Explore how Apple avoids traditional market research, focusing instead on incremental innovation and a high-end value proposition. Discover how their unique approach to product development and market segmentation has reshaped the tech industry
Q1.
Apple, instead of conducting market
research to get profound insights into the customer needs and wants, prefers to
incorporate innovative features and capabilities in their respective products,
increasing their appealing nature in the market. For example, although there were already
existing digital music players in the market, Apple went ahead and launch Ipod
and bound it to iTunes to become the first easy-to-use software that manages
digital music collection. Its features involve pricing a song at 90$ and easing
its accessibility hence improving the purchase of albums.
About iPod, most of the products of Apple not
attributed to market research. It is in line with its founder, steve jobs’
vision for the products. He is on record
stating that Apple does not need to conduct market research; thus there is no
need for tickling all the boxes on the list of features customers say they need
on a product. Instead, the company employs incremental innovation to sell its
products targeting a particular market segment.
Q2.
Apple
is unique in the way that it designs products that make it avoid price wars
with competitors but focuses on its unique value proposition in its marketing
approaches. The company’s value proposition is “beautiful design that works
right out of the box with ever-smaller packaging” (Peter, 2018). All of the
apple’s products target the high-end market customers segment. Thus, its
market-driven is cast on selling its image and high-end products.
Fundamentally, Apple is employing a
market-driven approach in its operations. In other words, instead of the
company placing its customers at the start of the process a thorough precision
market research, they build suitable products for the target segments. Also,
Apple develops a compelling image for aiming their certain segmentation. For example, Apple in 2001 builds IMac PC
aimed at the high-end market. In a nutshell, in 2001 IMac when launched only
had a 2% share of the United States personal computer market. Today it accounts
for nearly 20% of the amount spent on commuters costing over $1000. In this
review, by launching a product suiting the high-end customer segment, the brand
can predict the need of its customers without their input.
Q3.
In the spheres of market drive, companies such
as Apple accept the prevailing behaviors and roles of the existing companies
without distorting and adjusting. Therefore, Apple emphasizes a response to the
existing marketing through understanding and proving better values to satisfy
its customers, precisely improved technology. On the other hand, the market-driving
approach nexus is on changing the market shape and behaviors. In real-practice both factors are
intertwined, and focusing on changing both perspectives is a prerequisite for a
successful market-driving initiative (Gansuwan et al., 2011). Consequently, the
interaction between market-driving and market-driven approaches can be viewed
from different perspectives. In this
view, these approaches can be substituted for each other. In other words, Apple
can only operate using the market-driven approach.
Secondly, the approaches can act as
complementary. For Apple to some extent, dealing with both approaches
concurrently is challenging based on their business objective, thus it have to
find balance position. Finally, both approaches can function as consecutive
behaviors. In other words, Apple can start by using a market-driven approach
and then adopt the market-driving approach onwards. In this review, after
Apple’s emphasis on incremental innovation, it can decide to major in changing
the market structure and behavior to enhance its competitive advantage. In a
nutshell, depending on the business objectives, it can either decide to utilize
both approaches or use only one approach. Furthermore, most successful
companies have found a formula for engaging both approaches.
References
Gansuwan, P., & Siribunluechai, A. (2011).
The Interrelationship ofthe Market-Driving Approachand the Organizational
Culture: A qualitative study of the market-driving companies.
Patel, N. (2018) “7 Key Strategies That You
Must Learn from Apple’s Marketing” Neil Patel Digital, Available
at: https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-key-strategies-that-you-must-learn-from-apples-marketing/
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