Introduction
The following report is submitted to be in tandem with the wants of the management board of Apple Inc. The product in question is the MacBook whose specifications beat its previous model by light-years, it comes with its state of the art which includes sixth-generation Intel processors, immensely enhanced graphics performance, quicker-paced flash storage, and at least 10 hours of battery charge. With this kind of innovation in stores ready for consumption, our first sub-heading in its report will be the situational analysis of the company, followed by who the company seeks to pull into its grasp with current and subsequent versions, target market decision-making process.
Situational Analysis of the Company
There are tools that the marketing department looks at to describe the internal and external situation reflecting the business status. Though the two are usually utilized interchangeably, they are used in multiple condition atmospheres to bring to fore effective strategic planning, decision making, and action planning.
Internal Situation - SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis gives a detailed description of the Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the company may face in the financial year. The strengthsare design: new model's 12-inch retina display, full-size keyboard, trackpad, the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology, a singularly versatile USB-C (dealing with speedy data transfer and optimal power usage among others (Hern, 2016). The weaknesses of the company relate to the manner in which the marketing of the product may fail to reach the expectation of the market as purported in the ads. Here, there are issues of low battery storage, choice of chipset architecture; specifically, the graphics, considering that fans have been using their Macs for ages since Apple released their last version 1,054 days after this latest version. The opportunities lie in the fact that due to the late release of the Mac Book Pro, there is now a lot of headroom for improvement f core qualities such as cutting-edge innovation, helpful support, sleek designs and strong value (Hern, 2016). Solutions could be found in the value and selection; to up their game on the usability of the touch bar (which Apple only installed in the high-end versions). In any case, it removes the functionality of the keys. The threats come from the long delays that have come between the releases of the versions. This will create an underserved silence within the Apple community of consumers who look to the constant reminder of what to expect.
External Situation - PESTLE Analysis
Political factors
The political factors that would influence the tax regime coupled with the adoption of free trade policies and stable political climates in developed countries are essential in enhancing market development (Lombardo, 2017). With the adoption of laws curbing e-waste, there lays a challenge in shifting the company's used technology.
Economic factors
In the next century, the developing countries' will take over the economic production. With so much untapped human and natural resource in Asia and Africa, Apple can use its resources in gaining a greater market reach. However, with their exchange rates falling against the hard currencies, it is only a matter of time before purchasing power reaches even the range of its high-end products
Social Factors
In 2015, the sale of Apples IPhone had grown to 133% in these regions (Lombardo, 2017). This coupled with the rise of social media gives the corporation to customize its technology with user-friendly applications that rival that of other tech makers.
Technological factors
The ability of the Mac Book Pro to possess a Bluetooth device capable of can take advantage to enable it's with other devices is another way in which the brand fans to share. Heck, it even may win some over. This, coupled with apps that are compatible with the other devices makes this even more of an opportunity; it can grow its App inventory with even more creative technologies.
Ecological/Environmental factors
The use of sweat shop in the areas of the developing world is a serious violation of labor laws. Here, there is an opportunity for the corporation to step in with improved labor relations for the employees,moreover, dealing with e-waste for the tons of waste that are discarded on a yearly basis will bring in another chance for CSR engagement (Lombardo, 2017). Additionally, the energy efficiency of the machines of making them should be marketed in the light of sustainability.
Legal factors
These are for instance privacy for the user using the devices on the internet. The company has to protect the users privacy and at the same time face relenting pressure to safeguard it using laws and applications. An opportunity and a threat present themselves simultaneously.
Target Market Description
The market that is within the scope strategy of company executives is one that is as wide as the factors discussed in the analysis. Here, according to, the market is segmented in the following manner:
Children
Here, the marketing strategy will be on the apps for such things as games. The graphic display, as well as the size of the screen, will be key in the accessibility of easy-to-use iconography (Lombardo, 2017). Apps that are teaching tools can be downloaded from the inventory to make the process more engaging.
Teenagers
These are targeted due to their almost cultish need to keep talking using the various social media apps that are made available every day. These are such as Twitter Facebook, Instagram. They share all sorts of media on these platforms, some of which are the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities are keying the marketing to this group
College and Universities Students
These are the cluster that is in need of applications that can record and present data in various formats as they are taking notes during class time. Touchpads and qwerty keyboards are key to be user-friendly are key in the marketing (Lombardo, 2017). Sharing of information is also key using cloud technology as large groups are required to access homogeneous information.
Business People
These are highly tech savvy individuals who are into using applications for data analysis and presentation. They compile data; organize it to share with clients. The marketing activity involved will target those using high-ends quality features such as touch bars and fingerprint sensors which may cost upward of 1,249(Hern, 2016).
Social Influences on Buying Behavior
The society is composed of populations of different individuals with different perspectives on consumption and various tastes and preferences. These individuals can convince and influence each other through their day to day interaction in various facets of life. Therefore, they can affect each other what they decide to buy and what they decide to forfeit (Lombardo, 2017). One of the factors that influence buying behavior is social class. This is the oldest most known factor that causes more sales to occur for most corporates. The existence of social classes should not be ignored. The prevalence of a product being identified with a particular social class improves its image among individuals that believe to be in that social class. If the Mac Book Pro is affordable for a certain social group, then most sales would come out of that influence (Spence, 2017). The use of the gadget by one individual market itself among his/her social circles and purchasing power being available for these individuals the buying is done at ease. It places the product as an indicator of that individual being of a particular social standing just by owning it.
Another social influence on buying and consumer behavior is the different family and cultural beliefs that people grow up believing. Many families that may have used Japanese and Chinese electronics would find themselves trusting the brands they have used and therefore trusting they end up purchasing brands from these countries since they believe their judgment on those products. Many individuals would identify with a certain brand because they have seen it most frequently being used and therefore base their choice of purchasing it on these objective findings. This is one of the factors that make or break a company brand (Lombardo, 2017). When most people trust the brand, all people start believing that it is the best. Brand loyalty can go a long way in building up a company like Apple, and this is despite heavy competition from rival companies.
Psychological Influence on Buying Behavior
The human mind is caused to function in a particular way through the coercion made by the media and other channels that we get information from. People identify with these brands because they are often advertised in all media. This kind of psychological factor conditioning the mind is influenced by the constant presence of a certain brand advertisement being given over and over. It comes down to the kind of colors used in the billboards and local dailies for that particular brand (Spence, 2017). The individual is coerced to buy from the brand because they have heard or seen so much about it on the different media and therefore would want to try the new product if any is in the pipeline. Brand wars bottle down to the kind of expenditure made in marketing and advertisement.
Motivation and need are also huge factors to consider when it comes to consumer demand. There are wants and needs that a user must factor in and ensure that the purchasing power is not tampered with. Individuals end up putting the needs first, and therefore a company such as Apple should ensure that the Mac Book range produced caters to the user's needs. The features in the Mac Book Range (whatever make) should be user-friendly and provide the right applications for the different individuals that may need to use it (Hern, 2016). A want may be turned into a need simply by ensuring that the product has better features than what the competition has manufactured. Therefore, for great sales run the company should factor in the features that are lacking in other brands of the same product and improve on their prototype, and they should understand their demography before taking into the market.
Personal Influence on Buying Behavior
Personal factors have a huge influence on individuals, and they include lifestyles, occupations, tastes and preferences, interests and opinions. The lifestyle of an individual influences their choice of gadgets and how well they can afford them. The price tags are used to base an individual's social class and lifestyle. If a product is affordable and meets the standards of an individuals lifestyle then the individual will have to purchase the product. The lifestyle can be influenced by factors such as the individual's gender, age and occupation and therefore these factors affect their tastes and preferences.
The other major personal factor would be interests and opinions. The opinions that people around us have on certain products may influence our willingness to but the product. Objective opinions are sometimes believed to be from the individual's experience, and therefore many people around them may take their word on a certain product they are using. Family and friends have a huge impact on what we consume, and it's not any different when it comes to electronic gadgets (Spence, 2017). Apple should ensure that they conduct a market analysis to ensure that they take into account all the demographic characteristics that may affect their sales.
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