1 to 1 (Relationship) Marketing Concept

1 to 1 (Relationship) Marketing Concept: The marketing era has undergone evolution and has seen producers additionally segmenting their corresponding markets. This targets small-size consumer groups in the segmented markets. With this unleashed prospective by IT and microprocessor, targeting is seen down to individuals, one to one. This is whereby if one buys a product from a site the on his return to the same site, one will then receive suggestions or recommendations on the basis of his past purchase (Chaffey, Smith and Smith 2013).

Marketing Concept: Where quantity supplied is greater than those demanded. The producers must initially understand what goods the consumer need, then produce the items needed. The producers must then convince buyers to buyers such goods. Target marketing alongside market segmentation are novel tools used to boost the company profitability.

Production concept: Demand for products is > supply. The buyers will joyfully buy whatever is the firm is producing. Here, producers have a confined market investment on raising the production efficiency had the largest effect on profitability of the firm. Smart business focus on raising productivity instead of fathoming consumers. This kind of marketing concept is mainly favorable for developing economies. It was emerged in the United States following industrial revolution emergence (El-Kadiri et al. 2016).

Sales Concept: Where products demanded equals those supplied. The producers have to persuade buyers to buy their respective products. Here, the business focuses on investment which begins to shift towards development of a vigorous sales mechanism for communicating with its buyers. The sale concept is suitable for products consumer don’t ordinarily seek out.

Societal Marketing Concept: The companies use this concept to promote their affiliation with environment when they are aware of society and environment.

Viral Marketing: The networked economy has led to occurrence of something interesting. The buyers can now “talk” to one another and serve as the protracted salesforce. This takes a form of communication called lateral and/or transactional communication between non-buyers and buyers can act as the opportunities for firms to leverage. The viral marketing pioneer is Hotmail. 

Behavioral bases (usage, responses, attitudes, and product knowledge): Good product knowledge is provided in this segment to customers through advertisement on search engines, Television, as it has an excellent brand image. Utilizing this brand image, the company continually come up with novel ideas and products hence appealing to customers. It has got an excellent response rate as several of customers are seeking for novel designs and innovative products that Apple is delivering successfully.

Marketing Concept

Demographic bases (age, family size, life cycle, and occupation): Examining Apple, the demographic market segment remains successful due to the development of products on life cycle, age, and people’s occupation. The products are distributed into a range of places and PCs remain categorized on family size, and age, for instance, more entertainments and games in PCs for kids alongside a professional PC with all up-to-date software.  

Geographic bases (states, countries, regions): Examining the company’s geographical bases, the business is established all over the globe like U.S., South America, Australia, Japan and Europe. Lately, the company chose to a vertical growth strategy implementation and commenced own retail stores’ expansion. The company sells products through third-parties dealers, or through internet via own website or via iTunes online music stores.

Psychographic bases (values, personality and lifestyle): Examining Apple, this market segment remains highly successful. The reason being the development of products based on lifestyle of individuals like younger generation’s Mac book. The company, having an excellent brand image, has exceptional value for products as they remain distinguished and innovative. Examining personality (style) segment, the company provides products with distinct colors for individuals that prefer fancy colors.

iPad’s main audience is a group, mixed with certain iPhone as well as iPod audiences. The iPad’s primary function was basically a bigger iPod. The iPad serves to be helpful in many businesses as well as schools. The iPad remains easy as well as provide a swifter internet alongside additional apps. The iPad characteristically appeals to older adults, student, seniors and families, with older children. This is as a result of the fact that a bigger or larger iPad permits individuals to surf the internet effortlessly as well as perform more effectively and efficiently. This remains very key in ads, whereby apps are shown as well as potential is clear. 

iPhone is serving various audience age array than its comparative iPod. It (iPhone) is intended for families along with adults’ audiences. The iPhone further serves individuals that use the phone apps as well as siri to assist remind as well as schedule or organize various events. Families are able to capture special moments of the family with the high-performance camera as well as memory capacity of iPhone. The iPhone further serves as the entertainment for young ones as well as permits their parents to send tweets as well as pictures of them globally. Apple markets its iPhone further for older adults alongside younger adults, with iPods diversity of uses; photography, listing address, tweeting, making calls (phone), educational purposes as well as internet use among others.

Production Concept

iPod’s primary target audience or market are preteens and teens. Primarily as a result of the function or purpose of iPod which to entertain its audience. The iPod along with its associated dynasties use the apps or gaming capacity alongside music downloading. The Company does advertisement for iPod by displaying breaking soundtracks as well as novel brands or launching addicting apps.

MacBook is a unique Apple product with the main target market/audience being the business people/community. The businesses as well as employees utilize the MacBook saves to its high speed, easy interface, large memory compatibility as well as slim appearance. The MacBook remains useful further in education with its amazing app as well as internet speed.   

Apple uses consumer marketing as an indispensable ingredient in the contemporary business environment. Apple employ this marketing type to create a unique competitive edge that distances it from its competitors. The CB research is principally the driver at the center of Apple strategy. This research provides Apple actionable insight and guarantees business success. Apple has a particular target along with CB marketing that offers important methods for fathoming its audience. The CB research has given Apple the fundamental aspect driving quality strategy as well as guarantees its business outcomes (Lerch and Gotsch 2015).

The above discussed concepts and theories are, therefore, critically related to Apple in the following subsequent discussion. The marketing practices of Apple is based on STP. Apple’s segmentation entails dividing consumers into cohorts hinged on given features whereas targeting means choosing particular cohorts acknowledged due to segmentation to sell products. Similar set of characteristics shared by Apple targeting customers segment encompass acknowledging quality design and performance of technology products alongside services over prices of Apple. Positioning means selecting the marketing mix the most suitable for target customer segment (Gerlemann, Allee, Rincker, Ritter, Boler and Carr 2014). Apple utilizes mono-segment kind of positioning and accordingly, Apple positioning appeal is established towards a single customer segment as indicated in the figure below:

The marketing mix is critically analyzed below:  

People: Apple is proud of its workforce as they are inspirational source for peers alongside buyers. Apple’s employees feel great about being change catalysts since working in Apple which emphasizes on innovation. Apple provides best employees working conditions.

Physical Evidence: Apple designs each space in its retail store in an attractive manner that interests individuals to purchase Apple devices. Apple stores have effective layout and design that creates customer experience. This has helped in the translation of desire to ultimate purchase decision.  

Sales Concept

Place and Distribution: Apple has introduced its individual retail-outlets alongside online store with dealership with additional mobile stores. This strategy aimed at adopting a distribution strategy called hybrid. Apple has reduced the number of small-scale dealers to one percent to maintain its image. Its strong supply chain is one of reasons behind Apple success due to outsourcing being strategically done. Apple relies on various suppliers globally for same raw materials to keep up with increasing demand.

Price: Apple focuses on premium pricing strategy due to its differentiated products which gives Apple an edge in which Apple doesn’t have to get into price wars with rival organizations. The strategy is to prioritize profit rather than market share thus resulting in high-end products production which are then accordingly priced. Apple thus doesn’t compete on price since Apple brand recognition created over time, consumer have a will to pay higher prices Apple charges.

Process: The innovative devices of Apple’s production strategy stays enigmatic because it is primarily regarded as a clandestine recipe. Each device undergo process guideline Apple sets that encompasses product design, testing, polishing, and packaging. An idea generation phase is followed by dummy device creation which is then tested, team of experts then review to have a standard process devised for production ultimately.  

Product: Apple follows a strategy of creating best product that produces a healthier user experience with each novel launching. This is the reason Apple focuses on consumer desired products rather those needed by customers. Apple uses simplicity and intuitiveness as main features of its products. Apple products strategy revolves around individuals’ feeling or enthusiasm alongside pride showcase when they possess own products of Apple (Lerch and Gotsch 2015).   

Promotion: Apple integrates its simplicity concept in its promotion because it trusts that flashy messages, providing excess info, remain too mainstream and never appreciated by individuals. Apple thus favors a simple-white-background in Apple’s commercials with light and catchy music. Apple messages when communicating revolve around emotions that Apple brand arouses like one’s desire and dreams, hopes for future as well as urge to remain superior socially. 

The Apple has added value through digital innovation as the trend in marketing. Apple has taken to build relationships with media alongside bloggers who are the industry’s influencers. Apple has nurtured and expanded these over time. Apple understand that the internet is a word-of-mouth on steroids. Apple thus gets these third-party specialists to hype its brand. They take a page of from marketing book of the Company and launching a brainteaser campaign, a sequence of short as well as enigmatic announcement which culminate to a bigger, and full-blown marketing campaign (Smilansky 2017). This has built a huge interest and momentum for the Apple (Ferrell and Hartline 2012). For example, before launching any new product, Apple creates a cliffhanger as media alongside bloggers speculate what it would be.

Societal Marketing Concept

In essence, the speculation in media alongside blogosphere produce phenomenal consumer interests-at no charge (Karjaluoto, Mustonen and Ulkuniemi 2015). Merely weeks after such a free buzz did the firm launch its paid media campaign to help keep such a momentum before releasing iPhone (Jobs, 2015). Apple also creates an illusion of scarcity to boost demand through its innovative design alongside packaging (Sadington 2011). Apple has an innovation history alongside brilliantly packages its products. Steve looks outside design and packaging inspirations, at Italian care finishes, Japanese packaging design and the like. Innovative designs remains a key product differentiator (Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick, Mayer and Johnston 2009).

The monolithic brand architecture of Apple makes every touch point to convey a modern, minimalistic brand image. This takes place right from its product design stage itself to Apple’s packaging through store where buyers purchase the product. Indeed when one goes to Apple store, he will get similar design aesthetic as well as brand personality as he will encounter in the device in his hand (Chaffey 2015). This digital innovative packaging has made sure that many customers are wowed by Apple’s beautiful, “open me first” packaging which they don’t throw away.        

References

Chaffey, D., 2015. Digital business and E-commerce management. Pearson Education Limited.

Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R. and Johnston, K., 2009. Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Pearson Education.

Chaffey, D., Smith, P.R. and Smith, P.R., 2013. eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and optimizing your digital marketing. Routledge.

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Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M., 2012. Marketing strategy, text and cases. Nelson Education.

Gerlemann, G.D., Allee, G.L., Rincker, P.J., Ritter, M.J., Boler, D.D. and Carr, S.N., 2014. Impact of ractopamine hydrochloride on growth, efficiency, and carcass traits of finishing pigs in a three-phase marketing strategy. Journal of animal science, 92(3), pp.1200-1207.

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Johnson, K., Li, Y., Phan, H., Singer, J. and Trinh, H., 2012. The Innovative Success that is Apple, Inc.

Karjaluoto, H., Mustonen, N. and Ulkuniemi, P., 2015. The role of digital channels in industrial marketing communications. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 30(6), pp.703-710.

Lerch, C. and Gotsch, M., 2015. Digitalized product-service systems in manufacturing firms: A case study analysis. Research-Technology Management, 58(5), pp.45-52.

LoMonaco, A., 2014. Smart Phone Purchasing Habits among the University of New Hampshire Students.

Sadington, P., 2011. Apple, Google, or Microsoft. Which does agile better.

Sahoo, D., 2012. Strategic Change of Campaign at Apple Inc. Vidwat, 5(2), p.38.

Smilansky, S., 2017. Experiential marketing: A practical guide to interactive brand experiences. Kogan Page Publishers.

Vermesan, O. and Friess, P. eds., 2014. Internet of things-from research and innovation to market deployment (Vol. 29). Aalborg: River Publishers.