Marketing Research Implementation Plan: a Research on the Effects of Price Dropping on Apple's Existing Products

The sensation of the iPhone is obvious in person; everywhere you go, someone has one of these devices in their possession. With millions of units selling every year, it is no wonder that the device is becoming highly ubiquitous and iconic. Like other Apple products, the iPhone is something that is easily recognized all around the world. The same phone has been selling for over four years now with cosmetic and hardware updates for each year’s new iteration, along with an operating system that is becoming more refined. Since its release in 2007, the iPhone has been a massively successful product for Apple, who has sold more than 100 million units in the iPhone's first four year, including 18.6 million in the first quarter of 2011 (Artman). Other competitors make smartphones that are better than the iPhone in many ways, yet Apple is selling more than ever. Other companies release new phones faster than the yearly refresh of Apple’s iPhones, but the latest isn’t always the greatest. It isn’t the technology that makes the iPhone successful, but rather the cool factor that the device expresses (Mintz).

Technology has become a huge part of everyday life, and people seem to have one great debate and are fighting over which is the best phone, iPhone or Android. The Apple iPhone is a cellular smartphone that was created and is maintained by Apple Inc. Android is another type of smartphone that is accessible to consumers, but the operating system is powered by Google and many different companies produce Android devices. The different operating systems and interfaces have created a long and carried out debate to which was superior. iPhone is the better phone and there are many reasons as to why it is superior to its rival, Android. The iPhone’s sleek and beautiful design has users’ hands fondling the device and never putting it down. The

Apple is an American multinational corporation which designs, manufactures and markets a range of consumer electronics and software products (Apple Inc., 2008). At the end of last fiscal year, Apple’s worldwide annual sales amounted to $32.5 billion, an increase of 35% from 2007 (Apple Inc., 2008). Not surprisingly then, was Apple voted America’s most admired company, also topping the global survey (Fortune,

Apple was established as an IT company dealing in exclusively in computers. However, competition in the technology sector forced the firm to focus on other consumer products. The diversification strategy has seen Apple’s sales grow tremendously in the last decade, earning the firm the No. 1 brand position at Forbes. The Apple brand is recognized on an international scale and enjoys a strong recognition thanks to its aggressiveness when it comes to creativity and innovation (Tar, 2013). It has a large number of loyal customers who would purchase the new products regardless of the market price, which guarantees profits from the new division.

Apple is company that enjoys one of the highest stock prices of any publicly traded company in today’s market. In the past year Apple stock prices have ranged from $103.13 to $161.6 in the past year alone (Yahoo Finance 2017). With Apple stock, there are trends during each calendar year that can cause the price to fluctuate. During the months of July and August we can see that the price of stock starts to rise. This could be attributed to time where school is beginning to start up again for that year. During this time, we see massive spending on supplies and equipment that students need to be successful in the classroom. One of these items that we see becoming an increasingly important part of education is a computer. Because of this, we see an increase in the sale of MacBook’s as students head back to school. Another trend that we see during the summer is the apple keynote convention. During this convention, Apple reveals new products to be released later that year. The iPhone 7 debut was envisioned as an industry changing configuration with only one

In this report, I prove that Apple’s iPhone has dominated all other smartphones in the years leading up to 2016. It is the epitome of what a globally recognized product can accomplish when considering how quickly it globalized and the image it provides for those who buy an iPhone. Owning one of these phones is not only a statement, it holds power and value that other smartphones simply cannot top. The company owns the stage when compared to other smartphones, and it’s journey to become the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer is truly incredible. In fact, not only does it lead in technology and phone production, it’s become the largest publicly traded TNC in the world. Everything from its assets to its brand loyalty prove why it has expanded across the globe, and will continue to for many years to come. Apple Inc. has globally expanded by outsourcing nearly every level of its production and became one of the most successful and revolutionary TNC’s in the world, mainly due to the release of the infamous iPhone in 2007.

Apple came back from near extinction to become one of the most revered technology companies in recent memory. They achieved this status by developing innovative design products and pushing the limits of their marketing prowess. Apple is known for their ability to listen to consumers and revolutionize market segments by providing modern design laden and feature rich alternatives to the target markets. They employ strategies that might contradict normal convention by keeping their prices high to build a brand image of prestige and promote their products through word of mouth. The impact on marketing is hugely noticeable by other companies following suit with store models

tablets and watches of today the company has always been on the verge of cutting edge technology.

We chose to research Apple Incorporated, one of the most innovative companies of our generation. It is safe to say that nearly every one in the US and many foreign countries have used or at least heard of Apple products. We will be looking at the macroeconomic variables that impact Apple’s business as well as how the current developments in the industry have impacted Apple’s financials and we will also look at how Apple competes with other firms in the same industry.

The secondary market targets high school, college, and graduate students. For this market, it seems that the once popular iPod is now being replaced with the iPhone (1). We will examine the marketing mix: product, price, promotion, and place, to see if Apple is delivering the intended value to target customers. When researching the company’s environment, we will study the economic, political, cultural, technological, and natural forces in the company’s microenvironment (71). By researching all these aspects, we will get a better idea of how Apple continues to grow and market itself into a prosperous technological company. Apple’s iPhone interests us because it seems to be the cell phone that has the latest technical advancements, and can do more than just the average cell phone. By studying this company’s market perspective, we can get a better understanding of how Apple can continue to have the highest sales in the cell phone market.

Nowadays, Apple has positioned itself to be an innovator in the personal computer industry and Apple has developed by offering modern products compared to its competitors. According to Apple’s mission statement last year, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.” (Business Management,

With Apple being so far ahead of their competition, the only problem one can foresee in Apple’s future is how long they can sustain such innovation before they plateau. Apple does a phenomenal job at releasing their innovative products before their competition, but if their innovation cannot hold steady, this may lead to changes in demand for their products considerably. This can be seen with their release of the iPhone, the first successful touch screen cellular phone. Although people swarmed to the iPhone when it was first released because of its advanced technology, as the years have passed, other similar designs, including those with android and windows based operating systems, have drawn a considerable portion of the market. A clear representation of Apple’s attempt to regain some of this market can be seen when the iPhone was released to Verizon Wireless’ customers in

After a half circle of product life cycle Apple refreshes its offer with new features and decreases the price of the previous offer. Thus the market skimming has become the strategy and thus practicing market leadership in product-quality will cover the high cost and R&D. Thus the each year apple enthusiasts are getting the higher value of high quality and advanced features in the closely same price which actually comprises everyday less-price as well.

So when Apple iPhone product line launch different type of version each subsequent year, hence, they will be selling at a different price ranging from low to high according to its feature. Basically it means that customers will get what

With an elegant combination of a mobile phone, iPod and personal digital assistant (PDA), iPhone was launched at Apple and AT&T stores across the US on June 29, 2007(Place, 2007). iPhone is by no means a prodigious success by selling one million iPhones within 3 months (Wolverton, 2007). However, what coupled with its splendid success are numerous criticisms from the general society. This paper