Apple Inc. Marketing Mix Project

APPLE INC. MARKETING MIX PROJECT

INTRODUCTION: 

All companies have a different method or system that contributes to their achievements. Whether it’s the way they promote their products/services or the way the products/services are offered to the consumers.  The marketing mix refers to the sequence of actions, or tactics, that a corporation uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The marketing mix includes 4Ps: Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. The marketing mix is an influential strategy that assisted with Apple Inc.’s success. Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California and is an American international technical company that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Apple was found in April 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, established to develop and sell personal computers.

PRICE SECTION:

Price refers to the value that is placed for a service/product and is one of the most delicate components of the marketing mix, because it is the only element of the marketing mix that creates the income for the company. It’s very essential that price supports the other parts of the marketing mix. Pricing is a game changer and must reflect supply and demand affiliation. Pricing a good or service too high or too low could result in lost sales for the company. Apple’s pricing strategy is rather different from former businesses in the technology industry. Apple’s products and services pricing mix include expenses, deductions, mark-ups, competition, and geographical area. For example, the Apple iPhone rates typically start at $99 with contract and increases reliant on the features and the company service that the phone is offered by. Apple usually uses the skimming strategy; the practice of reducing the price after the initial launch of product. For example, the 8GB iPhone’s price started at $599 and the same product was later reduced to $399. The benefits of the skimming strategy is that it contributes to the reach of the company’s target market, where  products seem as high-quality so customers will be interested and aware of the product, which allows the business to get extra recognition. Apple also utilizes premium pricing, which is the practice of keeping the price of a product or service artificially high in order to encourage favorable perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price. Premium pricing can also be used to improve brand identity in a particular market. This is called price-quality signaling, because the high price signals to consumers that the product is high in quality. Apple uses this strategy to give their product a quality image.  Premium pricing’s advantage is that if a business invests profoundly in its premium products, it can be vastly challenging for a competitor to offer a competing product at the same price point without also devoting a large amount in marketing. Premium pricing has helped contribute to the success of Apple by allowing apple to charge high prices for their products; targeting middle to upper class income groups because it is not just selling a basic product, but it is sells a distinct technological lifestyle to its consumers. Although after a few months of being released, the price may be reduced by $50 to $100, depending on the original price and the demand for that product. Apple’s pricing of the products is affected by the product’s life cycle, in which there are new versions of the product being released. As the product gets older, they come to be less popular pushing the company to decrease their price so the product can stay in the market. The new versions of the product will usually take the same initial price of the old product. Customers are willing to pay premium for products that include their needs and wants and this is why Apple is producing a substantial income.

PRODUCT SECTION:

The most important part of the marketing mix is the product itself. Product is the goods and/or services presented by the company to its customers. Product choices include deciding what goods or services should be offered to a segment of customers and it also involves distinctiveness, product lines, branding, and image. Apple Inc. is one of the leading businesses in the technology industry; the company takes product into great review. Apple’s marketing mix is primarily product driven. Due to the speedy change in customer’s taste and technology, Apple is constantly modernizing their products, specifically iPhones, adding features to satisfy the wants and needs of the customers. For example, Apple has released the iPhone 3, 3GS and 4 which are all considered to be of the same product line because they all derived from the same product with similar physical appearances, consumer segments, supply channels, pricing techniques, and promotional campaigns. Although, what makes the versions unalike is the modernizations added to the features of the phone to make it advanced and trendy. The breadth products of Apple Inc. includes portable computers, servers, accessories, Wi-Fi based stations, iPod, iPhone, iTunes, printers, cameras, and more. These Apple products currently existing in the market show the company’s divergence in this section of the marketing mix. The company continues to develop new products, such as the Apple electric vehicle, which is under development through partnership with firms like Tesla Motors. This product mix shows that Apple’s marketing mix is broad in terms of product variety to address customers’ needs in different areas of their lives. There are many major components about the Apple products that make product mix so vital in the marketing mix. As Android and Windows operating systems originated later on smart phones, Apple was able to capture the eyes of its customers with its mobile operating system. The iPhone hardware was well-matched with the software and the operating system used to run smoothly. As a result, the high quality processing speed also assisted with the popular reputation of the product. Apple does not compare itself with other companies; they have their set values in market and know that they are the latest and greatest in the business. Another major attention grabber and successful product for Apple is iTunes. Also, there are more apps on the Apple store than the Google play store. Apple ensures that their products are manufactured as attractive as possible to reflect other Apple products. Additionally, to guarantee that the product maintains popularity, the company anticipates introducing distinctive versions of their products which will interest more customers through the provision of worthy services. Apple’s most dominant and successful product is the iPhone. Lately, the iPhone as a product has been a large money-maker for the company as it rules the overall sales of Apple with a 39% lead percentage. Additionally, Apple confirms that the iPhone is at its finest, ensuring that the iPhone and many other Apple products will have a full year warranty. With that being said, the product mix for Apple contributes significantly to the success of their business because of the great qualities and features it holds.