Components of the Marketing Mix of Apple, iPhone 6

Describe about the Report for Marketing Plan of Marketing Mix of Apple, iPhone 6.

The marketing mix is an integral part of an effective commercialization of any brand. Notably, it includes a set of controllable tools that a firm can deploy to influence the demand for their product. The components of marketing mix commonly abbreviated as the 4P’s entail the product, place price, and promotion. This paper seeks to analyze the marketing plan of Apple I – Phone 6 and ultimately recommend necessary adjustments to the mix (Danaher et al., 2001)

Components of the Marketing Mix of Apple, iPhone 6

Apple I – Phone 6 has distinguishing features that improve the customer experience. The product specification is customized to the client’s needs. Some of the notable features are as discussed below;

The IOS 8 Operating System. The IOS operating system is a characteristic that is widely preferred and loved by many of the consumers. MacBook has for a very long time been the most desired laptop, and iPhone gave a chance to their customers to access IOS which is the same operating system used by the MacBook laptops. Noteworthy, the release of i- Phone 6 came with additional features to the operating system. I – phone 6 runs ios 8 which has advanced features such as continuity, QuickType, iCloud Drive and Family Sharing. Moreover, the phone exhibited substantial progress for photos, Spotlights among other features.

Processing Speed. The improved speed of processing further contributed to the popularity of i-Phone 6 in the market. The high processing speed was made possible by ensuring a perfect compatibility between the hardware and the software. Furthermore, the compatibility ensured the smooth running of the operating system and improved user interface which significantly develops the customer’s attraction.

Apple Store and Itunes. The Apple stores give i-phone users a chance to access a relatively vast number of applications. Itunes further gives the users an opportunity to add to their collection of music, movies and TV shows.

Apple uses the premium pricing technique that involves setting high prices for new products in the market. For instances, i-phone is the most expensive smartphone in the market as compared to other competitors such as Samsung. It is worth noting that the customers prefer i-phone despite their high prices. The prices represent the cost that the client is willing to incur to meet the needs and desires created by the features of iPhone 6.

Product (Consumer wants)

This aspect of marketing mix primarily involves all the activities aimed at ensuring availability of the product across the world for the target customers. In the case of i-phone, Apple has guaranteed the availability of their products in many countries globally. Moreover, they offer outstanding service back up in all the countries of operation.

Apple also distributes its products through CNF that entails circulation done by a carrying and forwarding agent.  Additionally, retailers get the product directly from the company. The customers are also privileged to the product directly from the company through the Apple online store. Effective placement increases the convenience with which the consumers can get the new products.

Whenever i-phone is released, Apple deploys various platforms to create awareness of the new product efficiently. Apple applies both ATL and BTL platforms during promotions. For ATL, Apple heavily uses the newspapers, radio, and televisions to reach the targeted premium segment.

Additionally, Apple uses the BTL platforms such as major advertisements at various retail outlets and other points of sales conversations and offers to convince other customers. Promotion is intended to communicate the features of the new product to the clients.

In the industry of smartphones, consumers have exhibited a preference for larger screens, high processing speed, and an advanced operating system. Such features should be given focus to enhance customer attraction (Malasi, 2012).

Target Market for Apple, i-phone 6

Apple Inc. primarily makes their product suit various end users’ requirements. As such, the company pays close attention to the customers’ needs to be able to develop products that impress their clients who are spread across the world.  Apple operates in a global market; thus, the iPhone 6 targeted everyone globally across the demographic, societal and financial aspects that significantly influence the consumption rate (Malasi, 2012)

Effective implementation requires resources. Any company should make a budget for the plan and ensure adherence to the developed budget. All the financial aspects of the scheme should be considered when planning to provide a comprehensive budget hence limiting the chances of adverse variations (Jain & Haley, 2009). Therefore, it is noteworthy that money is vital in the effective implementation of a marketing plan. Importantly, the cost of the program should not exceed the revenues to be raised from the sales.

Apple Inc. is among the companies that have the best marketing plan for their products. However, there are notable loopholes that need adjustments. The various changes needed area as discussed below;

Price (Cost to Satisfy)

The business world is dynamic in nature, and therefore technological advancements are inevitable (Proctor, 2005). As such, Apple needs to consider providing a variety of smartphones because there is a section of the population that continuously changes phones. Other competitors such as Samsung offer several types at different prices to cater for the various customers.

Additionally, Apple should lift the unnecessary restriction in their products and include the missing features such as expandable internal memory. Further, the non-removable battery hinders the chances of additional revenue through the sale of accessories.

Apple Inc. should consider reviewing their pricing strategy and look into ways of making their products affordable to the customers with little income (Yoo et al, 2000). The company should also introduce different amounts of discounts to the customers to improve the level of sales significantly.

Apple experienced an increase in their level of sales since iPhone 6 was launched in 2014. However, it worth noting that significant sales were made in urban areas, an implication that Apple can still significantly boost their market dominance by putting emphasize on geographical expansion. To achieve the objective of geographic expansion, Apple should expand its supply chain to reach the rural areas. Moreover, the company should franchise their production to arrive at a wider market globally (Westwood, 2002).

The marketing plan needs control to ensure that everything works as intended. Exercising adequate control is the key to the success of any marketing mix. As such, the plan needs to be monitored to detect any deviation from the projections made. An important technique in the follow-up to a marketing plan is through the customer feedback which can be obtained through interviews and surveys.

Furthermore, a company can use the target market sales to control the project. This technique involves continuously measuring the units sold at the target market to assist in detecting the effectiveness of the plan (McDonald, 2007).

The monitoring process reveals potential areas of deviations that need urgent actions. As such, the identified factors need to be isolated for the purpose of testing. Subsequently, an analysis of the test result needs to be done. Remarkably, the managers should evaluate the consequences of altering any aspect of the plan and implement the option with the most favorable outcome (Luther, 2001). However, due care should be observed in ensuring that the re-adjustment conforms to the requirements of the budget for marketing plan as well as the organization.

Conclusion

A new product needs a practical and economical marketing plan to penetrate the target market (Rahmani et al., 2015). In the case of Apple, the strategy for the commercialization of iPhone involved a perfect mix of the 4P’s of the marketing as evident by the notable rise in the sale of iPhone 6 as illustrated by the graph in the appendix.

References

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Malasi, J. M. (2012). Influence of Product Attributes on Mobile Phone preference among university students: A Case of Undergraduate students.International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 1(6), 10.

McDonald, M. (2007). Malcolm McDonald on marketing planning: Understanding marketing plans and strategy. Kogan Page Publishers.

Proctor, T. (2005). Essentials of marketing research. Pearson Education.

Rahmani, K., Emamisaleh, K., & Yadegari, R. (2015). Quality Function Deployment and New Product Development with a focus on Marketing Mix 4P model. Asian Journal of Research in Marketing, 4(2), 98-108.

Sultan, F., & Rohm, A. (2005). The coming era of” brand in the hand” marketing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(1), 83.

Westwood, J. (2002). The marketing plan: a step-by-step guide. Kogan Page Publishers.

Yoo, B., Donthu, N., & Lee, S. (2000). An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 28(2), 195-211.