Apple Marketing Mix free essay sample

The Analysis of Apple Inc. Marketing Mix. more 397 KB International Marketing SID No: 1241835 1 TASK AINTRODUCTION The product name Apple was originated from two mutual interests? friends Steve Jobs andSteve Wozniak. The development of the company in the 1070s â€Å"Apple† was a step ahead of most computers of the time featuring a use of television as a display system of watching and acassette interface for listening and recording programs. Apple Inc. s mainly a special design, amarket mobile for media and communication device personal hands computer, digital musicplayer, and the production and sells of variety of software, networking, service and maintenanceand other digital applications. However, The Company also sells and delivers kinds of digital applications such as iPhone,iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV and a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications. The Apple Company also sells its products worldwide through its retail stores, direct onlinestores, and dire ct sales force, as well as through the third-party cellular network, wholesalersand retailers. Apple Company offer a variety of mobile devices, personal computers (Desktop and Laptop),modern digital music players and others variety of different software, networking and generalservices. In addition, the company has its own company software products including, thecompany mobile operating system, and the Company? s proprietary Operating system softwarefor the Mac; server software and application software for consumer, together with education,initiative and government customers. The value of Apple? s brand increased by 129% in the past year, from about $33 billion in 2011 to $76 billion this year, ccording to iInterbrand? s Global brand Rankings 2012. The company iseveryday increasing year by year and the high record among company? s grade. International Marketing SID No: 1241835 2 Figure: 1(Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, Nov. 5, 201 Basically, the market expanded by as much as 49% and a major portion of the new market of the products Samsung. Annually, Samsung? s have surged by a whopping 325%, up from 1. 2million units in 2011 to 5. 1 million units in the newly concluded area. This $199 worth 7-inchtablets were hot sellers and forced Apple to consider the idea of launching a smaller tablet. Compared to 2012, the shipment volume of Kindle almost reached twice to 2. 5 million units. APPLE Inc. MARKETING MIX Marketing Mix is the combination of four elem ents, called the 4P? s (Price, Products, Place and Promotion), that all company has the choice of weather to add, subtract or to modify in a way togenerate a desired marketing strategy. (Philip Kotler). Marketing Mix are the set of tacticalmarketing tools which comprise of Price, Products, Place and Promotion that the firm blends toproduce the response it wants in the target market. Principles of Marketing, Kotler and Armstrong, 2012) International Marketing SID No: 1241835 3 The four (4) classifications are as follows: product, place, price and promotion are commonly called the â€Å"four p? s. † Note are also that the client is not part of, but rather are the main target of the marketing mix (Perreault, Jr. McCarthy, 2009). PRODUCT Armstrong and Kotler define product as â€Å"anything that can be offered to a mar ket for theattention, acquisition or consumption that might satisfy a want or need† (Armstrong Kotler, 2005, p. 23). Apple Inc. Company is utilizing the iPod ecosystem to leverage the iPhonethereby supporting its online music system. The main display of PC based websites with thesame display made this product different from one another. ( O? grady , 2007). The company is utilizing the iPod ecosystem to leverage the iPhone thereby supporting itsonline music system. The display of PC created websites with same display made this product different from others. (O? grady, 2007). Many companies fail to remember what the client is really searching for. In the words of famous marketer Jay Abraham, â€Å"give them your solution – or somebody e lse will† (Abraham, 2005 PLACE Apple Inc. is said to be an American Multi-national Corporation Company which theHeadquarter is located in 1 Infinite loop, Cupertino, California State with about 394 differentnumbers of retail stores that design, develops and sells consumers electronics. (Nov. 2012) Figure: 2Sources: Distribution locations (Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010). The Company surveyed the means of distribution together with telecommunications service? along with stores and connected system of business. In this point of view, the customers wereforce to enter a contract from 18-24 months. The company is using some certain ways for International Marketing SID No: 1241835 4 distribution of their products. (Jobber Fahy, 2009). Around 18million out of 58million peopleare already with iPod products to which the company done much to provide their customers withits produc ts. The company is clever to use the use the touch points of established networks(Vodaphone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile etc. , (Jobber Fahy, 2009) MARKETING MIX UNDER PRICE AND ITS ANALYSIS The internet has changed the way Apple Inc. Company set its prices. The fixed prices for allcustomers are giving way to dynamic pricing, where customers are charged â€Å"different prices depending on students, individual customers and situations † ( Armstrong Kotler, 2009). The marketing managements have to make sure that the Apple Inc. pricing on customer? s worth rather than only on cost. The only ways to ensure appropriate Apple Inc. price for customer is by changing the customer? perception of value. The price should be suggested by making theservice or expertise the value, not the product itself, even commodity driven Apple Inc. productscan benefit from this approach. The Apple Inc. main Corporation needs to emphasize thebenefits that come with the product. Price The Apple Inc. Pricing m ix in Business Analysis includes Cost, Competition, Discounts, andgeographical Area. The marketing plan must include consideration on how Apple Inc. prices arepricing and including discounts, (Perreault, Jr. McCarthy, 2004). Apple Inc. arketing plansmust include price considerations. The pricing includes costs, competition, markups, discounts,and geographical area. Even if all the other aspects are perfect, with the wrong price, thecustomer will not buy the product. Apple Inc. Company started selling its product at the price of $599 (8GB), $499 (4GB) and later it reduced the price of 8GB to $399. Still it also wanted to target the mainstream users and can? t reply on the first adopters (young techno savvy, professionals) for future growth. They triedskimming and versioning strategy. Apple Annual Reports, 2010)With the introduction of technology today, the price Apple Inc. goods are been displayed andchange by the company through internet. The days of unchanging prices for all clien ts are giving way to active pricing, where clients are charged â€Å"different prices depending on individualcustomers and situations† (Armstrong Kotler, 2 009).. International Marketing SID No: 1241835 5 Promotion Apple has been most aggressive in terms of promotion on their product. Promotion as thename implies is the fourth of the Marketing mix and not necessarily more important than any of the marketing mix. Formally defined by Armstrong Kotler, promotion is concerned with tellingthe target market or others in the channel of distribution about the â€Å"right† product (2004). Figure: 3Sources: Strategy of promotions (Kiprin, 2009; Apple Annual Reports, 2010) During the lunch to flaunt the innovative device (iPhone), the company started with 4TV to whichcan provide the needs of entertainment and sharing of information about the device and byfocusing a new ways to advertise the present 4TV ads in July 2010 (Chris 2010). The companymade successful relations with media firms and Steve (CEO) shares new ideas with publicduring occasions. Williams, Mullin. 2008). Company Strategy Apple is expanding and improving its distribution capabilities by opening its own retail stores inkey cities around the world in a market of good quality shopping venues. Apple provides expertretail floor staff to selected sellers stores (such as Australian department store David Jones); ithas entered into stra tegic alliances with other companies to brand and distribute Applesproducts and services (for example, HP who was selling a branded form of iPod and pre-loadingiTunes onto consumer PCs and laptops). Apple Inc. recently increased the accessibility of iPodsthrough various sellers that do not currently carry Apple operating systems, and this increased International Marketing SID No: 1241835 6 the reach of its online stores. There have been few studies about Company? s Strategy of Apple Inc. such as Marketing Fundamental Project (Christine, 2010). The successful Apple retail stores give away customers direct experience of Apples brandproducts. Apple Store visitors experience an interesting good care, know pressure environmentwhere they can discover more about the Apple products in general, they try the companysproducts, and get every help and assistance from staffs of Apple Inc. products at the shopsnationwide. Figure: 4Source: Apple Inc. 2010SWOT Analysis Apple Inc. , the manufacturers of iPhones , iPads ,Macs, iPods , and specialized operating software, the company has achieved great success since it begin in the year 197o? . Its complicated to predict what will happen to the Apple Inc. company in the coming future, but aSWOT analysis (The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) be able to help tounderstand the companys current position and again what will happen to the company businessin the future. For years, a SWOT analysis was the primary way to analyze how a company wasdoing financially.