Contemporary issues in marketing: Case of Apple Inc - Essay Example

? CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN MARKETING by goes here] Presented to [your goes here] [your goes here] [your university’s name] [due date of the paper] TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS PAGE # 1. Introduction 1 2. Name of the Company 1 3. Marketing Communication 2 4. Marketing Ethics 6 5. Customer Service 8 6. Conclusion 9 References 10 Contemporary Issues in Marketing 1. Introduction Before going to discuss some key marketing issues related to a famous global company, let us get a better understanding of what marketing actually is and what benefits effective marketing can provide to the companies. Marketing means to promote a product or to make the people aware of the products of the company. Manufacturing companies launch effective marketing campaigns to create awareness among the public about the newly manufactured products and services. A marketing campaign not only includes defining marketing goals and objectives of a company but also includes development of effective strategies to achieve those goals. It is due to effective marketing plans that most of the companies get recognized all over the world in a very short span of time. Some of the benefits include increase in the market share, market penetration, ability to communicate a change in the product line, achievement of market dominance, achievement of competitive edge, and increase in the awareness among the customers about the products of the company. 2. Name of the Selected Company Apple is an American multinational company which manufactures different kinds of IT products, such as, personal computers, laptops, computer software, and mobile phones. The company was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and is known for the quality and reliability which it integrates in its products. In this paper, we will discuss some of the key contemporary marketing issues related to the company, which include marketing communication, marketing ethics, and customer service. 3. Marketing Communication Implementing an effective marketing communication plan and taking steps to monitor the performance of the plan are very important for any manufacturing company. Marketing mix is one of the main tools used by the managers of Apple Inc. to monitor and control the working of the marketing communication plans. Marketing mix is one of the core components of a marketing communication plan. A marketing mix includes proper set of tools and guidelines which a company can use to market its products and services in the market. Managers make use of marketing mix to evaluate the success of the marketing plan of their products. The assessment or evaluation makes the managers know whether the marketing plan is appropriate for the product or it needs to be changed. McDaniel and Gates (1998, p. 3) state, “The mix is the unique blend of product, price, promotion, and place (distribution) designed to reach a specific group of consumers.” Companies usually alter the mix components depending on the needs of the public and the market in which the product is placed. “Many firms find it necessary to modify the present marketing mix or develop a new one” (Ball et al. 2008, p. 475). In Apple Inc., the strategy regarding the components of marketing mix does not remain the same forever; rather they are and should be altered continuously depending on the circumstances. For high profile brands, such as, iPad and iPhone, Apple Inc. usually focuses more on the promotion component instead of price. Similarly, for a product which is placed in a market where there is much competition regarding the product, the company focuses more on price instead of promotion. Managers of Apple Inc. analyze their marketing mix frequently in accordance with the current status of their product in the market to make required changes in the marketing strategies. Papantoniou (1992, p. 127) states, “Ultimate purpose of the mix is to maintain and improve positions in the market”. Marketing mix is a powerful force that drives a company towards achievement of desired goals and objectives regarding marketing of any specific product or service. McDonald (2007, p. 10) states, “Managing the marketing mix involves the use of the tools and techniques of marketing”. The marketing department of Apple Inc. primarily focuses on the development of a well-structured marketing plan which should be able to promote the newly manufactured products in the market effectively. The marketing plan includes the marketing mix that a company uses to market its products (Kurtz, MacKenzie & Snow 2009, p. 79). According to an official of Apple Inc., the main reason behind designing and implementing an effective marketing plan encompasses two primary motives. First motive of the plan is to place the product properly in the market where there is need of that product and the second motive is to make the public aware of the product. Moreover, the element of price can never be sidelined in any case. Price really affects the success of a product in the market. People having low income cannot afford to buy expensive products whether they need those products or not. Therefore, Apple Inc. sets reasonable prices for their products in order to make them productive for the company and affordable for the customers. Marketing mix covers the four main components of an effective marketing plan, which are price, product, place, and promotion. Apple Inc. looks at each of the components to know whether the analyses regarding all components are correct or strategy regarding any of the components need to be changed. Kotler (2003, p. 108) states, “Marketing mix describes the set of tools that management can use to influence sales”. For the managers of Apple Inc., the main mission is to get competitive advantage in the market and that mission can only be achieved through achieving high graph of sales. Assessment of the four components of the marketing mix is of extreme value for the development of a good marketing plan. Price, place, product, and promotion are such components of the marketing mix which determine the success of a marketing plan. According to the managers of Apple Inc., price of the products plays a very critical role in ensuring success of a marketing plan. Various pricing strategies are used to set the price of a product, such as, competitive pricing, cost plus pricing, and value pricing. Successful marketing mixes should be designed carefully in order to satisfy the needs of the target markets (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel 2009, p. 46). That is the reason why managers of Apple Inc. usually set such prices for the products which the customers located in the target market can afford. Some other important factors which managers consider while setting price component of the marketing mix include pricing response of the competitors and the profit margins. Haines (2009, p. 173) states, “A marketing mix strategy should also focus on the customers within those segments who have enough purchasing power to be profitable to the business”. Therefore, managers of Apple Inc. need to target those markets which are able to generate high profits for the company. Along with price, placement of a product also plays a vital role in ensuring success of a product in the market. Marketers of Apple Inc. make appropriate placement decisions in order to make the customers reach their desired products. Selecting the best way to reach the customers is the core activity related to product placement. The decision to place a product in the market largely depends on the channels of distribution used by a company. Apple Inc. considers many important factors to make decision regarding product placement, such as, channel member selection, suitability of the market, market coverage, and transactional and facilitating functions of the distribution system. Some other factors regarding product placement that marketers consider while developing the marketing plan for a product include awareness of the customers regarding product placement, presenting the product as a down-market or an up-market product, assess to the most appropriate distribution channels, use of a sales force to sell the product, online selling of the product, and competitors’ product placement strategy. Managers of Apple Inc. firmly believe in the concept that every component of the marketing mix holds great value in the success of a marketing plan. About product, managers say that it is the major component due to which the need of other components arises. Stevens and Loudon (2006, p. 164) state, “Planning the marketing mix begins with the product or service to be offered”. Product is anything which a company manufactures and places in the market for sale. “Generally, a separate marketing mix is crafted for each product offering” (Talloo 2007, p. 145). Apple Inc. makes its products different from the products manufactured by its competitors. If in case, the products manufactured by Apple Inc. and its competitors are same in quality, price, and benefits, then Apple Inc. alters the product different by adding some unique features, design, and warranty in the products. There must be something unique in the product in order to make it attractive for the customers. The design of a new product must be new to the customers in order to make customers buy the product. It is a fact that a product can bring success to its manufacturing company only if it provides customers with product satisfaction. Haberer (2008, p. 1) states, “The central role of marketing is value delivery and customer satisfaction”. Customers can only be satisfied with a product if it provides them with quality, reliability, and excellence. Therefore, Apple Inc. considers these factors while developing new products in order to make the products sources of revenue for the company. Promotion is one of the core components of the marketing communication plan. It refers to the activities related to the marketing of a product. Managers of Apple Inc. believe that the focus of product promotion is to affect the customer behavior in such a way that the customer agrees on buying the company’s product. Wenderoth (2007, p. 4) states that organizations use several instruments to influence the customers’ buying behavior. Some of the main factors which marketers of Apple Inc. consider while promoting a product include mode of advertising, media types, and public relations. Clow (2007, p. 484) asserts, “Evaluation or testing of advertising communications can occur at any stage of the development process”. Apple Inc. uses various methods to evaluate the success of the advertisements, such as, emotional reaction tests, concept testing, and persuasion analysis. 4. Marketing Ethics Ethics in the field of marketing is a very critical factor. If any company or organization does not behave ethically regarding any kind of business matter, various destructive effects occur as a result. “Business ethics, like most areas of ethics, often tends to focus on principles of actions, on the action itself and its consequences” (Frederick 2002, p. 30). Let us discuss some of the important factors which employees of Apple Inc. take care of while performing their job tasks. On of the main factors is truthfulness which means to inform others about any unwanted situation in order to make them aware of the seriousness of the issue. For example, Apple Inc. employees accept their mistakes which they may make while performing any task. In marketing department, if strategic employees find some fault in the marketing strategies, they make the managers aware of the fault. Respect is also an ethical behavior which deals with admiration, approbation, and deference among employees. In Apple Inc., it is the ethical responsibility of all employees to respect other employees in order to promote ethics not only in the company but also in the society. Honesty is another key factor which promotes sincerity and harmony among individuals because when an individual deals all matters of life with a fair and just attitude, the concept of honesty is prevailed in that society. For example, a person doing any job should be honest regarding his job responsibilities. In Apple Inc., no marketing activity is based on discrimination against any specific society. The marketing department of the company takes care of all aspects of discrimination while developing marketing strategies in order to avoid any kind of discrimination against any specific race. In Apple Inc., practicing ethics means to apply standards of fairness and equality to marketing related decision-making processes. Managers of the company believe that the purpose of marketing is to gain competitive edge over other companies and that is only possible for a company if it becomes successful in satisfying the needs of the customers. Apple Inc. firmly believes that without applying ethics in marketing activities, a company can never achieve competitive advantage. Some of the main disadvantages of not applying ethical marketing practices include poor sales, poor customer response, loss of business, customer dissatisfaction, bad publicity, and decreased profits for the company. Therefore, Apple Inc. puts into practice all kinds of ethical marketing practices in carrying out marketing activities. 5. Customer Service Good customer service plays an integral role in the success of Apple Inc. In the present era, companies give extreme importance to improve customer service for the customers because it provides many considerable benefits to the companies. It not only helps companies retain old customers but also helps them generate high levels of sales. Apple Inc. makes use of latest technologies to improve customer service. Customer service representatives store information into the computer systems using special software applications and make intelligent use of that information to improve customer experience. Improvement in the customer service plays a considerable role in improving customer satisfaction of Apple Inc. Although customer service and technology are separate entities, but Apple Inc. uses them together to achieve the goal of improve customer satisfaction. Management information system is one of the IT based systems, which Apple Inc. uses to improve their business processes along with bringing improvements to the customer service. Customers want to be recognized by the companies with which they deal. Management information system facilitates customer service department in proper management of information related to the key customers. Customers feel very happy and satisfied when they get a welcoming response by the customer service representatives instead of being inquired who they are and what did they buy from the company. Lucey (2005, p. 4) states, “The processing of data into information and communicating the resulting information to the user are the very essence of an MIS”. The key tasks of the company’s information system include management of marketing information, documentation of the collected information, and assisting the employees in processing of information. Apple Inc. has implemented a very effective management information system to improve their customer service. The system not only helps customer service professionals of the company in the collection customers’ information but also helps them use the information in dealing with the customers. According to the company’s marketing officials, customers usually do not like to wait for the representatives’ response for a long time. They want quick replies from the representatives. Therefore, the company has implemented IT based technologies to help customer service representatives recognize the customers and give appropriate response to their queries in a very less time. 6. Conclusion Summing it up, Apple Inc. is one of the famous global companies which use effective marketing strategies to promote its products. Apple Inc. develops its marketing communication strategy after analyzing the internal and external environments of the company. Apple Inc. also gives importance to ethical marketing practices and better customer service which help the company create awareness, increases product value, increases product charm, and achieve competitive advantage in the market. References Ball, D, McCulloch, W, Geringer, J, Minor, M & Mcnett, J 2008, International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition, 11e, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York. 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