Apple Inc Marketing Mix Strategies Analysis - Research Paper Example

? Marketing mix paper The study includes the marketing strategies of Apple Inc. for its different products. Apple is well known for its mater piece designs and high product quality. It is a market leader of electronic gadgets. The company has gifted the world with many of its innovative products such iPod, iPad, Mac Air book, iTunes, etc. The study includes the marketing mix of Apple Inc. for its products and their utility in the market. Apple does not design products for the mass. The company utilized it highly advanced technology for catering to a target group. The target customers of Apple are the youth, high class segment, who value technology and quality and they would never compromise with the quality of the product for high price. The products are high priced. Apple as a brand is regarded as a symbol for high status and trendy fashion. So it can be said that though being a market leader, Apple competes with itself and launches better and improved versions of its own product. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Marketing Mix 5 Product 5 Price 5 Place 6 Promotion 6 Implementation of Marketing Mix in Apple Inc 6 References 8 Introduction Apple Inc is a US based multinational organization engaged in manufacture of digital electronics and computer hardware equipments. The company was founded in the year 1976 by the name of Apple Computers Inc and since then it has grown into a mammoth organization with a formidable brand image. In the year 2007 the company renamed itself as Apple Inc. The company is presently listed on the bourses of the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange. The company is presently headed by Tim Cook one of the most dynamic business leaders of the modern world. The company is known for its innovations in technology and bringing out cutting edge technology products that are unmatched by any of its competitors in the market. Apple Inc was one of the pioneers in the industry that designed computers like mackintosh (Apple, 2011). The mission and vision of the organization is to be an innovative market player that manufactures products that are unique, distinctive and highly innovative in the market. The main mission statement of the organization is an apple at every desk. The company aims to create innovations that are simple yet elegant and are highly technology intensive. The company’s mission is to provide the best quality and innovative products to customers across the globe. The company aims to be a global leader in its product category and has accordingly made a global presence by having a dedicated presence in almost all the major economies of the world. The vision and mission statements can be largely correlated with its business strategies that involved launch of products like I-phones, I-pad’s that are highly technology intensive and have attracted a huge attention from the target market audience by virtue of their innovative features. Marketing Mix Product Apple Inc has an impressive product portfolio comprised of a large array of innovative product offerings. Apart from the company’s traditional products like Mac the company also manufactures a range of other products including iPod’s, iPhone, and iTunes. IPod’s include portable music players that have a sleek design and highly attractive features that allows audio as well as video files to be run by the user. I-phone is yet another innovation developed by the organization in the lucrative mobile telephone segment. The unique product tries to amalgamate the excitement of a mobile phone with innovative features like excellent graphics and computing options. The delightful looks make it an attractive option for any individual. Apple also made a foray into the software industry with the launch of the Apple I tunes. This product is essentially a music player that is compatible with both iPods as well as personal computers. In addition to this the company has also produced software’s like I sync, Mobile Me etc that are essentially in the software segments. Apple in its most recent activities has launched the iPad that is essentially a tablet PC that comes with attractive features and a unique design that is perhaps unmatched by any of the other related products in the same category. The most significant aspect in the product strategy of Apple is innovation and uniqueness. These two aspects are perhaps the common line in each of the product lines being manufactured by the organization (Apple-a, 2011). Price Apple Inc is a very premium brand and it never competes with the other brands in relation to price of its products. Apple does not follow competitive pricing strategy. The customers of Apple are not switchers. They have loyal customers who do not compromise quality for price. Apple does not target its products for the mass, but a niche segment of customers buy products from Apple. So the prices of the products from Apple are relatively high compared to its competitors, still Apple is a market leader. Place The headquarters of Apple Inc. is in Cupertino, California. The consultant network of Apple Inc. has independent professionals who take care of the site technological services. The Apple stores are available in most of the countries around the world. It’s the direct brand store which sells only Apple products. The products of Apple are generally found in malls, supermarkets or big electronic shop. Apple Inc has launches its products for a niche and classy set of customers. So the products are generally found in any local shops. The Apple retail stores are generally located in central shopping locations of the city, so that it is accessible to all the shopping freak customers. Promotion The company has leveraged the vast potential of both electronic and print media as well as the online channel to create a buzz before every product launch. The company largely leverages upon these media sources to reach out and promote its products to the target market audience. Another initiative in this regard has been the podcasts that are largely web based communications that was initiated by the company in June 2005. It has been reported that approximately 5000 podcasts of the company was observed that year and the growth in these numbers has followed a geometric progression trend that is significantly higher than that of giants like Oracle and IBM. Implementation of Marketing Mix in Apple Inc The analysis of the business and the product strategy along with the marketing communication strategy of Apple Incorporation reveals considerable scope for the organization. The successful blend of innovation and quality backed by an effective integrated marketing communication plan and a strong and visionary leadership would largely help the organization to reach out to greater heights in the global business environment. In addition to this emerging markets like India and China also hold immense potential for the company as suitable destinations that can fuel the growth of the company and its products in those markets ultimately generating profits for the organization. The company can also improve its brand image by further using its innovative approach both in improving its product lines as well as its marketing communication program. The company should also look forward towards expanding in other related areas like 3G technology and digital media that would help the company diversify its spread in the product offering and increase its brand umbrella that would ultimately help in generating more value for the organization. The company serves numerous customer segments that include both retail as well as corporate customers. Products like IPods, I phones etc are made for the individual retail market audience whereas certain software products, Mac PC’s serves both retail as well as business class customers. Most of Apple’s products are available at a premium as its products are priced at a higher range as compared to the average price of similar goods under the same category. Apple’s products find appreciation both from the retail as well as business class customers by virtue of its superior quality and high degree of innovation in the product line. The company sells its products both through retail as well as the online channel and follows a bricks and clicks model of marketing. Apple’s products are largely conceived by the members of the target market audience as highly innovative and quality focused products. The company’s strong research and development team has ensured that customer’s needs are fulfilled. Every new product launched by Apple has some unique design and also has certain very unique features, this serves to add value to the brand image of the organization (Datamonitor, 2006, p.24). References Apple. (2011). Investor Relations. Retrieved from http://investor.apple.com/. Apple-a. (2011). Home. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/. Datamonitor. (2006). Apple Computer Inc. Retrieved from http://www.alacra.com/acm/2009_sample.pdf. Read More