The Youth Use the iPhone4, Their Buying Behaviours - Case Study Example

Running Headers: Strategic Marketing Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Number Customer Inserts Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 4, 03, 2011 1.0 Executive summary The art of marketing requires the use of creative, strategic, intelligent and targeted approach to woo customers in a bid to win their loyalty towards a specific product. This report looks into approaches and strategies employed by Apple Inc. within the Australian market especially in Sydney in marketing the use of the iPhone4. Apple’s release of the iPhone4, a smart phone laden with several advanced features and capabilities in the year 2007 changed the mobile phone market. With the release of the iPhone4, the technology used in producing the iPhone4 was new in the market and Apple had to apply several strategies to sell the iPhone4 following successful release of the iPod. In Australia like many other parts other world anticipated the release of the iPhone4; however Apple felt that not so many youths would acquire the product due to its high price. Therefore the company employed tactical approaches to attracting the youth, this report will analyse how the iPhone4 is used by youths of between the ages of 18-25yrs in Sydney, Australia. This report summarises on how the youth use the iPhone4, their buying behaviours and desirable features that attracted them to acquiring the iPhone4. Table of Contents 1.0 Executive summary 2 2.0 Introduction 4 3.0 Apple’s marketing approaches 4 4.0 SWOT analysis 6 5.0 Recommendations 9 6.0 Conclusion 10 References 11 2.0 Introduction Apple Inc. is one of the largest companies globally; it is synonymous with producing high end technologically advanced products like computers, laptops, tablet PCs and phones. Apple has been producing modern devices which operate on their Mac OS platform, the company has on the recent front ventured into mobile phone and entertainment sector which was for a long time not their traditional market. The high end iPhone product was launched in 2007 by Apple to target the mobile phone industry. Due to the success of the earlier models of the iPhone, Apple released the iPhone4 in mid 2010 in Australia where it gained popularity among the youth in areas like Sydney, the iPhone4 operates on the Mac OS and it is powered by several features and capabilities. 3.0 Apple’s marketing approaches Apple has ploughed in the use of many clever marketing strategies in marketing its iPhone4 to the youths. During the design of the iPhone4, Apple put into consideration that it was going to target the youth and make them loyal to the iPhone4 brand. For instance, young people between the ages of 18-25 yrs in Australia have a preference to buying stylish phones and iPhone4 embodies a stylish design that is attractable to the youth (Tuunanen, 2010). The iPhone4’s market target was selected along several lines and the smart phone could be marketed to persons between the ages of 18 to 45 yrs due to its numerous enhanced features and capabilities. The iPhone4’s Wi-Fi feature is mainly applicable to young people of Sydney due to the fact that these people are upwardly mobile and prefer using the internet very often at any time and place (Clay, 2009). The iPhone4 being a 3G enabled handset enables young people to access internet through (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM evolution) EDGE or (High Speed Data Personal Assistant)HSDPA networks and it has a capability of multimedia messaging making it a must item to buy for the young in Sydney. The iPhone4 was launched in mid 2010 in Australia and this was after a much hyped release in other countries like the USA and Europe. The phone’s multimedia features which allow users to download music, video and other content from the internet has endeared it to many young people (Oppenheim, 2008). The iPhone4 screen display is high quality and it allows users to play video and view pictures easily since the screen can adjust itself to a screen resolution suitable for the user. Apple’s intentions of allowing developers to develop applications that could be used together with the iPhone4, was the best marketing approach in targeting the youth. These applications (Apps) are developed to suit the needs of different youths globally; the youth in Sydney make use of these Apps in meeting their desires (Martinez, 2009). There are millions of Apps developed for use with the iPhone4 and coupled with iPhone4’s gaming abilities; young people between ages of 18-25 yrs find it more efficient to suit their desires (Miller, 2008). The iPhone4’s targeted features to attract young people to buy the phone include the phone 2MP camera use to take and share photos easily, while it has an easy to use touchpad user interface. Apple had the advantage of not spending a lot of money in advertising since many web pages and websites publicised the release and features of the iPhone4 prior to its launch. Therefore young people in Sydney had the opportunity to make decisions on acquire the phone due to its attractive features. Mobile phone operators in Australia made plans with Apple to make iPhone4 services available through their networks and therefore not locking out other operators (Haubenreich, 2008). In Apple’s marketing strategy of selling iPhone4, they considered that youths across the world and in Sydney make use of the internet more often and they own more than one device. Therefore it made plans to have the iPhone4 to pair/connect with other devices like laptops so that users can access wireless internet through the iPhone4 (Tuunanen, 2010). Mobile phone operators like Vodafone and Optu in Sydney offered attractive packages for data users on the iPhone4 and therefore many young people who frequently use the internet had to purchase the iPhone4. 4.0 SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a technique used to assess the internal and external factors that affect a company’s position in terms of market share, finances and brand presence. It encompasses measuring four qualities namely: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths: Apple’s iPhone4 posses a lot of strengths compared to other smart phones produced by other companies. The iPhone4 is quite different from traditional mobile phone handsets; this differentiation offers it an edge of other products making it preferable phone for young people. The youth in Sydney make use of the iPhone4 to take pictures, receive and send multimedia content, connect to the internet and many other uses (Skiba, 2008). The iPhone4 possess qualities like unique design, a rich user interface and technologically advanced making it more attractive than other smart phones (Gordon, 2008). The iPhone4 marketing blitz through the internet made it possible for the brand to be visible and therefore Apple loyal customers could easily browse through iPhone4 offerings. The iPhone4 computing capabilities has endeared it to many young people and thus during the first release of the phone many million units were sold in the first few months. The iPhone4 operates on the Mac OS platform which is easy and very secure to use therefore users’ data and phone is not susceptible to threats like Trojans or viruses (Godwin-Jones, 2008). Apple has enough financial resources to distribute its iPhone4 phones globally thus making the phones readily available globally. Weaknesses: The iPhone4 exhibits some weaknesses due to the fact some young customers argue that the phone is not suited for corporate purposes and it is mainly used in entertainment. The iPhone4’s cost has disadvantaged many who would Apple’s customers since this smart phone costs more compared to smart devices like the Google’s Android phone or the blackberry. Another weakness is the fact that Apple uses selected distributors to market and sell its iPhone4 and in some countries it has signed contracts with mobile operators for them to provide iPhone4 services exclusively in their networks (Harris, 2009). This strategy has locked out many customers from acquiring the iPhone4 since they belong to different mobile phone operators. Some people have argued that some of the iPhone4’s features are not relevant and thus they are not attracted to it. For instance the iPhone4 does not have office capabilities and therefore young employed people cannot achieve some functionality with the phone. This has disadvantaged the iPhone4 which is mainly viewed as an entertainment device compared to products like the Kindle (Tscherning, 2010). Opportunities: Apple has many opportunities in selling and producing the iPhone4 and following the success of the iPhone4, Apple will soon be launching the iPhone5 an improvement of the iPhone4. The iPhone4 has the computing capabilities and therefore many Mac OS applications can be integrated into the iPhone4 to achieve computer end tasks (Godwin-Jones, 2008). Apple’s strategy of allowing third party developers to develop applications that could be used in the iPhone4 has led to many people especially young people to purchase the smart phone. The iPhone4’s capability to make use of Wi-Fi technology has the ability to attract more customers interested in suing the internet more frequently and network providers to provide pay per view services as opposed to monthly subscription based internet services (Clay, 2009). Apple has the ability to maintain its security enhanced features in the iPhone4 and continue to develop smart phones which are secure compared to its competitors like Nokia. The iPhone4 has the ability to lock loyal customers to their iPhone series since it is a social product and it ability to distribute iTunes content makes it more popular among young people. Threats: With increased production of smart phones and the changing pace of technology has opened the iPhone4 to threats from other products. Firm’s like Nokia, Google and Sony have produced smart phones like the Google’s Android smart phones which are cheap and operate on OS like Windows (McKiernan, 2010). The iPhone4 faces competition from smart phones which can be easily operated on different OS platforms like Windows which is popular and easy to use. Apple’s competitors have a wide distribution channels and huge finances to market their products. For instance Nokia has operations in many countries globally while the Google’s Android phones operate on advanced technology that allow users to download from a range of thousands of applications. The Apple’s iPhone4 faces threats including a recent trademark infringement case brought against it by Cisco for employing its technology in producing the iPhone4. Young people prefer easy to use and cross platform devices and owing to this reason the iPhone4 operating solely on the Mac OS could lose out to other smart phones manufacturers (McKlernan, 2010). Apple competitors have a huge financial market that they could use to attract young people to their devices as witnessed by the successful release of Android phones by Google in Europe. 5.0 Recommendations In order Apple to be more strategic in its approach to the market, it should focus on the advantages gained as a result of merging with Disney which majorly deals with graphic designing. Disney will foster the graphics of iPhone4 and thus make it more appealing to its market segment. In order to acquire substantial market in developing countries, Apple ought to avail more versions of iPhone4 to suit different target market segments with consideration of the price and placement (Haubenreich, 2008). Apple should also work on their marketing strategies in order to avail their services not only on available market but also potential or emerging market which may result in increased sales (Lanza, 2010). Being at the right position at the right time is critical in any strategic plan. This can only be done through a thorough market analysis and research using all kind of marketing tools. The most important aspect that will make iPhone4 more strategic in future is through constant assessment of the customer taste changes and also the development of other similar phones like smart phones. Studying this trend will make the iPhones more strategic in future and thus ensuring that it maintains its market niche (Bar-Gill, 2009). Apple ought to also increase its market scope by establishing more corporate oriented phones with features like office application and other business suite. Focusing on different market segments and creating customer value of this market segment will put iPhones on a more strategic position and potentially make it a household gadget in the near future (Washor, 2009). 6.0 Conclusion Apple has used targeted marketing strategies to sell to the youth in Sydney, as witnessed by the marketing approaches applied by the company. The iPhone4’s strong marketing success has to do with its enhanced features that attract young people to acquire the phone. Apple has been relying on iPhone4’s performance to market the phone in the cut throat business of selling smart phones. In Sydney, young people are attracted to stylish, high performance and hype to buy phones and devices. Apple relied on the internet hype for their iPhone series to sell the iPhone4 to young people especially in the developed world like Australia. In world of marketing or brand advertising, companies tend to produce goods that meet needs of their users and Apple has applied that core strategy in selling its iPhone4. The iPhone4 has many features that meet the needs of young users and as a result it has amassed huge brand loyalty from young people in Sydney and other global parts. References Bar-Gill, O.,& Stone, R. (2009). Mobile Misperceptions. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, 23(1), 31-35. Clay, A. (2009). 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So What Can Educators Learn from an Apple Store's Learning Environment?. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(1), 41-43. Read More