Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

Apple heavily invest in sophisticated Apple Store Associates, otherwise known as Apple Specialists.  Apple Specialists are well-trained to help customer and make sales. Apple believe in empowering their Retail employees, meaning one could get his needs met by usually the first employee he sees in the apple store.  Apple store associate are proficient in answering all the question and guide the customer through their product, something we call consultative selling.  Apple Specialist uses non-aggressive approach to make the sale. Instead of forcing the customer to buy their product, they make them comfortable enough with their iProducts and make them fall in love with it.

          Apple also enforces relationship-marketing. One of the biggest strength of Apple is its Brand loyal customers. And Apple would have never been able to achieve it without its exceptional customer service. One of the service Apple offers its customer is a Walk-through session. When someone buys a new iProduct, Apple offers them a free Walk-through session, which helps the customer get more familiar with the product. The Walk-through session can be conducted in any Apple Store or through Video-calling. 

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Apple is the highest valuable U.S. brand valuing at $124 billion. They are also one of the biggest and best marketed brand. Their advertising budget for 2015 reached a record high of $1.8 billion.

Apple believes in simplicity when it comes to advertising for their iProducts. Their ad campaign “practically magic”, for their latest product iPhone 7, communicates some of its signature features through interactive story-based short clips. They do not feature any lengthy list of product features, no mention of price, no background voice talking about benefits of buying apple, or even information on how to buy an iPhone. This group of ads communicates the new design, the water resistant feature and the low-light camera.

Even their ad hoarding follows the same principle of simplicity. Apple tries to keep them as simple as they can get. Last year for iPhone 6s cell phones, Apple advertised the photos captured through the iPhone 6s to advertise the camera clarity. Their hoarding only had the photo along with the photographer’s name and the Apple logo. Some of these hoardings were placed in the passage that connects Times Sq. Station to Port Authority Bus Terminal, one of the busiest route in NYC.

Apple doesn’t offer Promotional sales. One could never find a sale or clearance sign in Apple Stores or any coupons related to iProducts. Although, Apple do offer Back-to-School sale promotion once a year for Students and also offer Educational pricing for Macs and iPads. For their iPhones, the major carriers of US offer special pricing with some of them even offering iPhone for free with contracts.  

Ch. 14 - Marketing Channels and Retailing

Apple Inc. has 486 apple branded retail chain stores in 19 countries, with 267 of them here in United States and about 7 of them in NYC. It also has the online store available in 39 countries. The level of service Apple stores offer are significantly high. Some of their signature services includes workshops where you can learn more about your iProducts and apple software applications also, they have Genius Bar where customers can receive technical advice or set up service and repair for their products. Apple retail stores are a very important part of Apple Inc. marketing strategy.

          Recently, I had a chance to visit one the flagship Apple store, the Fifth Avenue Store in NYC to receive help with some technical difficulties on my new iPhone 7 plus. One of the thing I like about the Fifth Avenue store is that it is open for 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year. The glass cube entrance with an Apple logo make it stand out in the lime light of 5^th Avenue. On asking about the all-glass staircase one of the Apple Store employee told me that they are not just any ordinary staircase, Apple has patented them and they could be found in many different Apple stores across the world. He told me that one the reason for the glass staircase was to attract customers to visit different floor in the stores. The Apple Fifth Avenue Store is Apple’s most architecturally innovative store, featuring a distinctive 32-foot glass cube designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. They had a high amount of floor stock for all their products allowing customers to first-hand experience their new cell phone or laptop or tablet with the help of empathetic Apple employees. According to Apple, Apple stores aren’t like regular stores where you go in, buy the product and get out. They want the customers to stay, experience the product, ask question to their genius bar and get out with an iProducts and satisfaction. The stores are carefully designed to evoke the right “feeling” when you step inside. Warm lighting, monochromatic color schemes, and the layout of store features all appeal to the shopper’s senses, without feeling cold and impersonal.  

       Besides Apple retail stores, Apple Inc. also has an e-tailing websites apple.com. One can receive the same dynamic service through the comfort of his/her house. They offer one-to-one session via video calling with the genius bar. They also offer next-day delivery for most of their products in a bunch of locations including NYC. One can find answer to any questions regarding their iProducts on their website and can also chat with an Apple representative regarding his/her purchase. You can also register for a video-calling to help set-up your device once you buy it.

Ch 6. Consumer Decision Making

What drives the consumer to purchase an iPhone? Some would say it’s the features, while others would argue over its design. According to me, Apple’s iPhone gives you more of hedonic value than utilitarian value. That is, it gives us good feeling and satisfaction. Apple has gone on to become one of the world’s strongest tech brand through its marketing tactics.

                When purchasing an iProduct, consumers are driven by social factors and psychological factors. The external stimulus for iPhone can be created through a number of mediums. Some of them includes social media, TV, magazine and also sometimes just by walking past those big hoardings. Apple also offers its customers accessories options that can be bought separately, along with its iPhones which includes the wireless headphones Airpords, iWatch etc.

                Some of the nonmarketing-controlled information source includes thousands of YouTube channels that review tech products and also, websites like Cnet and many more. One of the best source for marketing-controlled information is Apple branded stores and also apple.com.

                Apple has also started to offer financing through its credit partner Barclays Card and also through various carriers. This allows consumers a variety of options to pay for their iProducts. It also offers college student a special discount on some of its product line.

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

Last week, Apple opened its first store in Mexico making their total tally of retail stores 486 in 19 countries. It also has the online store available in total of 39 countries. Apple strive for globalization, out of its 486 retail stores 219 are outside United States. In the first quarter of 2016, iPhone’s market share was 14.8 percent, only below its main overseas competitor Samsung (23.2%). Apple had its first double-digit decline year on year, with iPhone sales down 14 percent. Even though, Apple's "upgrade program" in the U.S. has helped to drive sales in its largest smartphone market. But, Apple is yet to explore ways to reform their second-hand iPhones coming through the program in emerging markets.

Chine has been a troublesome market for Apple. During the third quarter of 2016 ended in June, Apple's sales in China suffered the worst hit, decreasing 33 percent year-on-year, according to media reports. Apple Inc. has set up a research and development (R&D) center in Beijing in order to boost their sales there.

Apple Inc. outsource their manufacturing jobs. Most of the manufacturing for Apple’s iPhone parts is done around the world, and they all are assembled in China. Apple contracts with a local Chinese company Foxconn to assemble its iProducts in china.

Moreover, Apple Inc. practices global marketing standardization i.e. they manufacture the same products for all the countries around the globe. Although, iPhones do have options for specific languages for non-English users.