Apple Inc. Marketing Mix Project

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PROMOTION SECTION:

Promotion serves three basic purposes, which are to create awareness about the product in the market, to create or increase the demand of the product, and to publicize the distinguishing factors of the product over the competitor's. Apple promotes their products mainly through television commercials, online advertisements, and on billboards. Their goal is to advertise in a technique that will interest maximum segments of the market. Apple’s marketing mix includes promotion activities that highlight the premium image and quality of the company’s products. Apple’s promotion strategy includes advertising, direct marketing, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity. Apple has been actively engaged in promotional activities. Apple designed its promotional tactics according to how consumers want to be benefitted from and informed about Apple's products. For this, Apple follows two primary promotional strategies including advertising and personal selling. Apple believes in greatly investing in the television, paper, and online advertising. The apple logo is now amongst the most recognizable logo around the world and it reveals a modern lifestyle. Apple emphasizes the key benefits of the products in a way that targets the perception spot of the viewer, convincing them that they will actually be provided that advantage. Because of this, even before the launch of a new product the market is naturally boosted with interest. As mentioned above, Apple's products are typically priced higher compared to the competitors, however, they add value to them by offering a one to three year warranty. Apple use advertising as its primary promotional strategy. Apple’s advertisement is effective because of comparative advantage gained by their customers. Another reason Apple’s advertisement works great is because it creates unforgettable advertising slogans. For example, the slogan for Mac was "Computers for the rest of us,” and iPod was "1000 songs in your pocket,” which became well renowned. Another great promotional strategy used by Apple is personal selling. The Apple store representatives utilize a customer driven approach to advertise and make sales. Instead of focusing on selling the product, they focus strongly on turning the customers into compulsive buyers, encouraging them to not only buy the product, but also the accessories for it. Additionally, they are well trained to provide the customer service in an outstanding manner. Change is vital in the technology industry and Apple is always on the go, whether it means introducing new products or upgrading the current ones. Personal selling strategy is practiced to educate and comfort the customers of the newer products. Also, Apple puts up numerous special deals and promotions on websites and online stores to certain market segments like students. For example, when buying a Mac or an iPad from online stores, a US gift card promotion is earned in which one might win $100 or $50 of Apps.

PLACE SECTION:

Place refers to the channel, or the route, through which goods move from the source to the consumers. Usually, companies decide the location and how the product should get to the customer by reviewing which way would be most cost effective and available to them. Place strategy must be well thought of because it significantly influences the costs contributed to the supply of products and succeeding sales made to the customers. The best method is to provide the customers with the products at a location where they can easily access them because customers are willing to purchase products that are conveniently obtainable to them. In this case, Apple fulfils several channels of distribution strategies. Their goal is to provide the needs and wants of all of their customers on a worldwide basis. They have an online store, retail outlets, and wholesales involved in their distribution strategy. Through the online store, customers can buy products of their choice at any time and have it directly delivered to them. Using this method saves the company the maintenance cost of a physical store. In the late 1990s, Apple was reliant on the “big box” retailers to provide its products to their consumers. A “big-box” store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain, for example, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Ikea, and etc. Not much profit and customer relationship was being added to the company. So Apple decided to revolutionize its distribution channels while competitors stuck to big box retailers. By the early 2000s, Apple produced a chain of independent stores where representatives focused more on customer service and needs rather than selling a product. Because of its independent retail stores, Apple has successfully grown deeper into the target market producing awareness and quality obtainable products. Apple Inc. is now a multinational establishment headquartered in Cupertino, California State with about 394 retail stores that develop, design, and sell products to customers. They are located in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America; basically everywhere. Their retail stores can be found in premium outlets and malls. Apple now has more than 33,000 employees and exceeds $42 million in revenue. With all these locations all around the world, their products are known to deliver an outstanding service backup.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, Apple's marketing mix demonstrates that it engages in effective and manageable marketing strategies which outcomes in greater income and high customer satisfaction for the company. Apple puts in a lot of effort to make the customer’s buying experience memorable. Apple was given the trademark certificate by The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office which characterized the distinguishing design and marketing strategy of all of their stores. Apple has been successful in producing an extravagant and premium brand appearance by utilizing precise marketing mix strategies and policies.

REFERENCE PAGE:

(a) Lamb, C. W./Hair, J. F./McDaniel, C. (2011) Marketing, 12th Edition

(b) Bhasin, H. (July 8, 2016) The Marketing Mix of Apple Inc. Retrieved from http://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-apple-inc/

(c) Yeung, N. (January 26, 2016) The Marketing Strategy of Apple. Retrieved from http://www.versiondaily.com/the-marketing-strategy-of-apple-a-concise-analysis/

(d) Ghadshi, P. (March 13, 2015) Apple's Pricing Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/pramodghadshi/apples-pricing-strategy

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