketing efforts to ensure that it is appealing to the local consumers, a strategy that has proven effective among all the customers.

The use of digital marketing and social media has achieved significant growth across the world, which has made the international market more accessible for the company. There are more people in the world who are using the social media as a source of information than it was the case a decade ago. This makes digital marketing a growing source of marketing effectiveness in the global market (Stephen, 2016). Thus, the selected international markets compare favorably with the local market in the United States since the target customers are equally capable of accessing information through the social media. As such, Apple Inc. can be able to achieve the same level of effectiveness while using the digital marketing and social media platforms to market to their customers both in the United States and in the selected international markets. In order to enhance its effectiveness in marketing the new products in the market, I would recommend that the company adopts a marketing strategy that allows for different pricing of products that are offered to the consumers (Pride & Ferrell, 2016). Charging the same prices for all their customers seems to be a key challenge since most of its competitors such as Samsung have made effective use of pricing to gain a competitive advantage in the global market. This approach would ensure that the company is able to gain greater market coverage and improve its competitiveness in the global market.

References

Lockamy III, A. (2017, July). An examination of external risk factors in Apple Inc.’s supply chain. In Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal (Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 177-188). Taylor & Francis.

Marshall, G. W., & Johnston, M. W. (2015). Marketing management (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780078028861.

Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2016). Foundations of marketing. Cengage Learning.

Rao-Nicholson, R., & Khan, Z. (2017). Standardization versus adaptation of global marketing strategies in emerging market cross-border acquisitions. International Marketing Review, 34(1), 138-158.

Stephen, A. T. (2016). The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, 17-21.