Assessment 03 MKT10007 PDF

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Assessment 03
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MKT10007 Fundamentals of Marketing Assignment 3: Marketing Strategy 2017 Apple MacBook Pro

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Executive Summary This report intends to give a comprehensive study of the Apple MacBook Pro and review all the marketing methods used to assess an item. In this analysis report assessed to provide a good knowledge about the product brand and sub-brand. This report will simply separate our customer gatherings, giving bits of knowledge of our product and its usefulness, while characteristic additional inquiry about the product. After wide research, this report identifies some key discoveries with respect to Apple's standing and advertising condition. Above all, Apple is in the innovation business, which is changing by the second. As innovation, the interest in laptops and other technical devices has increased in the work field compared to the past. Besides, the new generation being born with new and advanced technology people put more thought and attention to the exterior of the laptop which makes it look stylish and tempting. Our study will give extra research proposals on data about shoppers that could possibly help customers settle on their choices. For recommendation: • • • •

Apple can conduct a study upon what consumer truly need in (their devices) a PC and develop their future products with this data. Apple ought to invest more cash and assets in creating proficient applications to use the present pattern of an expanding number of experts. Apple should put more force into reused materials wherever convenient so that their products would be more environment friendly. Extra inquiries should be carried out to see if some potential thought that is not yet discovered would be beneficial for apple as a brand.

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Table of content Executive Summary Table of Contents Introduction 1. The marketplace and influencing factors 1.1 The Micro-Environment 1.1.1 Industry Overview & Summary 1.1.2 Competitor Analysis 1.1.3 Other Micro-Environment Analysis 1.2 The Macro-Environment 1.2.1 Influential Environmental factors 2. Consumer Segmentation 2.1 Profiling Element 2.2 Justification of segmentation base 3. Segment Attractiveness 3.1 Size and Growth 3.2 Structural Attractiveness 3.3 Brand + Sub brand Resources and Objectives 4. Recommendations for additional research 4.1 Additional information 4.2 Primary Research 4.3 Research Design Conclusion Recommendations

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Introduction Our Marketing group have been shortened by the Marketing Managers for MacBook Pro to carry out a review for this Apple product and have arranged this data report considering the item brand and subbrand for the organization's inside use. This review contains various parts of the market and affecting components (smaller scale and full scale - condition), consumer sections and an evaluation on the attraction of every one of the consumer portions will be surveyed in this report. We will also give suggestions from our studies to enhance the promotion of products and the capability and pull in more clients. One restriction of this report is the validity of the information utilised. Because of time requirements and absence of assets, we were not able complete our own studies to gather required information. Consequently, we need to depend on materials and articles provided online for valuable information.

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1. The marketplace and influencing factors 1.1 The Micro-Environment 1.1.1 The Industry Overview & Summary Apple Inc. is an American multinational organization that primarily makes consumer electronic devices for daily use. The company produces items such as iPhone (Smart phone), iPad (tablet), Apple TV (TV) and MacBook (Laptop). The tree graph gives the impression under symbolizes the extent of industry Apple is in.

Consumer Electronics

Tablets

Smart Phones

Personal Computers

Desktop

Laptop/ Notebook

Windows

macOS

MacBook

MacBook Air

MacBook Pro

Figure 1 As found in Figure 1, Apple has a place in the electronic industry as it manufactures numerous electronic devices, for example, Laptops, phones and tablets. 5

In the 21st century, electronic devices are hard to live without. Even the smallest action requires a smartphone or a laptop thus making these electronic devises a must in our day to day lives. The electronic industry has been thriving since the invention of the smartphone and it is no doubt that the electronic companies are in the lead in business world. Figure 02 below shows the Worldwide Device sold by Device Type, 2016 – 2018. Table 1

The huge interest for electronic devises has pulled in a ton of competition in the market. It is necessary to take note of that most organisations in this division centre around many characteristic electronic devices as opposed to simply concentrating on one. With the ongoing pattern of going green and being environmental friendly, many workplaces and colleges has reduced the use of paper going. Going paperless basically implies wiping out the requirement for printed materials and replacing them digitally with files. By utilising advance technology like e-conferencing and email the requirement for paper will decreased drastically, this can be accomplished with the assistance of devices like Laptops. While interest for Laptops stays high, it is currently declining because of the expanding prominence of tablets. As showed by BBC news, worldwide PC deals have fallen for the fifth quarter in succession. Tablets' deals, then again, surged because of the move in inclination of the customers (Hardy 2013).

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1.1.2 The Competitors The innovation business, particularly the customer gadgets segment, is an extremely focused industry. Most items are close substitutes of the other. To succeed, an organization needs to deliver items with more noteworthy client esteem and fulfillment than their rivals. The 2 important competitors of Apple are Dell and Microsoft.

Table 2 P

Our Brand + Sub-Brand

Strategic Group Competitor 1

Strategic Group Competitor 2

Brand + Sub-Brand

Apple MacBook Pro

DELL XPS 15

Microsoft Surface Book 2

Brand Positioning

Refined design & unique Technology

Performance and usability

Portability and versatile

Product Specifications

4GHz intel i7

3.8 GHz intel i7

4.2 GHz intel i7

16Gb RAM

16GB RAM

16GB RAM

512SSD

512 SSD

512 SSD

1.83KG

2.0KG

1.9KG

Place

Apple Website/ apple store and resellers

DELL website/ resellers

Microsoft website/ resellers

Price

AU$4099.00

$2999.00

$4249.00

Advantages and Disadvantages c/w our Brand and Sub-Brand

Strong customer service network

4k display

New to the device industry, strong software background

Other factors important to prospective buyers

Strong brand reputation

Touch screen

Promotion

Long standing tech company

Detachable screen

Touch Bar and Touch ID

The marketing mix for Apple MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 15 and Microsoft Surface Book 2 are very similar, each product has almost identical performance specs (product). The (Place) where these products can be obtained are very similar through company specific website and technology retailers such as JB-HiFi or 7

Harvey Norman. The Apple MacBook is also available at Apple Store ’s. Since these products are at the high-end of the laptop market, that they normally don’t appeal to the general public that require a laptop, while they may enjoy owning these products, however the higher price tag and high performance means that people that specifically need these types of laptop will be purchasing it regardless of the price. Hence companies offer limited sales or promotions on these products, unless they release a new generation and want to sell off the previous generation. The MacBook Pro 15 is not most expensive, so consumers are likely to consider it over the Microsoft Surface Book 2, saving $240. However, the Dell XPS is the cheapest saving $1100 over the MacBook and $1250 over the Surface book, since the performance specs are similar, each competitor has a unique selling point. MacBook Pro has Touch Bar and Touch ID. Dell XPS has a 4K resolution screen and the Microsoft Surface Book 2 has a detachable

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1.1.3 Other key players in the marketplace One key player in the electronic industry that assumed or plays a key role to Apple MacBook Pro is Intel, the world’s biggest and most esteemed semiconductor chip producers (Mark 2013). Intel is an important provider to Apple as Intel supplies handling chips and illustrations cards to Apple to manufacture this product (Mike 2016). Along these lines, any breaks in Intel's supply will heavily affect the generation of 2017 MacBook Pro. If Intel somehow happened to leave the market, Apple will be compelled to find a new provider for the processor of MacBook Pro. As a considerable measure of improvements, changes and adjustments have been made on Intel's processor to suit MacBook Pro's necessities, the new provider will require a great deal of time to settle down and oblige these adjustments. Hence, Apple will endure an immense measure of loss as far as income and time. Being among one of the largest integrated circuit and chip manufacturing companies, Intel spends a lot of time researching and developing products in order to be on top of the list, though this cost Intel a lot of money it seems to be worth it, Apple use this as an opportunity by creating thinner and faster gadgets (phones, laptops, tablets). Due to Intel’s breakthrough in semiconductor chip thinning technology (Romain 2017).

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1.2 The Macro-Environment As indicated by Kotler et al (2014), large scale condition refers to the huge social powers that administer how reduced scale situations act. The three large scale situations observed in this report are: Demographic Environment, Economic Environment and Cultural and Social Environment. Table 3

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2.0 Consumer Segmentation We chose to partition our potential purchasers into sections based on their proposed use rate of the product. The use rate is concentrating on the conduct of the consumers. Table 4 - Consumer Segmentation Table Usage rate (hours per day)

Willingness to spend

Necessity reliability

for Need quick Commands and Quick access

Less than 2 hours per day

Low

Moderate

Moderate

2 – 4 hours per day

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

5+ hours per day

High

High

High

2.1 Profiling elements defined It is no secret that a laptop is an expensive purchase. A consumer is likely to buy an expensive product such as a laptop only by knowing he will use it in his everyday life, rather than using it occasionally. Thus, it is obvious that the consumer expects no breakdown of their products and expect maximum performance from their purchase. The most key factor to look is the Touch Bar and TouchID. Quick commands and access is an essential element for laptops as consumers can do the work fast.

2.2 Justification of segmentation base We are separating consumers according to their usage of the product. Therefore, each of them can be categorized into one segment There are five key components for successful market division. The segments must be measurable, accessible, substantial, actionable and differentiable to be successful. Furthermore, the market section must be open which means that they need to be effectively reached and served (saha2015). The anticipated usage of the 2017 MacBook does not depend on the location or whether it has an easy access. It is decided by the age and the profession.

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3.0 Segment Attractiveness 3.1 Size and Growth Table 5

For consumers falling under the gathering of "under two prolonged periods of use every day, there would be a littler segment against the others for many reasons. Mainly, the individuals who buy a laptop have done as such in the plans to use it every day. As a high-performing brand focused for those with the desires on a laptop that can satisfy their requirements for programs accessible to them, there would be less individuals that would have a low utilization rate. For alternate sections, the MacBook Pro would have a greater degree a "2 to 4 extended periods of use every day" to "over 5 long stretches of use every day" use rate because of its particulars and helpful utility projects and because of its high-ranged valuing, there might be less individuals on the "over 5 long stretches of use every day" and is focused mainly towards renown shoppers. 3.2 Structural Attractiveness There are a wide variety of Laptop brands going up against each other with targets, being it for business related use to top of the line performing for stimulation and gaming use. As an Apple product, the MacBook Pro comes "slimmer and lighter" than most Laptops. With regards to auxiliary engaging quality, there is less contenders that accomplish the thin outline that Apple advances; be it Microsoft, Dell or different brands that offer Laptops. 3.3 Company Objectives and Resources Some of Apple’s objectives are (Brandon 2015): “Create ground-breaking products” “Innovate and dictate the movement of future technology” From the above quote we see how Apple aims for their market and manages to produce products that are ‘future technology’ creating quality products along with advanced technologies what apple’s entire branding is about, making sure that they evoke high profits and a large market share count as well as substantial resources. Apple maintains its high profits through sales as they are constantly producing sub-brands and improving their products, making their ‘Medium’ and ‘High’ Size & Growth scales suitable.

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4.0 Recommendations for additional research 4.1 Additional information We want to discover what influences consumers to purchase a MacBook Pro over competing products. From this, we can ask some questions that can gauge how a consumer would react to the economic environment: - Is the increase in mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) affecting a customer’s choice to purchase a MacBook Pro? - Does the higher base price of the product prevent existing customer’s from upgrading? - What features would be most beneficial and useful to the customer? By answering these questions, we form a basis on what can distinguish the MacBook Pro from its competitors and utilise its advantages to increase sales, brand awareness and market share.

4.2 Primary Research To gather information on the MacBook Pro, we can use interviews. Interviews are mainly a qualitative option that allow you to explore a consumer’s feelings and opinions towards the product. This information can help a marketing manager make decisions about their marketing strategy using the feeling and opinions a consumer evokes. By analysing open-ended discussion, the marketing team can focus on the emotions evoked to market the product to consumers by making them understand how they might feel when using the product. The advantages of interviews are: they can find a targeted demographic to focus on, questions can cover great depth and they add a human dimension to impersonal data. However, the disadvantages are: interviews can take up a lot of time and the sample sizes are smaller compared to a survey. As we are trying to answer questions that go beyond a quantitative measure, a qualitative research method such as an interview would be more beneficial.

4.3 Research Design A potential research design for marketing interview would be group interviews/focus groups. This method would be preferred as you can analyse a greater sample size compared to individual interviews. You also achieve the benefits of a qualitative method of research, mentioned above. The interview would have participants play around with prototype equipment and analyse how they react to new features and how often they use it in an ordinary workflow. The participants would then discuss a series of open-ended questions around how they felt about these features and the value they would place on such features. The sample size would be a few dozen people, of a specific target demographic.

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Conclusion In conclusion, Apple operates in a highly competitive and plateauing industry that is facing heavy pressure to innovate due to the ubiquity of mobile devices and consumers who do not require a powerful laptop for day-to-day tasks. Intel has been identified as the primary supplier to the MacBook Pro and the majority of personal computing companies. This means Intel has a lot of power in negotiations and supply. The report has segmented users by usage frequency and the moderate users market is seen as the most lucrative. Furthermore, the report recommends group interviews/focus groups as the primary method of research due to its collaborative nature. Finally, a future marketing plan can be developed from the overall understanding of Apple’s marketing environment which was discussed in this report.

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Recommendations • The most significant consumer to Apple in connection to the MacBook Pro are clients who utilize the item 2-4 hours every day and the individuals who utilize it for 5+ hours day by day. Hence, they can alter the item, to build the engaging quality of the MacBook Pro to people of these classifications. •

Research should be possible to discover what consumers need in their Laptop and enhance and change likewise their future product.

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Concentrate how Apple's competitors’ demonstration and their procedures to additionally enhance our knowledge of the market and consumers.

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Additionally, inquire about into the business would be helpful in making sense of current data that Apple could use to expand their quality and brand.

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References: Apple 2017, Apple Inc. Annual Report 2017, Apple.com, Report number: 20549. Chris, M 2016, The Most Annoying Things about the New MacBook Pro, viewed 28 April 2017, . The laptop and the lecture, The effects of

multitasking

in

learning

environments

MacBook Pro https://www.apple.com/au/macbook-pro/, XPS Laptops, Dell Australia Surface pro, < https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/p/surface-pro > Donald, L 1997, ‘An examination of deal proneness across sales promotion types: A consumer segmentation perspective’, Journal of Retailing, vol. 73, no. 2, pp 283-297. Gaudiosi, J 2015, Razer is worth $1 billion, and you’ve probably never heard of it, FortuneTech, viewed 28 April 2017, . Gerald, H & Michael, S 2003, ‘The critical contribution of social marketing’, Marketing Theory, vol. 3, no. 3, pp 305-322. Hardy, E 2013, Tablet sales surge as laptop/pc sales decline, TabletPreview.com, viewed 28 April 2017, < http://www.tabletpcreview.com/news/tablet-sales-surge-as-laptoppc-salesdecline/>. Hein, B 2015, 10 Reasons Why the New MacBook Pro isn’t for you, CultOfMac.com, viewed 28 April 2017, . Osborne, J 2017, MacBook Pro 2017 Release Date, News and Rumors, TechRadar, viewed 28 April 2017, . Paul, G, Frank, C & David, P 1976, ‘Consumer segmentation via latent class analysis’, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 3, no. 3, pp 170-174. Ravi, S, Torger, R & Louis, W 1983, ‘The environment of marketing channel dyads: A framework for comparative analysis’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 47, no. 4, pp55...