New Product Release by Apple Inc.
Introduction
This paper highlights the important aspects of new product introduction that Apple Inc. shall need to keep in mind during launch of its new version of the iPhone. The paper is a comprehensive outline of the entire process beginning with identification of target market, factors for consideration in the marketing strategy to be adopted as well as a step-by-step process of launching the product into the market.
Target market
Apple is regarded as the leading manufacturer of smart devices in the world ranging from high definition TVs, iPods, iPad and the revolutionary mobile smart phone, iPhone (Yoffie & Rossano 2012). Most recently, Apple has introduced a smart watch and is in the process of releasing an Apple car that will be valued at a premium price compared to the existing brands of cars. Along with this, Apple Inc. continues to release newer versions of their popular smartphone brand, iPhone. The target market for Apple devices consists mainly of the high-end population that is keen on technological advancements and one that is ready to pay a premium price for devices that perform optimally. The target market for the Apple products to be launched subscribe to the following description: the market has a high affinity for high-end technological devices that not only ease the way they conduct their daily transactions and enjoy their daily life but also devices that give them a sense of social class, one that sets them apart from the rest of the public. The market is spread across the entire world but mostly concentrated among the affluent neighbourhoods around the major cities of the world. This section of the market is able to upgrade easily to a newer version of the device they are holding at a cost as long as the new devices could either raise their social status or give them more functionality compared to what they are having presently. People in this target market are technologically advanced and mostly do their product research online before making a purchase. Most of them also possess credit cards and could do their shopping online upon being satisfied that the new product will meet their expectations in terms of functionality and social status.
The new product
The new product to be introduced will be an iPhone with more advanced features than the existing brands of iPhones labelled as iPhone X. the new iPhone X will respond to most of the complains that customers who hold current versions of iPhone have. More specifically, the new iPhone X will have a high resolution camera that can capture sharp images even in dark environments, a fast capture technology that allows one to make several captures within a single second and choose from the best of the images and a button that allows fast sharing to online platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and face book. Besides, the new iPhone will have a bigger screen that will make it possible for a pleasant viewing experience when one is streaming TV or watching videos. Further, the iPhone X will have a longer battery life than the existing smartphones that will allow users to do more before recharging and reduce the need to carry chargers when one is travelling. As regarding appearance, iPhone X will be the slimmest smartphone in the market and shall come in various colours including a gold look for VIPs.
Questions that will inform the marketing strategy for the new product
What is the location and distribution of the target market?
What is the target market’s perception of high-end technology gadgets?
What informs the purchase behaviour of the target market especially for technological gadgets?
What are the characteristics of the target market in terms of socioeconomic status and age group?
A market research for the new product would involve a series of methods that mostly revolve around collecting information from online platforms and from sources known to be frequented by the target market (Berkowitz, et. al., 2000). Based on the target market described above in this paper, the following methods of market research are likely to yield positive results:
Analysing online reviews for smartphones
Smartphones are among the high selling products in the online purchasing platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Amazon as well as the various company websites that allow for direct ordering especially for customers who buy in bulk. Following purchase, customers usually rate the product and often leave a review of the product that explains how well the product served the buyer as well as the features they were disappointed with (Rosen & Simonson 2014). Since market research is about identifying various market gaps and engaging in filling them, such information will be important in packaging the new iPhone X. this particular method is suitable noting that users of Apple products are mostly tech-savvy people who frequent the online review sites to be able to lay hands on the most recent technological gadget.
Data mining
On a day to day basis, consumers go to online platforms and blogs to comment about their experience with their smartphones and other technological acquisitions. Through recent technology, companies are engaged in an active data mining with a view to understanding consumer trends and general knowledge about the market (Wu, et. al., 2014). From such information, a company may be able to understand how consumers feel about current pricing of smartphones, the features that customers feel need improvement as well as get to learn other exciting features contained in the smartphones from rival companies with a view of including them in iPhone X. this method is likely to work due to the fact that smartphone receive among the highest debate online regarding their superiority and their disappointing features. Secondly, Apple as a technology company is also able to engage in data mining which will significantly reduce the cost of market research that it has to pay.
Market testing
Apple Inc. could opt to sell a few samples of the new iPhone X with a view to getting first-hand information on the features and the general functionality of the new iPhone X. the reactions of the few customers who get the initial copies will reveal the feeling of the consumers about the prices as well as how the smartphone compares with the existing brands in the market. Also, they are likely to cite defects should there be any associated with the new release. Traditionally, Apple Inc. has been known to raise enthusiasm every time they are making a new release. Therefore, this method is likely to gather adequate information as people rush to be the first ones to acquire a new version of iPhone.
Social media
Most recently, people go onto social media platforms to vent their disappointments with their gadgets as well as show of their new acquisitions, along with describing how the devices make their life easier. A company like Apple Inc. could rely on such platforms to better understand how the public perceives the products related to what the company is about to release. Even better, the company could analyse the bloggers responses to previous releases by Apple and focus on improving in the areas that customers say were not satisfactory in the previous products. This data could reveal how comfortable the public is with previous prices for Apple products thereby informing the company on the pricing for the new release. This method is suitable since, by the fact that Apple has a tradition of releasing superior products, customers are likely to go online to show off to friends what their new acquisition can do.
Product development process
The introduction of the new product will take the path of new product release as detailed below:
Brainstorming the idea: The first step would involve sharing the idea with employees and colleagues to get a general feeling about the product. This stage involves a rough gathering of all facts about the product, why it may succeed and why it may not as well as highlighting possible competitors.
Evaluation of the ideas: The ideas generated from the brainstorming will then be taken through an evaluation process that eliminates the highly off-target idea so as to remain with just a single or a handful of ideas. These are then forwarded to the strategic departments of the company such as the management so as to evaluate the pros as well as the cons of the idea.
Market evaluation: This stage involves evaluating the market for the viability of the suggested idea. At this stage, the company also revels the competition the idea is likely to face.
Prototype and marketing: This stage involves the production of a sample of the idea and developing marketing campaigns for the product to test its viability first-hand. The prototype is then shared with colleagues and business partner for comments and reviews.
Market testing: This stage involves remodelling the prototype based on the information from the prototype stage. The company could consider adding additional features and other aspects of the product such as pricing to fit the responses from the previous stage.
Preparing for launch: The Company then prepares for official commercial launch based on the results of the market testing. From these results, the company is able to get an idea of the quantity and pricing of the product.
Conclusion
Proper adherence of the above outline gives a fair chance for realization of big volume of sales by Apple Inc. more importantly, inclusion of the features identified in its newer version of iPhone are sure to attract a huge demand noting the frustration consumers have endured by the malfunction of the existing smartphones in those respects. Improvement in technology especially in the areas of data mining is also an area by Apple Inc. to leverage to come up with innovative marketing strategies to further widen their clientele base.
References
Berkowitz, E. N., Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2000). Interactive Marketing and Electronic Commerce. Marketing, 205-209.
Yoffie, D. B., & Rossano, P. (2012). Apple Inc. in 2012. Harvard Business School.
Wu, X., Zhu, X., Wu, G. Q., & Ding, W. (2014). Data mining with big data.IEEE transactions on knowledge and data engineering, 26(1), 97-107.
Rosen, E., & Simonson, I. (2014). What marketers misunderstand about online reviews. Harvard business review, 1, 23-26.
