Reflect and evaluate Apple's marketing principles & practices Essay

Reflect and evaluate Apple's marketing principles & practices - Essay Example The other marketing strategies and tactics – use of a brand name, consumer research, product innovation, advertising and promotion, service support – these are all helpful, but not in and of themselves. Ultimately, they only count in advancing corporate performance in so far as they deliver quality to meet the customers’ needs. More recently, marketing thrusts have tended towards what I would call the splashy and spectacular, or what others would call high-profile marketing. These can be found particularly in the advertising for sports events or concerts where a large amount of sales have to be transacted within a short period of time. There is a lot to be said, however, about word-of-mouth advertising, which is essentially low-key but very effective in the social media environment. The strongest testimony would indeed come from family, friends and close acquaintances whom we know and trust, particularly if we see them patronising the same products and services. Apple’s marketing principles When we researched on Apple’s marketing, the emphasis of most researches was focused on Apple’s innovation, its market savvy, and the vision of its former CEO, the late Steve Jobs. There is a problem with this, however, because the vision, market savvy, and ideas for innovation appear to be incidentals – things we get right only with a wing and a prayer, even in the best circumstances. Moreover, ever since the death of Steve Jobs, the constancy of these three back-bone factors has become uncertain for Apple because Jobs was the main wellspring from which they emanated. Unfortunately, Apple operated largely in a manner that was too closely identi-fied with Jobs personally. ... Unfortunately, Apple operated largely in a manner that was too closely identified with Jobs personally. In the course of my own readings, however, I am convinced that Apple has an element pervasive in its organisational culture that has developed into the winning market principle for its industry. This is simplicity, minimalism, and the quality of being understated (Vertygo, 2013). While also originally a Jobs attribute, this quality of being low-key and essentialist has, I believe, established a persistent trend in the way the company operates in a manner that defines it and its products. It is the concept upon which Apple’s brand image has been inextricably linked; its powerful digital and mobile devices such as the iPad, the iPod, the Mac, and the iPhone, which have been Apple’s greatest marketing successes, attracted the interest and commitment of the public because they were easy to operate (e.g., the absence of keys, knobs or switches) but delivered the desired qu ality of service in a manner compatible with our contemporary lifestyles (Van Dijk & Schipper, 2007). As for existing rivalry, Apple has redefined the market and reaped first option advantages with its revolutionary operating systems and its touch system technology. Through innovative products and technology, customers’ bargaining power is reduced for lack of competing alternatives or substitutes. How I assess Apple has done Taking a comprehensive look at Apple’s operations and it stated vision and principles, I believe that Apple has done more than apply them in the conventional way: the company has redefined what quality, innovation, and user friendliness means in the arena of digital communication devices. For all its