Profile_the_Market

PROFILE THE Market Question 1 What segmentation criteria did Sno use' What criteria did he not use' What may have been the impact on the success of Sno’s marketing plan of his choice of segmentation criteria' Sno used geographic usage and some limited demographic data such as occupation and limited buying behavior and benefits sought data. Sno did not use demographic data such as age income and gender. Sno may have targeted segments for which he had no real understanding of their attitudes to chaff their buying behavior or their capacity to pay. He may have targeted segments which would not respond to a premium pricing for the benefits and he may have targets markets which were not influenced to believe his claims by data testimonials. Question 2 Were there any elements of what defines a useful segment that Sno did not include in his segmentation' What impact may that have had on the success of his marketing plan' Sno identified segments of sufficient size and the purchasing power can be assumed from their previous purchasing of competitor products. Although, Sno did not understand the impact of a 30% premium in price on prospective customers’ perceived purchasing power. Snow identified several communication channels which would reach the recreational events and mustering segments-local newspapers, horse magazines, horse product supply channels, agricultural shows and websites. The segments had been around for a long time and were likely to be around for a long time in the future. Sno did not know how consumers in each segment might react to communication stimulus. Question 3 What was Sno’s positioning strategy Premium long life product. Question 4 What additional data would have been helpful to prioritize Sno’s marketing options for the events segment Their age or internet usage and download speed. The importance of the decision to buy feed for their horses. Their level of knowledge of horse feed technical data. The importance of technical data in the decision to buy feed for their horses. The other influences on their decision to buy what feed for their horses. The subject matters that would create attention, desire and action in any communication. Where they bought their chaff now and why Question 5 What legislation would Sno have needed to be cognizant of in designing and executing his market survey Occupational health and safety legislation for workers collecting survey data at agricultural shows. Privacy legislation for unsolicited emails to horse clubs and associations and the opt in process on his website. Anti-discrimination and harassment laws for the content of the survey. Question 6 What targeting strategy did Sno use Concentrated strategy. BSBMKG401B Profile the market ASSESSMENT TASK 2- Marketing plan 1. Developer | Apple Inc. | Manufacturer | Foxconn | Product family | iPad | Type | Tablet compute | Address 1/44 end street California Theretre 2.Company introduction products and features Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California[2] that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod music player, the iPhone smartphone, and the iPad tablet computer. Its consumer software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media browser, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and production suites. The company was founded on April 1, 1976, and incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977.[6] The word "Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007, reflecting its shifted focus towards consumer electronics after the introduction of the iPhone.[7][8][9] The iPad (/ˈaɪpæd/ EYE-pad) is a line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., which runs Apple's iOS. The first iPad was released on April 3, 2010; the most recent iPad models, the fourth-generation iPad and iPad Mini, were released on November 2, 2012. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPad has built-in Wi-Fi and, on some models, cellular connectivity. An iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions—games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc.—can be enabled by downloading and installing apps. as of 2013, the App Store has over 900,000 apps by Apple and third parties.[14] 3. I was able to come across Primary research sources--that is, potential customers, surveys, and focus groups. Secondary research involves gathering statistics, reports, studies and other data from organizations such as government agencies, trade associations and your local chamber of commerce. television ,newspapers, magazines, radio and the internet. 4.The market of ipad Apple's first tablet computer was the Newton MessagePad 100,[16][17] introduced in 1993, which led to the creation of the ARM6 processor core with Acorn Computers. Apple also developed a prototype PowerBook Duo-based tablet, the PenLite, but decided not to sell it in order to avoid hurting MessagePad sales.[18] Apple released several more Newton-based PDAs; the final one, the MessagePad 2100, was discontinued in 1998. Apple re-entered the mobile-computing markets in 2007 with the iPhone. Smaller than the iPad, but featuring a camera and mobile phone, it pioneered the multi-touch finger-sensitive touchscreen interface of Apple's iOS mobile operating system. By late 2009, the iPad's release had been rumored for several years. Such speculation mostly talked about "Apple's tablet"; specific names included iTablet and iSlate.[19] The iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, by Jobs at an Apple press conference at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.[20][21] He later said that Apple had begun developing the iPad before the iPhone,[22][23] but had temporarily shelved the effort upon realizing that its ideas would work just as well in a mobile phone.[24] The iPad's internal codename was K48, which was revealed in the court case surrounding leaking of iPad information before launch.[25] Apple began taking pre-orders for the first-generation iPad from American customers on March 12, 2010.[3] The only major change to the device between its announcement and being available to pre-order was the change of the behavior of the side switch from sound muting to that of a screen rotation lock.[26] The Wi-Fi version of the iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010.[3][27] The Wi-Fi + 3G version was released on April 30.[3][4][4] 3G service in the United States is provided by AT&T and was initially sold with two prepaid contract-free data plan options: one for unlimited data and the other for 250 MB per month at half the price.[28][29] On June 2, 2010, AT&T announced that effective June 7 the unlimited plan would be replaced for new customers with a 2 GB plan at slightly lower cost; existing customers would have the option to keep the unlimited plan.[30] The plans are activated on the iPad itself and can be canceled at any time.[31] 5.Target segments The iPad was initially only available online at the Apple Store as well as the company's retail locations, but has since become available for purchase through retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and network operators. The iPad was launched in countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom on May 28.[32][33] Online pre-orders in those countries began on May 10.[4] Apple released the iPad in Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore on July 23, 2010.[34][35][36] Israel briefly prohibited importation of the iPad because of concerns that its Wi-Fi might interfere with other devices.[37] On September 17, 2010, the iPad was officially launched in China.[38] 300,000 iPads were sold on their first day of availability.[39] By May 3, 2010, Apple had sold a million iPads,[40] this was in half the time it took Apple to sell the same number of first generation iPhones.[41] After passing the one million mark they continued selling rapidly reaching 3 million sales after 80 days.[42] During the October 18, 2010, Financial Conference Call, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had sold more iPads than Macs for the fiscal quarter.[43] In total, Apple sold more than 15 million first-generation iPads prior to the launch of the iPad 2.[44] — selling more than all other tablet PCs combined since the iPad's release.[45] and reaching 75% of tablet PC sales at the end of 2010.[46] Jobs unveiled the iPad 2 at a March 2, 2011, press conference.[47][48] About 33% thinner than its predecessor and 15% lighter, the iPad 2 has a better processor, a dual core Apple A5 that Apple says is twice as fast as its predecessor for CPU operations and up to nine times as fast for GPU operations. The iPad 2 includes front and back cameras that support the FaceTime videophone application, as well as a three-axis gyroscope. It retained the original's 10-hour battery life and had a similar pricing scheme. The successor to the iPad 2 was unveiled on March 7, 2012 by Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.[49][50] The new iPad sports the new dual core A5X processor with quad-core graphics, and a Retina Display with a resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels[51] this is over 50 percent more pixels than a standard 1,920 by 1,080 high definition TV screen. As with previous iPads, there are two models, in this case a Wi-Fi only model and a Wi-Fi + Cellular model.[51] On October 23, 2012, Apple announced the fourth generation iPad, which began shipping on November 2, 2012. The new hardware includes an A6X processor, HD FaceTime camera, improved LTE compatibility, and the all-digital Lightning connector. It is available in the same storage increments and pricing structure as the third generation.[52][53] Following the announcement of the fourth-generation iPad, the previous generation was discontinued. Alongside the launch of the 4th generation hardware, Apple announced the iPad Mini. With a screen measuring 7.9 inches, it is aimed at the emerging sector of smaller tablets such as the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. The hardware of the new iPad Mini is similar to the iPad 2, with a 1024 by 768 pixel resolution screen and a dual core A5 processor, but is 53% lighter and 7.2mm thick. It was released on November 2, in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities and WiFi or Wi-Fi + Cellular versions.[53] 6. Consumer profile and target market segments In the United States fans attending Super Bowl XLV, the first Super Bowl since the iPad was released, could use an official National Football League (NFL) app to navigate Cowboys Stadium.[195] In 2011, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first NFL club to discontinue the use of paper copies of playbooks, and instead distributed all players their playbook and videos in electronic format via an iPad 2.[196] The iPad is able to support many music creation applications in addition to the iTunes music playback software. These include sound samplers, guitar and voice effects processors, sequencers for synthesized sounds and sampled loops, virtual synthesizers and drum machines, theremin-style and other touch responsive instruments, drum pads and many more. Gorillaz's 2010 album, The Fall, was created almost exclusively using the iPad by Damon Albarn while on tour with the band.[197] The iPad has also greatly increased social television use. Viewers can use the iPad as a convenient second networked computer (or "second screen") for communicating with other viewers or with the television provider. Viewers can use a web browser or specialised applications to discuss a program with other viewers, while it is being broadcast, while content providers may use the second screen to interact with viewers in real time. The latter facility allows content providers to conduct (e.g.) real-time polls or to collect comments about the program, that can be displayed as text on the main television screen. Viewer interaction via a second screen is becoming increasingly popular.[198] 7. Market distribution Before I get into this, let’s have a look at the historical market share trends of the iPad and Android tablets over the past couple of years, in terms of quarterly sales. This shows a fairly clear trend that the market is moving towards Android tablets and away from the iPad. In fact, this shows that the iPad has lost market share in every successive quarter in which there hasn’t been a new iPad launch. In Q2 2011, with the launch of the iPad 2, the Apple sales cycle gave the iPad a marginal boost in market share, which it again lost in the next quarter. Similarly, Android tablets seemed to have received a similar boost, in Q4 2011, with the launch of the Kindle Fire, which seems to have tailed off in Q1 2012 in advance of the new iPad launch.The tablet market’s Q1 2012 performance has been considerably muted, with a 38% decline in shipments. As per NPD, this seems to have been driven by build up of inventory during the holiday season, specifically for the Kindle Fire. This does not mean that the Kindle Fire was a flash in the pan. Rather, since we are tracking shipping figures, we need multiple quarters of consecutive QoQ data to get a good estimate of sales trends. Even the iPad’s sales volume at 11.8 million actually came in under expectations. With the new iPad launched in March, it is possible that the iPad may temporarily make some more market share gains in Q2 before the major Android tablet launch in Q3. The biggest threat to the iPad’s market share will be in the last two quarters of the year, with two major product launches – the Nexus tablet and the new Kindle Fire models. I’ve explained the reasoning for this statement in the section below. Hence, it  makes sense to stick with my original prediction of Android’s quarterly tablet sales overtaking the iPad, in Q4 of this year. Android Tablets: Segmentation Trends Now, the section above gives us a good view of where the tablet market is headed, but it doesn’t really explain why. The key reason is market segmentation. A recent survey from comScore highlights the market share of Android tablet usage, among individual tablets, from December 2011 to February 2012. At first glance, it looks like the Kindle Fire has killed every other tablet, but there’s a little more to it than that. First, let’s divide Android tablets into segments as follows: 1) Low Cost Media Tablet - Kindle Fire 2) Media Tablet - Samsung Galaxy Tab Family, Motorola Xoom, Toshiba AT100, Acer Picasso, Sony Tablet S 3) Hybrid Tablet - Asus Transformer, Acer Iconia, Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 4) Others - Dell Streak, Other (ComScore has included the B&N Nook Color here) It is important to understand that since this data shows usage share, actual sales performance would be even more pronounced. Also, since the tablet market is growing at an incredible pace, constant market share implies the segment is growing at the same pace as the market, not a flat sales performance. Now, let’s have a look at this data again. Now, these figures look a lot more interesting now. Let’s see what this means. 1) The two fastest growing segments in the tablet market are the low cost media tablets (Kindle Fire) and the hybrid tablets. This seems to be consistent with my prediction of segmentation trends in the tablet market. 2) As I’ve stated before, a low priced forked tablet is no guarantee to success, as the presence of the Barnes & Noble Nook Color seems to be minuscule. The key factors to a successful low cost tablet are acceptable content & good marketing push. 3) Most of the Kindle Fire’s gains seem to be at the expense of Media Tablets (since most of the tablets in “Other” would also be Media Tablets). Again, this is no surprise since the functionality offered by all media tablets is practically the same, albeit at different levels of quality. However, since the Kindle Fire is at an industry leading price point it has emerged as the winner. This is also the same problem the iPad seems to be facing. 4) This also highlights that there is plenty of room in the low cost media tablet segment for more competition. With the release of the Nexus Tablet and new Kindle Fire models, the presence of low cost media tablets will be strengthened even more and the primary victims will be other non-low cost media tablets (both Android media tablets and the iPad). Conclusion Looking at the trends highlighted above, it looks like the iPad losing the tablet market share crown by the end of this year is a likely outcome, with Apple’s current strategy. Apple’s decisions over the next year will be very interesting to watch. It seems necessary for Apple to release a low cost 7.85″ mini-iPad, at the rumored $300 price point. However, this would have a significant negative impact on Apple’s profit margins, which is the primary factor driving Apple’s stock price. Apple has already seen shrinking margins on newer iPad models because of its inability to raise prices, due to competitive pressure. Since hybrid tablets are more of a long-term play, Apple’s only other option is to retain the existing iPad and hope the market share loss can be contained. It looks like Apple may soon have to pick a lane in the margins vs. volume strategy, and either choice will have a long-term impact on Apple’s stock. - See more at: http://www.androidauthority.com/segmentation-of-the-tablet-market-85261/#sthash.4CRMioIS.dpuf 8.MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION OPTION Distribution for the iPhone, at ~240 carriers," Sacconaghi wrote, "is significantly lower than Samsung and Nokia, which have essentially global distribution, and Blackberry, which is distributed by >2x the number of carriers. "By contrast, the iPad has stronger global distribution through Apple stores, carrier partners and network of resellers, including third-party retail outlets (e.g., Best Buy, Wal-Mart, carrier stores) and third-party websites (e.g., Amazon.com)." The fact that Nokia, Samsung and Blackberry still have much greater global mobile phone distribution channels than Apple is a fact that's never mentioned when market share figures are bandied about. Most users are aware, however, that Apple was exclusive to AT&T in the U.S. until 2011, when Verizon began carrying it. Sprint didn't pick up the iPhone until the end of that year, and a variety of other significant U.S. carriers, including T-Mobile and a variety of regional carriers, didn't get the iPhone until its fifth generation. Apple is also still negotiating carrier agreements for the iPhone around the world, including China Mobile, the world's largest carrier by subscriber count, and NTT Docomo, Japan's largest, which is rapidly bleeding subscribers to its iPhone-bearing competitors. The fact that Apple has the smartphone market share it currently has despite much weaker distribution (since the iPhone's inception) makes it no surprise why Apple maintains an even stronger share within the tablet market, where its distribution is superior to its loss leader tablet competitors. Sacconaghi maintains a $725 price target for Apple, which closed today at $431.99, just $13 above its 52 week low and dramatically below its all time high of $705 reached last September. 8.POSITIONING STRATEGY By the end of this month you will be able to buy iPads at: Apple Retail Stores, Apple.com, Apple Authorized Retailers Online, Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon.com, Target, AT&T Stores and Verizon Stores. That is massive market saturation for a device that is as widely talked about as the iPad. All of this means one thing: Apple is putting the iPad in front of as many buyers as they possibly can. This is a smart strategy. A very smart strategy. If you walk into a Verizon store today you will see assorted net books that feature built in 3G wireless for sale, which is pretty neat. These net books are also subsidized so right now a quick check of Verizon’s website shows that you can get a net book for free with a 2yr contract or spend up to $199 (with another 2 year contract) on the six net book models that they have listed. So let’s say you are Joe Not-Tech-Savvy and you walk in to a Verizon store and you want to get internet for your computer while you are traveling. You see the MiFi and the USB 3G modems, then you see this tiny cute computer that you can get for free so long as you promise to pay Verizon $40 a month for the next 24 months. Done deal. An iPad won’t even be considered as an option in your mind, you didn’t see it on the shelf and that is all that matters. Now then take the same scenario and you see an iPad next to everything, in a prominent display (as Apple usually demands) and you see that for a two year contract you can get the iPad with a free MiFi and 3G internet for the same price as normal. Additionally you are told that you can use that MiFi with any and all of your computers for internet. Oh and let’s not forget that this would make your kids respect you more, and it is way cooler to have than that ‘cute’ little Samsung net book that is free. Most people probably still won’t choose to spend the $500+ to get the iPad, but the select few that do choose the iPad would not have made that decision if the iPad wasn’t there for them to buy. So putting the iPad in more places like Walmart, Verizon, AT&T and Target doesn’t mean that the iPad will persuade everyone, but it does mean that people will have to decide between that and the iPad competitors. That is a dangerous place for iPad competitors to be. Even if Apple convinces 10% of people to buy an iPad instead of that cheaper net book or soon Android tablet, then this model will be a huge success. Just look at how many iPads have been sold without all this retail presence – until now people have had to go out and actively seek to get an iPad. Come November the iPad will just be every where for you, just like Apple did with the iPod. 9. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN BEFORE LAUNCH Anoucements Surveys to get customer feed back Press releases Circulating rumours Finaly advertising through raido tv internet newspaprs and magazines The experts at T3 were given one of only a handful of preview units to review, and were impressed by what they found. An improved display means videos are beautifully rendered while this version comes with a rear camera, unlike its predecessor - but the device is slightly let down by its lack of apps. The device features wireless charging, 4G connectivity, a screen that offers 323 pixels per inch, and is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. Google claimed the screen made it the world’s highest resolution tablet, comparing favourably to the iPad’s Retina Display, which offers 264PPI. Both models offer higher resolutions than most users can perceive. It also features up to 10 hours of battery life when browsing the web, and has a 1.5GHz processor which is 80 per cent faster than the original model. The Nexus 7 2 is expected to cost £199.99 for the 16GB model and £239.99 for the 32GB version. During launch –Promotion Best Buy is bringing back a recent promotion that can shave $200 off the cost of a new iPad. Launched on Tuesday by the retail chain, the deal rewards consumers with a minimum $200 gift card for trading in a working iPad 2 or third-gen iPad. You can spend that $200 on any item at your local BB store or the retailer's Web site, according to Best Buy. The retailer is encouraging consumers to use the gift card toward the purchase of a fourth-generation iPad. That gift card would cut the cost of the latest edition iPad with a Retina Display and 16GB of storage to $299.99. And customers could score even more than $200 based on the model and condition of their iPads. The promotion runs today through August 3 and is available through all Best Buy stores and Best Buy Mobile stores in the U.S. that offer trade-ins. This is the same deal that Best Buy launched earlier this month. That deal ran for two days and fared quite well, according to Best Buy. "Based on the success and customer excitement we saw around our two-day iPad Trade-In offer July 12 and 13, Best Buy is repeating the offer starting today for two weeks," a Best Buy rep said in a statement. In June, the retailer ran a promotion that gave customers a "free" iPhone 5 for trading in a working iPhone 4 or 4S. These deals seem to prove popular with consumers and with Best Buy. The company revealed that it saw the single biggest day for its trade-in business during the iPhone promotion. After launch- review the satisfaction When the first Apple Stores were opened, they were organized around the firm's product lines as well as the things customers would want to do with the products — such as importing and editing movies. I don't see this in today's Apple stores. They look more like product displays you'd see in an ordinary retail store — iPads here, Macbooks there, iPhones to the left. I should see something that shows me how to Photoshop pics on my iPad; or how to configure Apple products for my kids; or the top 10 things I can do with my Mac/ iPad / iPhone to organize my life. There could be a couple of community tables in the store, with daytime presentations on these topics. Such measures would, of course, require experimentation. But the results could be well worth it. There are three areas of huge, latent wealth that the Stores could play a central role in tapping: First, all of the capabilities and expertise that we Apple customers are carrying around. Second, going beyond the use of the physical Stores as mere ABS (always be selling) machines to build them into hubs for customer communities. And third, activating and leveraging the hundreds if not thousands of local Rock Star Apple customers who would jump at the chance to get involved, and to help build such communities. When this potential is unlocked, the devices would almost sell themselves.