Influencers of Consumer Buying Behavior
Select one (1) major company whose product(s) you buy. Visit their Web site and then answer the following questions. You may also use articles and advertisements in newspapers, journals, etc. that are about the company.
Part A Write a summary about what most influences you personally to buy this product(s) as opposed to the competitor’s product(s). Include a comparison of at least two (2) competitors.
Part B Define how you believe the company segments its market by describing four (4) criteria it uses to identify which consumer group to target.
Part C List two (2) markets that the company is targeting.
PART A
The main firm whose products typically appeal to me is Apple Inc. I have often preferred Apple’s products to either Google’s or Samsung’s for numerous advantages to come with its products. I am currently on my fourth iPhone, though I have an iPad, MacBook air laptop, and Powerboats earbuds, all products Apple company offers. The main reason for my preferences is the interconnection between the firm’s products. This attribute has enabled effective communication, and the information stored in one device can be accessed by others irrespective of the place. Also, Apple products offer FaceTime features essential for communicating with my family members living in different states. Although Google and Samsung also have the features for face-to-face communications, the user is expected to download a separate video chatting application for such services. Also, I am engaged and intrigued by the sport of flyball, which necessitates weekly videoing training sessions. Thus, since my teammates also use Apple devices, its airdrop feature enables us to share and assess the training sessions without requiring a lengthy download wait. Samsung and Google have attempted to duplicate Apple’s airdrop feature, though similar to other features developed by the companies, the feature requires a separate application download. Further, neither Google nor Samsung have high-profile store locations from which clients can shop, while Apple stores and outlets are located all over the country with highly skilled employees knowledgeable about the products offered (Haselton, T. (2017).
PART B
The company mainly targets clients that appreciate its high quality, design, technology, product performance and services instead of the products’ prices. The firm divides its segmentation by service, device, operation system, and accessories. Therefore, the company mainly targets the US and global clients, while demographically, it targets the upper class with high earnings, students, and professionals. The company targets individuals that belong to the upper and middle class, those considered aspirers, as aligned with psychographics. Finally, behaviorally, Apple targets loyal, non-users, and potential clients. The marketing strategy of targeting multiple clients willing to pay the high prices, advanced technology, and high quality attributed to Apple products has ensured its success and source of competitive advantage over its rivals.
PART C
Apple company is presently mainly targeting the healthcare and business market segments since both require powerful, dependable and innovative technology that is central to guaranteeing their effectiveness. Since the pandemic, most organizations have resolved to work remotely; hence Apple has taken the opportunity to use its famous products to target the leading firms. Further, it promotes its products as user-friendly to enhance productivity, provides a secure user interface, ensures access to experts globally, and allows the user to access numerous apps that are included in the features of the devices. Also, collaborating with the shared purpose and providing the workforce with all the tools they require while providing the optimal experience, such products facilitate employee productivity (Apple at Work, n.d.). Aligned to healthcare, the company offers products with powerful technology to the healthcare system, enabling the healthcare practitioners and patients to operate more effectively together. Also, the applications on iPad and iPhone enable the patients and medical team to stay connected during in-home care and hospital visits. Also, the firm is currently innovating strategies of being the first to build a healthcare platform that is considered friendly to the third parties and contains all personal medical records at the centre (Ciolacu, Binder & Popp, 2019). Therefore, it is attempting to fuse the healthcare and world of willingness to innovate a product that would allow individuals to engage more frequently and easily.
References
Apple at Work. (n.d.). Apple makes business better. Retrieved from: https://www.apple.com/business/
Ciolacu, M. I., Binder, L., & Popp, H. (2019, October). Enabling IoT in Education 4.0 with biosensors from wearables and artificial intelligence. In 2019 IEEE 25th International Symposium for Design and Technology in Electronic Packaging (SIITME) (pp. 17-24). IEEE.
Haselton, T. (2017). Here’s why people keep buying Apple products. CNBC. Retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/01/why-people-keep-buying-apple-products.html
