marketing plan

APPLE WATCH

MKTG 522: Marketing Management

Professor;

04//2015

A. Executive Summary

Will describe

· Who.

· What.

· Where.

· When.

· How.

· Why of the plan.

B. Company Description

Apple Watch is the newest product designed by Apple. Apple conveys that this product is the most personal product ever designed because it can be worn. It also stands for the newest relationship customers will have with technology.

· History of the company—how it was founded and by whom, what its products are, and why they are unique.

C. Environmental Analysis

Company’s current situation - current marketing objectives and performance.

1. Marketing Environment:

0. Competitive forces.

0. Economic forces.

0. Political/Regulatory forces.

0. Technological forces.

0. Sociocultural forces.

1. Target Markets:

1. Demographic.

1. Geographic.

1. Psychographic.

1. Product usage characteristics of the current target markets.

1. Current Marketing Objectives and Performance:

2. Company’s marketing objectives and measurement how the company will measure performance against those objectives.

0. Attract new customers.

0. Retain existing customers.

0. Branding objectives.

0. Marketing and corporate objectives.

D. SWOT Analysis / Core Competencies

· Strengths.

· Weaknesses.

· Opportunities.

· Threats.

E. Marketing Strategies

Company’s objectives - Apple Watch

1. Target market(s) for new product:

0. Customer Profile.

0. Segmentation and Targeting.

0. Positioning.

0. Product/Service overview.

F. Marketing Mix

This component should provide considerable details regarding each element of the marketing mix: product, price, distribution, and promotion.

1. Product Plan

1. The company should resolve to provide more products and services in order to gain a large market share.

1. Introducing new products in the market or a variety of products will be beneficial in gaining a competitive edge over its competitors.

1. Launch new user-friendly I watch technology.

1. The company should be proactive in introducing new products to the market to meet the ever-increasing market for smartphones.

1. The company should strive to diversify its production unit to reduce high dependence on the semi-conductor business.

1. Pricing Plan

1. The company should strive to maintain a consistent sales growth as it is a determinant of the company’s ability to propel a sustainable position in the market.

1. Apple should look and compare the price they want to offer with their competitors.

1. Distribution Plan

1. Open more stores and outlets. This will have the effect of increasing the number of sales and generating more revenue. This also creates an effective link between the company and its customers

1. The company should increase its presence in Africa and Middle East.

1. Improve on the images of the products. Advertising of quality products with quality images to improve on their sale and brand recognition.

1. Promotion/Communications Plan

· Specific Objective

· Media strategy: Big idea, Message, Copy, Visuals

· Media Plan: Reach and Frequency

· Budget: How much will this cost?

· The industry in which it operates.

· The competitive forces.

a) Traditional Media

· A paid for,

· Mass-mediated,

· Attempt to persuade,

· Use to build brand identity

b) Internet

· Search engine optimization (SEO) strategy: Google AdWords

· Online advertising: Banners, reciprocal links

· Social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram…

· Website

c) Direct Marketing

· Postcards

· Personalized mailings

· Emails concerning special offers

· Newsletters

d) Sales Promotion

· Consumers: Coupons, price-off, gift with purchase, contests, samples, mail sampling, newspaper sampling, on-package sampling, mobile sampling

· Trade/Business: Training, allowances, incentives, trade shows

· Internet: New opportunities for contests and trial subscriptions

e) Public Relations (PR)

Public relations involves:

· Creating publicity; buzz, viral messages

· Building media relations

· Corporate communication (issues management, community relations, government relations, industry relations)

· Building employee relations

· Maintaining financial/investor relations

· Crisis management

· Image building

· PR deals with what is difficult to control; but a company can be prepared

· PR amplifies the effects of other communications strategies

The tools of PR include:

· Press releases

· Feature stories

· Company newsletters

· Press packs

· Interviews and press conferences

· Sponsored events

G. Implementation / Schedule

· Launch dates

· Key events

H. Conclusions

Benatam and Snell (2012) allude to the fact that, in the modern business environment that is associated with the high paced competitive market, Apple will depend on the experience and leadership of the executives as a key to success through business ethics and social corporate responsibilities. Apple’s background of being a leader in innovation is accepted far and wide and respected, but over the current years, it seems to resist quite a bit to renewing its products in a right direction.

References

Ru, Z., & Yake, C. (2011, August). The SWOT Analysis and Strategy of Brand Competitiveness about Binhai New Area. In Management and Service Science (MASS), 2011 International Conference on (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Kim, M., & Park, J. (2011, February). Demand forecasting and strategies for the successful deployment of the smart TV in Korea. In Advanced Communication Technology (ICACT), 2011 13th International Conference on (pp. 1475-1478). IEEE.

Chang, Y. J. (2013). Predicament and Business Strategy of Digital Still Camera Industry.

Lee, S. H., Jeon, R. K., Kim, J. H., & Kim, J. J. (2010). Strategies for developing countries to expand their shares in the global construction market: phase-based SWOT and AAA analyses of Korea. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 137 (6), 460-470.