Target segment
The team of marketing consultants has been nominated by the marketing managers of Apple to conduct an exploration on the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro (Aladeojebi, 2013). This report will help in finding out exact target for 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro by focusing and also help on finding the exact way of creating brand positioning of the product on the minds of the target audience. This report will focus on the data which will be collected with the help of secondary sources (Bartlett, Ting, and Bingham, 2014). This report will help in forming a strong customer base by offering an exact product which is already placed in the minds of these potential customers.
Target segment could be imperative for selecting a suitable method for delivering their goods and services in the specified marketplace. The following table demonstrates the target segment for Apple Inc.
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Trend |
Reason of trend (explanation) |
What does this mean for our strategy? |
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Demographic |
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Increase employment healthcare industries |
6.6% of employed women work in hospitals, and there has been a 2% increase in industry work from 2011 to 2016 (Akaka and Alden, 2010). |
Promotes demand on updated technology. Can market that the MacBook Pro with touch bar can improve the efficiency of work in all industries. |
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Increase in use in education |
The increase of people enrolled in schools, 30.8% of people in Australia attend an educational institution. They will need to buy more learning equipment. Canberra is investing $42,000 on the laptops for schools program. |
Growing demand on computers for students to benefit their learning and more efficiently work (Chikweche and Fletcher, 2012). Promote the Apple MacBook Pro with touch bar. |
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Average Family size |
From 2011 to 2036 Australia’s population is projected to increase by 45% (ABS, 2015) from 22.3 million people to 32.4 million people |
This will cause more demand in what people consider a ‘need’ which is a laptop. |
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Technological |
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Change in products |
Technological advances and new innovations and presented with the Apple MacBook Pro with touch bar. |
New feature of this product mandate the consumers to upgrade their latest devise. |
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Technological impacts on our customer |
Demand for online shopping has increased majorly promoting competition from online retailers (Bartlett, Ting, and Bingham, 2014) |
Open to a whole different market being the online shopping market. |
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Disruptive technology |
Reliance on companies’ incremental innovation sustains their approach in the marketplace, this leads to competition improving products regularly and continuously competing with other companies (Legal 2017). |
Apple can continue to make modifications to their already established products, knowing they already have a client base that owns older versions of the MacBook Pro but now can be the first out of their competitors to add in the touch bar feature Fuchs and Diamantopoulos, 2010) |
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Increase in the use of social media |
Businesses are growing needed social media for advertisement (Today at Apple, 2017). People are wanting to stay more connected and communicate on an online platform |
Can now reach a wider market as 79% of Australians use social media. Can frequently advertise to like 89% of 18 to 29-year-olds check social media at least once a day. |
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Cultural values |
Social factors and cultural values influence the way people buy their products. Hence, marketers could consider such factors to increase profit of the firm (Today at Apple, 2017). |
Apple can incorporate people’s values and beliefs into the product creating a need for the laptop in their everyday life. |
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Component Lifestyle |
The continuous adaptation of society constantly demands new products to enter along with new lifestyle traditions (Tate, Ellram, and Kirchoff, 2010). |
Apple will always concentrate on current lifestyle and trends of the consumers to improve their performance and make reliable decision (Supplier Responsibility, 2017). |
As the selected target is the education sector, the Apple Company can position their MacBook pro in the form of technology need which has the desire of every learning person in this sector. As the brand awareness of Apple is already very high in the business world, so the company has to just alter the content for the promotion related to the students specifically in the form of some scholarships or some student discount relate to MacBook Pro (Akaka and Alden, 2010). The company can make use of digital sources like media to generate a unique image in the minds of these potential clients just like in many advertisements it has been seen that Apple Company usually display luxury life-related things and try to connect it with the personality of wealthy people (Environment, 2017). Similarly, way the company can make uses of advertisement related to only student needs and can position them with the help of digital media tools because in present time digital media is known as the fastest mode of promoting things with a wide reach (Truong, McColl and Kitchen, 2009).
The product strategy facilitates the organization to determine the features, color, and size of their products and services. The company will provide cloud software as complementary features in their MacBook pro which can provide the user with a free cloud service in their product. It would lead to differentiating the products and services of the organization in the marketplace (Khan, 2013).
Apple Inc. uses premium pricing strategy for their consumers to deliver their goods and services at a higher price with premium quality. Pricing strategy could be effective in influencing a huge number of consumers in the least time (Pomering, Noble and Johnson, 2011).
Branding positioning
The company will become support partner with the community which will promote free education for the poor segment of the population so that they will feel that there is someone who cares about this population segment (Sirianni, et al., 2013).
This is the most important aspect in term of increasing customers reach and creates a unique image in the minds of potential customers for their product. Here the company will make use of digital marketing as the source or mode of promoting this product (Munusamy and Wong, 2008).
Apple Macbook Pro could be prompted by considering the TV commercial, a Sales Promotion and a Billboard. It could be effective for directly communicating with their consumers.
TV commercial is best way to promote products and services of the organization by television. It could be effective for influencing a bulk of people in same time that could be significant for obtaining higher competitive benefits.
Sales promotion is used to persuade potential consumers to purchase goods and services. It could also be imperative for accomplishing the desire goal of the organization.
In the current era, most of the consumers preferred to read magazines. Hence, organization should consider this method and make reliable decision in the context of the current matter.
As we know that every product lifecycle has four life phases such as introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. In introduction stage product just enters in to market, in growth stage the product starts gaining brand awareness along with initial start of capturing market, in maturity stage the product is in its full swing in the form of capturing major market share and finally decline stage in which product start exiting from the captured market (Sleeswijk et. al., 2008).
So according to the present situation, the product is under introduction stage of PLC because the product is just made an entry in its new market and are in the continuous process of creating brand awareness with the help of social media.
MacBook Pro is a luxurious product hence organization has decided to provide this product and services in higher prices with premium quality to the higher class consumers. This brand is higher than other laptops of the Apple due to higher quality (Limand Bendle, 2012).
The following table demonstrates many recommendations that could be imperative for declining the specified issues in a systematic manner:
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On the basis of Marketing Mix components |
Current – what the Brand and Sub-Brand is doing now. |
Recommendation |
Why is your Recommendation better? Explain how your Recommendation will more-effectively support and communicate your Brand Positioning. |
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Product |
Introducing new features and varieties. |
Introduce new features which are helping the education segment. |
Learner related feature will make the buyer believe that this product is for them only. |
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Place |
Placing stores to near busy streets. |
Make presence near education hub area. |
Presence near education hub will make target segment that we are special for the company (Accessibility, 2017) |
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Promotion |
Making use of TV ads and newspapers. |
Make more use of digital media for promotion (Pomering, Noble, and Johnson, 2011). |
Use of social media will help the company to increase its customer reach within optimum cost (Lim, and Bendle, 2012) |
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Price |
Premium pricing. |
Provide a discount in the form of student discount coupons. |
It will help the company to create a unique identity in the minds of students or learners (Mac, 2017). |
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that target segmentation could be imperative for influencing a huge number of consumers. It can also illustrate that an organization has to segment their market on the basis of demographic segmentation. It can also be summarized that brand positioning strategy leads the firm to increase the awareness of goods and services in limited time and cost. Moreover, the marketing mix strategies are practiced by the organization to get higher competitive benefits from Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch. It can be concluded that an organization should use the digital marketing strategy for directly communicating with their consumers and understand their views and opinion to gain their satisfaction level and retain them for long-term. It can also be summarized that Apple Macbook Pro could be prompted by considering the TV commercial, a Sales Promotion and a Billboard. It could be effective for directly communicating with their consumers. It can also be concluded that currently people are more inclined towards social responsibilities for the society and also expect that members which are directly or indirectly related to this society must do something for this society. From years company is utilizing the resources of this society for their profit now it their turn to return the favor. To fulfill this demand of the people, the company must associate themselves with the society in which they are working by providing them the necessary support of all kind like money, technical and moral. Organization also uses the triple bottom line strategy wherein organization will concentrate on creation three factors like people, planet, and profit. It would lead to get higher outcome.
Marketing mix (4p’s)
References
Accessibility (2017) Technology is most powerful when it empowers everyone. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/accessibility/ [Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Akaka, M.A., and Alden, D.L. (2010) Global brand positioning and perceptions: International advertising and global consumer culture. International Journal of Advertising, 29(1), pp.37-56.
Aladeojebi, T.K. (2013) Planned obsolescence. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 4(6), pp.1504-1508.
Bartlett, H.L., Ting, L.H. and Bingham, J.T. (2014) Accuracy of force and center of pressure measures of the Wii Balance Board. Gait & posture, 39(1), pp.224-228.
Chikweche, T. and Fletcher, R. (2012) Revisiting the marketing mix at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP): from theoretical considerations to practical realities. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(7), pp.507-520.
Environment (2017) To ask less of the planet, we ask more of ourselves. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/environment/ [Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Fuchs, C. and Diamantopoulos, A. (2010) Evaluating the effectiveness of brand-positioning strategies from a consumer perspective. European Journal of Marketing, 44(11/12), pp.1763-1786.
Khan, T. (2013) STP strategy for New Product Launch-a Work in Progress. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(3), pp.56-65.
Legal (2017) Apple Products and Australian Consumer Law. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/legal/statutory-warranty/ [Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Lim, C.C. and Bendle, L.J. (2012) Arts tourism in Seoul: tourist-orientated performing arts as a sustainable niche market. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(5), pp.667-682.
Mac (2017) Macbook. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/macbook/ [Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Munusamy, J. and Wong, C.H. (2008) Relationship between marketing mix strategy and consumer motive: an empirical study in major Tesco stores. Unitar e-journal, 4(2), pp.41-56.
Pomering, A., Noble, G. and Johnson, L.W. (2011) Conceptualising a contemporary marketing mix for sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(8), pp.953-969.
Sirianni, N.J., Bitner, M.J., Brown, S.W. and Mandel, N. (2013) Branded service encounters: Strategically aligning employee behavior with the brand positioning. Journal of Marketing, 77(6), pp.108-123.
Sleeswijk, A.W., van Oers, L.F., Guinée, J.B., Struijs, J. and Huijbregts, M.A. (2008) Normalisation in product lifecycle assessment: An LCA of the global and European economic systems in the year 2000. The science of the total environment, 390(1), pp.227-240.
Supplier Responsibility (2017) A supply chain that empowers people and protects the planet. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/supplier-responsibility/[Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Tate, W.L., Ellram, L.M. and Kirchoff, J.F. (2010) Corporate social responsibility reports a thematic analysis related to supply chain management. Journal of supply chain management, 46(1), pp.19-44.
Today at Apple (2017) Apple Camp. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/today/camp/ [Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Today at Apple (2017) Discovering inspiring programmes happening every day at Apple. [Online]. Available from: https://www.apple.com/au/today/ [Accessed on 28 October 2018].
Truong, Y., McColl, R. and Kitchen, P.J. (2009) New luxury brand positioning and the emergence of masstige brands. Journal of Brand Management, 16(5-6), pp.375-382.
Varadarajan, R. (2010) Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition, fundamental issues, and foundational premises. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), pp.119-140.
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