Marketing Analysis Apple

Marketing Principles

Task B

24 – 11 – 11 By Ayesh Goburdhun

A. Define your product

The product chosen for this assignment will be a laptop, the Macbook Pro by Apple. The product is a personal computer that can be used for communicating with people or whoever, working on different kinds of software, listening to music and mostly to go on the Internet with the rising of the social networking websites.

Apple Computers Inc. is an American multinational corporation, who was established in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Steve Jobs, the Chairman and CEO of Apple is one of the world’s most successful businessmen today, his management style and his charisma brought the firm from a starting company to a global force to be reckoned with. Apple Computers Inc. designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

To describe further the product, we have to answer to the question: What is the consumer really buying ? The Macbook pro is based on superior quality materials that will allow faster actions and will permit the entertainment of its users over time without being bored and can be classified as a premium category of products that are not easily affordable. The Macbook Pro is based on the newest technologies on the market; it offers the best design of any kind of computers or portable engine that are actually called “innovative” on the market. So, we can say that the Macbook Pro offers great satisfactions to its customers and further, it is composed of usefull softwares that are already integrated and very powerful. The Macintosh comes with the latest brand of Operating System that the company developped in the past decades to improve the pleasure of the users, so that they woudn’t be outdated. Moreover, the Laptop is compatible with all devices at home, based on a new technology called “plug n play”, no complicated installations are required and the system works with any kind of operating system already install, even competitors.

When people think about Apple and Mac they automatically think and talk about a problem-solving product, indeed, the Laptop offers a level of security that haven’t been hacked yet whereas its major competitor: Windows, the first provider of personal computers on the market. It is, of course, implied that the Macbook is running on the tardiest best performing computers’ components. Because the company builds both the computer and the software that comes with it, reliability is the first purpose, this means that a Macbook rarely freezes or crashes. Occasionally an application might quit, but it won’t affect the rest of the system. And the operating system resists mostly to anything, so everyone can do anything without worrying about losing everything. Apple Computer Inc. distributing the product proposes a variety of sizes and styling; the Macintosh Laptop is totally customizable and is forming part of the high standing computers on the actual market. For example, ladies could easily tend to buy pink Macbooks contrary to gentlemen who will choose the white or gray one. In addition, when people decide to buy a laptop they are principally attracted to the brand name, in this case, Apple that represents a very fashionish and stylish brand with a various types of stunning adverts and commercials. The packaging of the Apple brand is also one of the best in the market; it represents clearly the brand and adds an extra “something” to ensure the pleasure and delightfullness of the buyers opening the product bought.

It is considered that Apple’s after sales service is one of the best, worlwidely speaking, indeed, the warranty applicable for each Apple products can be extended as much as the consumer wants or needs to. Further, when an Apple product is broken the after sales service comes and replaces or repairs the item immediately if it is available in the stock. This is the principal reason why Apple is so good in the after sales services contrary to other competitors in the same sector.

To classify the laptop, we can say that it forms part of a durable and tangible product, it can be used over and over with a great warranty period, and marketers would classify the Macbook Pro as a consumer product used for personal consumption.

B. Provide and critically analyze definitions and components of segmentation

Market segmentation can be define as the segmentation of markets into homogenous groups of customers, each of them reacting differently to promotion, communication, pricing and other variables of the marketing mix. Market segments should be formed in that way that differences between buyers within each segment are as small as possible. Thus, every segment can be addressed with an individually targeted marketing mix.

Market segmentation is also an adaptive strategy, it consists of the partition of the market with the purpose of selecting one or more market segments which the organization can target through the development of specific marketing mixes that adapt to particular market needs.

According to Kotler, P (1999), market segmentation means "the act of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who might require separate products and/or marketing mixes."

According to William J. Stanton, ‘Market segmentation is the process of dividing the total heterogeneous market for a good or service into several segments. Each of which tends to be homogeneous in all significant aspects.’

In brief, market segmentation is important not only for creating consumers but also for satisfying them. Market segmentation helps matching the market opportunities to the resources of the corporations and enables them to face market competition effectively.

For example, for the personal computers market there are two segments, desktop computers and laptops. As for the desktop ones, they are mostly used by bureaucratic administration because they are less expensive for the same characteristics. Moreover, gamers also use desktop computers due to their fully customizable and upgradable components, whereas the laptops,

...