Chapter 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Psychographic Segmentation is a method used by Apple to market their products. Apple products for some cunsumers is a lifestyle, if an electronic is made by Apple they have to purchase it. These customers won't buy an iMac and then buy a Zune mp3 player, they would get an iPod.

 Apple consumers also say that Apple products fits their personality; Apple products makes them feel technologically advanced, for "tweens" generation Apple products makes them feel cool, and for generation Y usually college students apple products such as Mac computers, makes these consumers feel smart.

A motive for Apple consumer is security. Apple is known for not getting viruses or spyware, also speed is another motive; Apple consumers say their Mac computers never freeze, unlike PC's.


Apple Products can be marketed to any section of the family cycle. Ipods can be targeted to all of the family cycle, specially tweens generation, Iphones are targeted to all the cycle, Macs are usually targeted, to generation X, Y, and Baby boomers, because of College use, and company use.

Developing and Managing Products

When Apple developed the first Iphone in 2007, Apple had high expenctancy in this new product. Because of the futuristic visions Apple had of the Iphone, they decided to announce this new product six months before the release. This was the first product Apple announced months before the release, usually Apple product are announced less than one month of anticipation.

Innovation is a word that fits perfect in Apple's world. Ipods have different generations, and everytime a new generation is released, you could expect a new feature that will amaze you. Iphone is another great example of Apple's innovation, from the first multitouch screen finger friendly starting with their first Iphone, then the sleeker design and 3g network for their Iphone 3g, next will be the first Iphone with video camera, and today the new Iphone 4 with hd video recording, facetime chat, and a great multitask phone.

According to some analysis I viewed, most of them agree that Apple's Iphone is still in their growth stage. These analists say that because of Iphones high sales growing everytime there is a new Iphone released, Apple is still in the game. Also consumers are always waiting with what innovation Apple is coming up next with, since these consumers already knows that the new models are always going to be different.

TSA Patdowns might slightly change before wednesday

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Customer Relations Management

 

     

                       



   Apple's customer relationship managment is known to be one of the best, especially for brand loyalty. Apple uses different strategies to create loyal customers:

   One of them is the Apple store, this is a store where you could play with all Apple's products, and customers who already own Apple products can learn more about their products, and explore other Apple's exciting products.

   Apple offers complete solutions, by this I mean that if you buy an Apple product, all accesories, hardware or software that you will need, Apple makes it. Just imagine buying a computer, and you don't know if that pc company sells a software you need.

   Apple carries varied products, maybe you are not ready to buy a Mac yet, but I'm sure you can afford an Ipod or an Iphone. If this consumer likes the Ipod, and he or she is very satified with it, this customer is most likely to buy a Mac computer in the future.

  

Apple also offer educational sales. By offering Apple products to students, and offering them a discounted price, students are most likely to buy  Apple products like a Mac, but most importantly, by selling Apple products to students, is like a foundation, because once these students graduate they know Apple's performance and reliabilty is great and they will continue to buy Apple products, especially Macs.

New Microsoft Office for Mac 2011

We were all excited when the release of Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 was released, we didn't have to worry about recieving a file from a PC and not be compatible, or even worse; switching to a PC just because for your business or education you needed microsoft office. It is an important program offered for Mac users, but there were worried Mac users on the new release of PC's Microsoft Office 2010. Micorosoft Office 2010 for PC has made a big improvement, and has many new features. Mac users were worried because eventhought Office 2008 for Mac could be open by any Microsoft Office, but what if you recieve a file from a partnersgip or Proffesor using Office 2010 and he used new features from the software? You wouldn't be able to view it! Luckly last month Microsoft announced the Release of Office 2011 with all the features of Office 2010 for PC. And if you purchased Mac 2008 in the past 3 months, you would be able to upgrade to Office 2011 for FREE! Once again Mac has proved that they will do whatever it takes to make Mac users more PC compatible.



Integrated Marketing Communications



The Apple's Iphone has a marketing mix perspective. The first one I will explain is the product, Iphone is like the combination of a big screen Ipod, an internet browser, and of course a phone. What is great of this device is that before the Iphone existed, to see the mentioned features together we would think of a big device; like a mini computer maybe, but the Iphone is lightweight and compact; fits right in your pocket.

For the place Apple has decided to partner with AT&T to provide them service, and as a point of sale for their Iphones. But AT&T isnt the only place to buy an Iphone, it can also be purchased at the Apple retail store, Apple online store and currently in Best Buy stores.

For promotion, Apple had a different strategy for the release of the Iphone. Usually Appple will announce the release of a new product right before it hits their stores, but with the Iphone since they knew it was going to be a success, they decided to promote it 6 MONTHS before it's expected release.

As for price, Apple's Iphone started at a price of $499 for their 4gb, and $599 for their 8gb Iphone. You have to sign a two year agreement with AT&T and with monthly fees starting at $59.99.

Brand Loyalty

In our previous class we discussed about brand loyalty, and how your family can be a factor. In relation to tha subject, I found an interesting video not from my company, but by the car manufacturer Toyota:

Product Concepts

Apple's Brand Mark

The bitten apple, is the brand mark for Apple. This logo is what distinguish this company, because wherever you see a bitten apple logo we automatically know this product has to do with the company Apple Inc.

Apple also has trademarks, and one of them is the famous word "pod". Apple pretty much owns this word and they are the only company that could use this word for a product; we have seen thisword on their products such as Ipod, and also on their services, like in podcasts. Eventhough it is not a trademark, another characteristic of Apple's products name, is the letter "I" at the beggining of their product's and service's names. For example like in Ipod, Ipad, Iphone, etc.

In this chart is some of Apple's Trademarks:



One of Apple's most important product concepts is their warranty, better known as "Apple Care Protection Plan". This warranty is known for being one of the best warranties in electronics, offering the first year for free. It could be expanded up to 3 years with an added fee.





Sales Promotion and Personal Selling



Relationship selling or Consultive selling is one of the most important methods for Apple in the selling process. When you buy an Apple product, you will constantly recieve emails regarding your pruduct, and new updates for it, and how your Apple product has been performing. Apple also makes sure that they are giving their consumers the best product they can give. By doing this Apple is building a relationship with the consumer, which leads to loyal customers and once the new model or a new product from Apple comes out these loyal customers are more likely to by their new products. For Apple in a business point of view building loyal customers and using the Relationship selling process also is a cheaper way for them, because it will cost them more to make a new customer then to retain a current consumer. One reason would be advertising, as we rea in the previous chapter, advertising its not a cheap cost, and when you retain a customer they already know your product, and you don't have to advertise it too much to a current consumer.

Apple promotes their products by showing it to you, and let you use it. This is one of the reasons apple has the famous "Apple Stores" worldwide. Apple does not give coupons, or any type of discount, but they do offer rebates when you purchase a Mac; rither on a printer or an IPod Touch.  Because of their good reputation, and great sales, they would not be in a position for discounts.

There is an simple way to demonstrate how Apple retains their customers and has loyal customers; everytime there is a new Apple products, you have customers waiting hours before the launch of the product, to be the first one's to have it.



Advertising and Public Relations



Apple uses different methods for advertising, one of the methods would be comparative advertising. Apple often compares there products with their competitors, and we have seen an example of it, which is the commercial when Apple compares their Mac to Microsoft's PC. We notice in these commercials how everytime PC makes a comment about their product, Mac always has a better improvement. In other of these commercials, Mac asks questions to PC on how their new product is better than their old ones and if they have fixed their issues, (like we all know these issues are viruses). These type of commercials, gives the consumer the idea of Mac being a better product and I do believe that these commercials also help consumers thinking of getting a Mac, make up their minds.

Apple's advertising is so persuasive, that consumers not familiar with technology calls every mp3 players IPod, every touch screen phone IPhone, and if its a powerful computer, they will think that is a Mac.

I noticed that almost every advertisement for Apple are to promote their new item, and this method is called pioneering advertising, and it made come to a conclusion; Apple products don't need too much advertisement because they already developed their target market, and they just have to advertise to inform their consumers about their new products. By this last sentence, I learned that Apple has an understanding of advertising response function.

Chapter 15 - Retailing

I visited the new Apple Store in 68th and Broadway. My information is from one of the store manager of this location, and also from Apple Media Helpline; where journalists could get information about Apple, provided by the manager of the previous location mentioned.

Apple has different strategies for their store locations. I visited the Apple store in 68^th and Broadway, and one of the managers explained to me the reason of the opening of this new Apple store. Apple has 2 locations in Manhattan; in the east side they have the apple store of 59 and 5^th av. Which covers all upper and mid east side residents, and all the tourists that come to New York always explore 5^th av. making them one of the most visited Apple store worldwide. They also have stores downtown; The Village, Union Square and Soho. In the upper or mid west side there weren’t locations of an Apple store, and they have a big target market in this area. Apple’s concern wasn’t only on the sales of their products, but also because of their genius bar, which is like their technical support and tutoring center for Apple products. These Westside residents when they had an appointment with the genius bar was a hassle, they had to go all the way downtown or to 5^th av. Because 5^th av was a nearer location, Westside customers went to this location, but there was sometimes a big issue with this location, due to the following reason. Apple store in 5^th av is a 24hr store, and due to the big volume of appointments, some of these customers were scheduled for 12 am all the way to 5am. But now that there is a location in 68^th and Broadway, west side residents won’t have to lose time going to a further Apple store, or stay up late at night for an appointment. Even though this location is opened from 9am to 9pm every day. In suburbs area or in a lower volume city, Apple stores are usually located in Plazas or in the local mall. International Apple stores can be found in Major Countries, in their major city and main av.

Online retailing is a main point of sale for apple for various reasons. If you want a Mac or a Mac book customized with more features for extra performance, you will only be able to do it online. To promote more their online retailing, they offer some cool features, one of them is a personal message engraved on your new IPod for no extra charge. One of the most important points of sale for Apple’s online retailing is to pre-order new Apple products, without having to wait in a long line. Also if this new item goes out of stock, you could place an order, and it will be shipped to you once it is back in stock, without having to worry if the store still have it in stock by the time you get there. By online retailing, it is also a faster way to learn about Apple’s products.

MSRP: Apple did not gave me too much information about why Apple products never goes on sale or lower their price, they just told me that Apple products always has a high point of sale in all their products lately and that their products you get from Apple, you pay for the great quality of it. In terms of Apple products having a higher price than some of their competitors, I heard different responses for their different products. One of them was the Mac book, staring at $999.99, compared with the same specifications of a PC for $599 to $699. But at the long run you will pay more for a PC. In a PC, you have to buy an antivirus each year and a good antivirus range from $49.99 to $69.99. PC’s also tend to get damaged and have more issues than a Mac, and the cost for a diagnostic is staring at $70 dollars, without the cost of parts and labor. Most importantly is also proven that a Mac with a 1.6 GHz processor and 2 GB ram would run the same as a PC with 2.6 GHz processor and 4 GB ram and a PC with those specs will come out for the same price of a Mac or more, depending on the manufacturer.

According to one of the managers of the Apple store in 68^th and Broadway, the atmosphere in Apple stores are setup for customers to feel that they are in a place to explore new things and make sure that their experience was fun and feel like they never want to leave. The manager also said that a lot of customers describe the store as a cyber café or a toys r us for all ages. I totally agree! Every apple product is setup in a light wooden table, large enough for the customers to play with the product, and fit a decent amount of that same product to avoid waiting. Apple stores are easy to identify, all their stores have a front glass display with a big bitten apple in the middle light wooden tables for their products, and it is a fun environment.

Customer service was great. The moment I entered the store I was greeted, and asked if I needed help. They have big staffs which are very knowledgeable and helpful. I would qualify Apple retail experience as a high customer service retailer.

Chapter 6 - Consumer Decision Making

▪ After Apple announced the release date of its iPhone in June 2007, consumer traffic to theiPhone 8GB product page dramatically increased by 1,900 percent by the end of December2007, while traffic for the iPhone 4GB initially increased only slightly before Applediscontinued the lower capacity device in early September 2007.
▪ Of the 54 percent of respondents who indicated that they do not plan to purchase an iPhone,41 percent indicated their primary reason was that the iPhone is too expensive and 22percent indicated that they didn’t want to switch to AT&T as their carrier. 
▪ Of the 46 percent of consumers who either own or are considering purchasing an iPhone, 35percent indicated that the fingertip navigation (zooming, scrolling, etc.) is the best feature ofthe iPhone.
▪ Bluetooth and hands-free headsets are becoming a required accessory with cell phones suchas the iPhone. With the new driving laws impending, 62 percent of online consumersindicated that they currently use or plan to purchase a hands-free headset. 
▪ Of the top 20 most popular cell phones on PriceGrabber.com, 19 have MP3 playbackcapabilities. Forty-two percent either are not aware of or do not have the MP3 playercapability on their cell phone. Only 11 percent of respondents use their cell phone as theirprimary MP3 player and 18 percent of respondents use it on occasion.
▪ Prior to the iPhone 3G announcement made by Steve Jobs, president of Apple, a total of 38percent of online respondents indicated that they plan to purchase the iPhone 3G, while 62percent indicated they don’t plan to.  

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR REPORT 2008  The iPhone has changed the way consumers think about cell phones and smartphones. Apple has consumers waiting in anticipation for the July 11 release of the second generation 3G iPhone and iPhone 2.0software, nearly one year after the iPhone was introduced on June 29, 2007. The iPhone isundoubtedly the most talked about mobile device in the market. 
▪ Apple keeps consumers interested in the iPhone. After Apple announced the release dateof its iPhone in June 2007, consumer traffic to the iPhone 8GB product page dramaticallyincreased by 1,900 percent by the end of December 2007, while traffic for the iPhone 4GBinitially increased only slightly before Apple dropped its price to $299 and discontinued thelower capacity device in early September 2007. 
 ▪ In a survey of 3,066 online respondents conducted between May 20 and June 5, only 20percent of consumers own an iPhone or smartphone, while the majority of respondents own astandard cell phone. However, 42 percent of respondents indicated that they are consideringpurchasing an iPhone and four percent indicated that they own an iPhone. Apple, whichrecently announced the 3G iPhone, has the opportunity and the challenge to win over the 54percent of consumers who indicated that they do not intend to purchase the iPhone.

Week 5- Developing a Global Vision

 

Booming sales of the iPhone across the world helped Apple to post quarterly results that breezed past expectations and sent its shares up 6 per cent to $254, an all-time high.

Revenue rose almost 50 per cent on the same quarter last year while profits were up 90 per cent.

The results for the three months to the end of March do not include iPad sales, which are expected to add another $1 billion (£654m) of revenue.

Sales of the iPhone were up 131 per cent on the same period last year, boosted by making the touch screen handset available in new markets, including China, and by the addition of new network operators including Vodafone in the UK.

Overall, the company reported net income of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 a share, up from $1.62 billion or $1.79 a share a year ago. Revenue was $13.5 billion compared to $9.08 billion.

Apple continued its strong run with sales of 2.94 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a 33 per cent increase, despite strong sales of rival PCs boosted by the release of Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system. Apple also sold 10.89 million iPods during the quarter, a fall of only 1 per cent from last year in an almost saturated market.

Steve Jobs, the chief executive, said: “We have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.”

Apple's share of worldwide Smartphone sales grew from 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 10.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009. In terms of unit sales, Apple jumped from 1.7 million in the first quarter of 2008 to 3.9 million during the same period in 2009.

This also is making apple invest more on worldwide company also given by the result of the ipad having great success in almost every continent. 

 

Corporate Irresponsibilty by Apple- Apple apologizes for Baby Shaker iPhone app

Parents whose children died or were permanently injured due to their babies being shaken protested outside an Apple store about an application called Baby Shaker.

Apple has apologized this week for the 'deeply offensive' iPhone application, which made a game of quieting crying babies by shaking them. The application was pulled earlier.

According to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Shaken Baby Syndrome or Abusive Head Trauma is the leading cause of death from childhood maltreatment.

Outraged by the perceived callousness, Patrick Donohue and Jennipher Dickens, parents of a baby shake victims, organized a demonstration outside an Apple store in New York recently. Donahue signed an open letter to the board of directors of Apple, Inc. and AT&T, Inc.

Donohue – the founder of The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation – named after his daughter said he was “shocked, appalled and angered” at the corporate irresponsibility. Dickens is the foundation’s communication director.

“While we are glad public outcry forced Apple to pull the application, the cynical way it was pulled without any explanation, any apology or any plans to rectify the damage they have already caused can only lead me to one explanation: this was a purposeful public relations effort coinciding with their campaign to promote their 1 billionth application download during Child Abuse Awareness Month and Shaken Baby Prevention week.
This is a link for a video:

 <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aLOCDrmlQwQ?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aLOCDrmlQwQ?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Week 4- Marketing Environment

 When it comes to the environment of Apple Computers Inc make sure they comply with what the law states in the country; they make sure that they comply with the regulated standards of the country. When it comes to the economy the company tries to adjust to the economic situation of their market. When it comes to the technology aspect of the environment, the company makes use of various technological innovations that help in increasing productivity and improving the quality of their products. The demography aspect of the macro environment is used as a method of determining their target market. The culture aspect of the macro environment provides Apple computers Inc the information it needs to create products that most people will like and purchase.  The society aspect of the environment dictates how long the company will stay in the industry. Nature as an aspect of the environment is used as a way for the company to improve its image to its clients.

The influences in the marketing environment that have informed the marketing mix created by the supplier to manage the exchange includes the situation in the economy and the demands of the stakeholder .The situation in the economy and the demands of the stakeholder instituted the need to manage the exchange. This two created the desire to make sure that the exchange will be done with less worries and less concerns.

Country of origin

Shirt- made im Peru
Pants- made in Egypt
Sneakers- made in China
Underwear- made in Honduras
Socks- not labeled

Week 3- social responsibility and ethics

Apple has a different standard of ethics. The gold standard at Apple is that if it is good for the executives, then it must be good for the employees, the company, and the country. But for others this type of behavior is ingrained at Apple and as long as the stock price is fine, the board and the executives will enjoy their riches while a different kind of ethics rules at Apple.

iOS 4

Release of iOS 4.1 for iphone

The iOS 4.1 Software Update is the first major update to iOS 4, bringing Game Center, new iTunes features, high dynamic range photography, and more to iPhone.


Game Center



Experience social gaming on your iPhone. Find friends or use auto-match to play multiplayer games against new opponents. Track achievements and compare high scores.


iTunes Ping



Take advantage of new social discovery features in iTunes. Keep up with your friends’ music and follow your favorite artists.


HDR photography



Take great photos that capture a wider range of light intensity using the new high dynamic range (HDR) setting on iPhone 4, which automatically combines multiple exposures into a single HDR image.

HD video uploads



Upload HD video to YouTube and MobileMe from your iPhone 4.


Also for those out there who jailbreak their iPhones, it is now legal, and soon there will be a jailbreak for ios 4.1. I will soon post the law that made jailbreak legal.

Week 2- Strategic Planning and ethics and Social responsibility of Apple's iPhone

Apple's iPhone strategic planning is sales. Apple wants to sell Iphone by using not only advertisements, but also by adding great features and upgrades to their phones. One example of these features is the touch screen. Before the iPhone the only touchs creens were the palms pda, and it was meant to be used with a stylus pen, not with your finger. And to the to the finger friendly touch screen, Apple added extra touch features, e.g. the pinch to zoom out and expand to zoom in. We also have to admit that iphone has the best applications yet. Another strategic plan is having a wireless phone provider also marketing their product and also allowing the public to get the iPhone for $400 less if opened with a contract. This wireless phone provider is AT&T, which is known for fast 3g network and great coverage, allowing the iPhone work at its full potential. I believe that for the prior reasons this might also be why the iPhone is only sold at AT&T.




Apple has a different standard of ethics. The gold standard at Apple is that if it is good for the executives, then it must be good for the employees, the company, and the country. But for others this type of behavior is ingrained at Apple and as long as the stock price is fine, the board and the executives will enjoy their riches while a different kind of ethics rules at Apple.


Apple's social responsibilities includes product safety, environment, workplace issues, international operations and human rights, community relations and weapons contracting.

History and mission of my product's company

The history of the iPhone line of phones began with Steve Jobs' direction that Apple Inc. engineers investigate touch-screens. At the time he had been considering having Apple work on tablet PCs, which later came to fruition with the iPad. Many have noted the device's similarities to Apple's previous touch-screen portable device, the Newton MessagePad. Like the Newton, the iPhone is nearly all screen. Its form factor is credited to Apple's head of design, Jonathan Ive.

The mission statement of the apple company, is to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and keep on revolutionizing the innovative iphone.