Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix

An organization's success is dependent on how well executed the marketing strategies is. Effective marketing strategies consider the elements of the marketing mix; product, place, price, and promotion when attempting to advertise or sell a product or service. In this paper Apple is the company and provider of the product, the price of the goods is contingent on the Apple product selected and sold to the consumer. Consumers can purchase Apple products at the Apple store, via the website www.apple.com, and other retail stores. The loyalty of Apple fans ensures that when new products are released stores draw crowds of people and online traffic jams Apple's website. The consumer electronic shows, television commercials, billboards, consumers, educational facilities, and mobile carriers promote the product. For the development and promotion of the Apple organization, Apple has hired individuals from other computer manufacturers, such as HP to assisting with marketing.

Currently, Apple is the most successful organization in the electronics industry. Apple created one of the company's first computers the Macintosh back in 1984; today the computer is known as the Mac. The success of the company is not solely based on computers. Initially the top competitors in the computer industry were IBM and Compaq computers. Apple is popular for products, such as the Mac Book Pro, Mac Book Air, iPods, iPhones, and iPads. The company is known for consumer and professional software products and recently the Apple TV. In the cell phone industry Apple has a competitive edge over its competitors; Samsung, HTC, Nokia, and Blackberry.

The headquarters of Apple Corporation is in the middle of Silicon Valley Cupertino, California. The Apple building known as a campus has six buildings. Availability exists to obtain Apple products in 89 countries. Product pricing varies depending on the equipment and features desired by the consumer. Pricing is affected by the productions cost and profit margin as well. The base price of an iMac is $1199, Mac Pro $2499and Mac Book laptop is $999, base price for iPods is $149, and base price for previous year's model iPhone is $99. Apple software prices vary the lowest cost listed for $1.49 contingent on the equipment purchasing for. The cost of Apple TV is $99.

The promotion of Apple products is executed in a successful manner. The basis of this success is apparent with the number of items sold and the continued demand for Apple products. Apple promotes its products at the Worldwide Developers Conference, in television commercials using famous people, and key features that one product can do the current year that it could not do in the previous. The most popular Apple product advertised in television commercials is the iPhone 4S. Apple's marketing department uses an average person in the commercial to display to the consumer how the features of the new iPhone 4S work. Another commercial entails a popular actor that people are familiar with. This interactive marketing increases opportunities for consumers to be provided information on just how smart the iPhone's voice command Siri is. Recently Apple released the iPhone 4S, which has additional features that its predecessor did not have. Features such as retina display, an eight megapixel camera, a voice command feature named Siri, and a software feature named iCloud. The attributes of a product determine the consumer's attitude of the product.

In implementing the marketing mix Apple executives need to take into consideration the desires and needs of its customer base. Effective marketing ensures Apple targets the individuals who will likely purchase the company's products. The continued success of the Apple organization stems from the company possessing the ability to fulfill the demands of the consumer. Customer satisfaction is important in the success of all businesses. If the consumer is satisfied the purchases of products continues to occur, and the prices are set and will yield Apple profit. Apple's successful branding of the Apple products increases the cost.

The key to the success Apple continues to receive stems from the effective completion of an environmental analysis, performing market research, a consumer analysis, and finally efficient product planning. The environmental analysis in relation to Apple would be the demographic information of the consumer. The consumer's age, sex, race, occupation, location, and income can decipher the type of product is purchased by he or she. In performing market research, Apple products will evolve based on the needs of consumers and the advancements in technology. Research determines the necessary