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A study on racketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 Ill Acknowledgement I would like to thank a bunch of people who helped me in completion of my dissertation like: My facilitator for guidance and support throughout the dissertation. All respondents and friends for filling in the questionnaires. My family for constant support and motivation. 4. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 IV Abstract , contemporaneousness electroplate Incorporation is a multinational company that creates and sells The. Illumination IIS$16363 stores worldwide, with global sales of, insofar, and personal computers are mainlander typhoon,piddling of amputees,Misinterpretations products-company’s well e due to high brand awareness related to these products. Philosophized as a source of competitive edge ,Final Cut Studio,Aperture,rework,life,tunes,Mac SO Salsa sells other branded products like, . Soberer antiradar,Logic Studio The main objective of this study is to analyze the importance of using marketing strategies of branding in Apple Inc. The study will help to find out about the related benefits of branding mainly.
The details of the study will help us to learn about the consumer’s awareness about the brand ND how their loyalty can be increased in order to gain a competitive edge. Also, analyzing the importance of branding can help us to find out about the Apple brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, by using SOOT analysis tool and by using STEP process, we can know how to segment the market, target the customers and position the products/services. Whereas, by using 4 As of marketing mix, we can find out about the branded product, its price, promotion and placement.
Now the company’s. Consumer electronics personal computers shifted transubstantiation focus , along with theoretician typhoon,piddling of computers,Macintosh’s products are the-best suite affiliated browser,tunes,)operating system(Mac SO Soother line of products including, (professionalism’s(suite of productivity softwarebiWorkmultimedia/creativity footwear, , logic Studiousness-(suite of professional audio and filming Cut Straightforward package), (mobile operating system). Cobwebs browser undifferentiated of music production tools; 1. 2. 1 Mission statement of Apple Inc According to Apple Inc (2012), “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with SO X, ‘Life, rework, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its pods and tunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary phone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical pad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. Another mission statement is:”Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and internet offerings. ” 8. To find out about the branded product and its related price, promotion and placement and to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats the company may be facing. To find out about the benefits of branding for the company and to find out how branding helps to gain a nominative edge by differentiating themselves and how it increases customer loyalty and increases brand awareness. 0 To analyze the importance of using a marketing strategies of branding for Apple Inc and to find out how STEP strategies helps Apple’s brand. 0 Counterrevolutionaries. 1. 2. 4 Major competitors of Apple Inc Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Blackberry, Monika 1. Motivations of research: As the competition in the technology industry has increased, it has become mandatory to make a study on the importance of using a marketing strategies of branding for Apple, to stay at he top of consumer’s mind, to cope up with the changing environment, to gain competitive edge, to make improvements in future and to attain goals set by the company. 1. 4 Research Objectives: Toopenmorestoresevenoninternationallocationsto increase sales and dominate world market. 0 Tokeepcreatingandreleasingcomputersandconsumerelectronics those are user-friendly. To obtain products and services within tight timeshare, at a cost providing the best value to the customers and shareholders. Study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 2 1. 2. 2 Vision Statement of Apple Inc “We believe hat we are on the face of the earth to make great preconditioning to Apple Inc (2012), and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the t we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products attachments. We believe that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.
We believe in hat are truly important mandating no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few t pollination of our groups, which allow us to-meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t the courage to-company, and we have the silvery group in the change. And I think regardless of who is in what Job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well. ” 1. 2. 3 Objectives of Apple Inc As stated on the website Apple Inc (2012) are: 9. A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December Does branding really contribute in making a difference in Apple Inch’s success? 1. 6 Organization of Study: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Research findings, data presentation and data analysis Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations How will using STEP strategies, 4 As of marketing mix and SOOT Analysis help to enhance Apple’s brand? 0 Does branding allow Apple Inc to charge premium for its products and yet maintain customer loyalty? 0 Does branding allow Apple’s customer to easily recognize and recall the company and its products? Does branding helps Apple to differentiate its products from its competitors, by gaining competitive edge? 0 Does branding allow Apple Inc to communicate company’s objectives, mission and vision clearly to their customers? 020123 1. 5 Research question: 1. 5. Leading question: What benefits will Apple and its customers benefit from after using branding marketing strategy? 1. 5. 2 Subsidiary questions: 10. Brand recognition- is when the consumers have good knowledge of brand when they are asked questions related to a specific brand and they are able to differentiate a brand on the basis of having noticed or heard about earlier.
E. G. Is l- phone related to Apple or study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 4 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review 2. 1 Introduction This section will provide the details about the qualitative data, providing a foundation for all the details to follow. 2. 2 What is branding? According to Kettle (1999), branding is a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of all these that identifies the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Branding does not only allow your target market to choose your company over the competitor’s, but it helps in getting your prospects to see you as the only company that provides a solution to the consumer’s problems. It provides a company’s with a recognizable and trustworthy badge of originality, an intangible guarantee, I. E. Promise of performance that the product will meet with desired consumers’ expectations. 2. 2. 1 Apple’s Branding Strategy According to Marketing minds (2012), Apple Inc. Sees the Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets, including the personal computer industry with its Macintosh line of computers/laptops and related software, the consumer electronics industry with products such as the pod, digital music distribution through tunes Music Store, the smart phone market with the Apple phone, magazine, book, games and applications publishing via the Appeasers for phone and the pad tablet computing vice, and movie and TV content distribution with Apple TV.
The company is also establishing a very strong marketing presence relative to the rival (Google) in the advertising market, via its business APS and ‘Ad network. Steve Jobs, the co-Founder of Apple, described the company as being a “mobile devices company”, largest in the world as their revenues are bigger than Monika, Samsung, or Sonny’s mobile devices business. 2. 2. 2 Brand Awareness It is when the consumers are familiar about the life or availability of the product. It is the degree to which consumers associate your (2012) in their article ” What is brand awareness? Brand awareness may include of: 11. It strengthens user loyalty Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. Apple brand’s personality is about lifestyle, imagination, liberty regained, innovation, passion, hopes, dreams and aspirations, and power-to-the-people through technology. The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity, making life easier for people as they have people-driven product design, and is a humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers. 2. 2. Apple’s Brand equity According to Investigated, it is the premium value that the company realizes from a reduce with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent firm. Companies can create brand equity for their products by making them memorable, easily recognizable and superior in quality and reliability. Also, mass marketing campaigns may help to create brand equity. Brand equity is said to be positive if the consumers are willing to pay more for a branded product than for a generic one. Brand awareness plays a key role in building brand equity.
Create reliable brand image, slogans and tastiness, helps to strengthen brand awareness which therefore improves brand equity. Marketing minds (2012) also states, Since Apple has strong rand awareness, it has high sales and high market share, and the consumers are well acquainted and familiar with the brand and its products. They are also willing to pay premium price for their products, relative to the competitor’s brand due to Apple’s positive brand equity. Apple is not Just intimate with their consumers but there is a real sense of community among users of its main product lines.
Therefore, this also helps to create consumer’s brand loyalty (where brand loyalty is when the consumers become committed to your brand, choosing it over competitors and making repeat purchases over time. 0 It motivates the buyer 0 It connects your target prospects emotionally 0 It confirms your company’s credibility 0 Helps to deliver the message clearly 0 Brand recall- It allows a customer to recover a brand from his memory when given the product class/category, needs satisfied by that category or buying scenario as a signal, I. E. If they are able to recall the brand from their memory. E. . Showing a logo of Apple’s brand, and asking which brand does this logo belongs to. 2. 2. 3 Apple’s brand personality As stated by About. Com (2012), “What is branding and how important is it to your marketing strategy? , a good brand helps a company to achieve these objectives: study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 5 12. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 6 2. 3 Benefits of branding a company (Apple) 2. 3. 1 Emotional Appeal – As stated by Clarity marketing LTD (2005), emotional appeal helps a great deal in targeting customer’s emotions with product names.
A strong, recognizable brand will acts like a ‘short cut’ in decision making process, as the customers don’t dither over alternatives or compare options where there is no clear point of difference, and instantly chooses our brand as they know what it stands for. For instance, as Apple manufactures technological items, the name of each product clearly reflects technological aspects like pod touch, which indicates that it is a product that allows you to play and choose music through touch properties.
It therefore, helps in creating an integrated appeal to specific emotions promoting the product recognition and sales. 2. 3. 2 Memorabilia and Familiarity – According to Marcia Houdini (2012), brand helps to create a company as “that Wheatstone store” or to refer business as “the shop from the Yellow Pages. In addition to the company name, it gives people to give constant reminders reinforcing the identity of companies they will want to buy from. Memorabilia can come from the logo, its design, color, style etc which helps to nail your company’s name in the minds of the public.
Similarly, after your brand is nailed in the minds of your customers, that’s when your customers have become familiar and aware of your company’s existence in the market. Branding allows having huge effects on non-customers too. Psychologists’ studies have proved that familiarity develops liking for it. Also, the customers who have never bought from your company, may many tomes be willing to recommend your company to others even without having any personal knowledge of your products or services.
Therefore, the half bitten Apple logo and the brand name ‘Apple’ help a great deal to help customers remember, be familiar and recommend the brand to others. 2. 3. 3 Premium image and Premium price – Branding allows a company to differentiate themselves from competitors existing in the market, because of which instead of dealing with price- shoppers the customers become eager to pay a higher price for your company’s odds and services. A strong brand let the customers associate themselves as being a company that offers premium quality, trendy products and is offering unique products that other companies are not offering. . 3. 4 Extensions – When your company’s brand is well-established, you can spread the respect you’ve earned to a related new product, service or location and win acceptance easily of the newcomer. For instance, when Apple introduced a new product extension line of ‘pad, the customers trusted the brand so they didn’t feel reluctant and bought ‘pads anyway, making these tablets quite popular of its kind in the market. . 3. 5 Loyalty – When customers have a positive experience with your company’s brand, they are more likely to buy your products and services again in future rather than the competitors.
Customers that are closely bonded with your brand’s identity may not only repurchase what they bought earlier, but may also buy related items of the same brand, and recommend your brand to others and resist the lure of a competitor’s price cut. The brand identity helps to create and anchor such loyalty. 13. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 7 Apple’s loyal customers wait every ear to buy a new version of ‘phone every year, regarding the high price and numerous other phones existing of competitors brand in the market. 2. 3. Lower marketing expenses – Branding helps a company to invest less in marketing (promotion) expenses, though you need to invest money in order to create a brand, but it’s more like a one off investment as once it’s created you can maintain it and do not need to tell the whole story about the brand every time you market it. For instance, Apple promoting for phone by Apple, everyone knows that phone is a touch phone produced by the brand Apple. . 3. 7 Greater company equity- Branding your company allows you to get more money when you decide to sell it.
Also, it allows the company to borrow loan even if the company’s facilities and inventory vanished, just because of their brand name. Similarly if Apple Inc founder ever decides to sell the company he will get more money. 2. 3. 8 Less Risk and Quality Assurance -Lynn Haley Rose (2012) states, when you market a product/service with a strong, positive customers, which makes the consumers more likely to buy from your branded company rather than a no name company. Often, superior sales are due to the trust and expectation of quality that the recognized brand has established through an integrated marketing program.
This is the reason that customers prefer to buy Apple’s products rather than those that are unbranded. 14. Cryptographic segmentation: It is when the market is segmented on that basis of life style, Social class (Upper class, middle class, lower class, blue collar, and white collar), behavior, opinions (liberal/conservative), values or ethics. Apple Inc segments their market by:0 Geographic segmentation: It is when the market is segmented on the basis of city, Tate, region or country. 0 Demographic segmentation: It is when the market is segmented on the basis of age, gender, education, income, occupation, etc. Duty on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 8 2. 4 STEP Process It consists of a set of three strategies namely (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) that is created after branding, and further helps in developing marketing strategies for Apple’s brand. Figure 1: STEP process 2. 4. 1 Segmentation- As stated by University of Southern California (2012), when the market is divided into sub groups, known as market segments, in order to create product differentiation strategies and to exploit these segments to the firm’s own use.
There are several segmentation techniques that can be used, like: 15. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 9 Figure 2: Apple’s segmentation As we are in an age of mobile computing, it helps to see the continuum of connected devices from the perspective of their means of mobility; namely, whether they are wear-able, pocket-able, bag-able or portable. According to Mark Sigil (2010), Such diverse set of device Apple offers from physical buttons, boards and moue to multi-touch and tilt, providing a window into the types of use cases and workflow that they are used for optimizing.
Apple has used their vertical integration of the pod media player and the tunes marketplace, to their advantage as it creates a billing relationship with 160 million consumers via simplified discovery, purchase and distribution, providing a window into how their market segmentation approach is simultaneously harmonious and discrete. The ISO-based APS and their corresponding “ecosystem surround” directly overlay on top of tunes and the pod media player. This approach is like business school study of how companies can apply strategies and tactics across product lines and product lifestyles.
Therefore, Apple has the ability to be Judicious in its implementation of differentiating hardware components at the display, phone, camera and video capture level. 16. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 11 2. 4. 2 Targeting- It is the second stage of the STEP process. After the market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments to target at, and then resources and efforts will be targeted at the segment. Different targeting methods can be used by the firm, like: 1 .
One supplier targeting a single segment with a single product. Figure 3: Targeting 1 2. One supplier with one product, targeting all segments. Figure 4: Targeting 2 3. One supplier, with several brands and targeting different segments for each brand. Figure 5: Targeting 3 17. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 11 Apple Inc has been using the second approach of being one supplier that is targeting many segments. According to the Matt Say, (2010), Apple they’ll use their products. 2. 4. Positioning- According to Switchman, 2009 Understanding Apple’s positioning’, positioning is the third and final part of the STEP process. Positioning is one of the simplest and one of the most useful tools for marketers. After segmenting a market and then targeting a consumer, you would proceed to position a product within that market. Positioning is all about the ‘perception’, and it may differ from one person to another. E. G. What you perceive as quality, value for money, etc, maybe different to another person’s perception about it.
Apple is positioned as a premium brand in the mind of the customers that demands ND earns a price premium. This price premium spans the entire Apple product lineup encompassing the Macintosh, pod, phone, software, and accessories. Therefore, Apple’s has positioned them to target a less price sensitive customer, thus which has created a culture and a set of activities through which Apple differentiates itself from competitors to meet the needs of their targeted customers. 2. 5 4 As (marketing mix) of Apple 2. 5. Product: According to Bosses (201 1), Products are the goods and services that a business provides for sale to target the market. Apple like NY other company began with the products. At first Apple computers (MAC) were considered as an overpriced niche product with a low market share. Only communications segment considered it as a great took for design and VA applications, but the rest of the people remained loyal to the traditional PC’s; but Apple continued to build their base of brand advocating through design, combining unprecedented features and innovative styling.
In the recent years, Apple diversified it product mix by introducing new line of products, keeping up with the competitive consumer electronics market. Some of their well known products such as the pod, a portable music player was the first product range that was launched to compete in the portable media player market and not after long came the phone (the most innovative device that has several features like mobile phone capabilities, music player, small personal organizer and portable computing, all put in a one tiny handheld which dominated the mobile phone market).
What makes phone unique is that it allows customization to be done suiting the individual needs accordingly, making it relevant to its target market. Other famous products of Apple comprises of pad, another handheld touch form of mint-computer and Apple TV. 2. 5. 2 Price: According to CO (201 1), Price concerns with the amount of money that customers should pay in order to purchase the company’s products. Apple has never considered pricing as one of the competitive advantages. They only use their best resources to make a great final product first, and then only worry about the costs.
The only buck to this trend we have seen now is with pad. Apple’s competitors release their own tablet devices, but none of them are coming any closer to pad’s entry price f $499 even when everything is equal in regards of the hardware and 18. “A study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 12 component quality. It is clearly seen that Apple is leveraging some of the supply chain advantages earned from the phone and pod with regards to materials like touch screens and flash memory in order to keep pad’s pricing down, which will prove very difficult for the major competitors to approach in the near term.
Rival firms such as Samsung operate in many different business segments that ties together the multiple component for even the best of them to compete in the short-term. Therefore, the high price charged for its products also portrays the high quality of its products, for which customers are willing to pay for. 2. 5. 3 Promotion: According to Billing and Company (201 1), promotion refers to the act of communicating the benefits and value of your company’s product to their consumers. Apple’s commercial spots are instantly recognizable by everyone whether you are a fan of their products or not.
It is easy to identify their commercials immediately because of the use of the simplistic approach of the layout of their product featured on a white background, with catchy music laying in the background, using the approach “Less-is-more products, meets less-is- more advertising”. Everything in their advertisements are visual, and visually plentiful, but not overpowering as some ads can be. When a new product gets launched, along with the press conference, several major tech blobs and websites also take part in covering the event.
Apple spends half billion dollars annually on paid media, which is actually lesser than rival brands Microsoft and Dell. However, given the memorabilia of Apple’s advertisements, it seems to be more pervasive than it actually is. In addition, if there was a poster child for the powers of word-of-mouth marketing and brand loyalty, it would be Apple. 2. 5. 4 Place Billing and Company (2011) states, Place is related to the distribution, location and methods of getting the product to the customers.
Apple has adopted a hybrid distribution channel involving an online store, physical outlets and the retail points of the exclusive mobile service provider and its online store. Apple recognized that by getting their products used by students, could influence brand preferences more in the development years of a new generation of computer users. The most dramatic Jobs-led’ initiative involved the 4th element of marketing mix “place”, which was the opening of its now iconic Apple retail stores.
Apple expanded its consumer reach by building numerous new retail outlets, owing and operating around the world in the last ten years. It has also placed their products from pods, pads, and phones in about every store that sells electronics these days. Also, from numerous retail outlets to a great e-commerce website, like Amazon, Apple’s website, making their products as easy to buy for consumers as anything out there today. 19. A company known for having the most rand loyal customers who buy their products for quality, regardless of the high price.
Such powerful loyalty of customers means that Apple has a strong positioning of their brand and that they not only creates new customers but retains them, as they keep coming back to avail the company’s products and services, which also motivates the company to extend their product line like with the recent introduction of the tablet (pad). 0 It has a strong and dedicated Research and Development department which helps in creating of new efficient, innovative, compact, user friendly and feasible to use products.
Apple has a set of standards for high quality products in order to meet customer satisfaction. 0 It is one of the original hardware producers in the market that controls both the manufacturing of its products as well as they create their own internal components for the core of its computers. 0 Apple has positioned itself to be a pioneer of producing high tech and innovative products in the computer (MAC), mobile (phone) and electronics (pad, pod) industry. Study on marketing strategy of Apple” December 2012 13 2. 6 SOOT Analysis of Apple environment.
Figure 6: SOOT Analysis Model To evaluate the progress, success, and alts of Apple Inc, SOOT analysis is being used. SOOT analysis is a strategic planning tool which helps to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization. It helps in identifying the internal and external areas that needs improvement and internal and external areas that can be proved successful. 2. 6. 1 Strengths According to Slideshows (2012) ‘SOOT Analysis for Apple’, Strengths relates to the resources and capabilities that can be used in developing a competitive advantage.