The proliferation of smartphones has significantly changed how people interact and the world in which we live. With their constant growth, smartphones have proliferated in almost evert aspect of human life, from social media and work practices to hygiene and dietary choices. Today, it has been estimates that nearly 48 percent of Americans check their mobile phones no less than 30 times per day with the regular user devoting approximately 4 hours and 45 minutes daily on smartphone use (Grewal et al., 2019) . The rapid growth of smartphones has changed people’s lives and marketers are finding it challenging to fully understand the impacts that smartphones have in consumer markets. Thus, the role that smartphones play in impacting in-store behaviors is an understudied area. Deloitte reports that most consumers use their smartphones in retail environments with 90 percent of consumers acknowledging that they use their smartphones while shopping (Grewal et al., 2019) . Consumer innovativeness is critical to the success and failure of innovative products. This concept is critical in marketing and management systems because corporations depend on innovative products for future growth and profitability while innovative purchasers are a crucial segment for businesses. This paper explores customer innovativeness, prestige price sensitivity, and need for emotion as employed by Apple Inc. in the smartphones market. The paper will be written from the perspective of a Chief Marketing Officer.
Market researchers and analysts have examined the concept of consumer innovativeness and connected the concept to the buying of new products by consumers. However, most marketers place an emphasis on the character of consumer innovators which explains the buying behavior of new products released in the mobile phones market. Most global organizations take into consideration consumer innovativeness approaches and factors such as prestige price sensitivity and emotions that guide how consumers purchase new products. Woodroof et al. (2019) argues that consumer emotions guide and encourage individual consumer behaviors and even create an "energy" for them to pursue their desires. Similarly, innovative consumers are price sensitive and the purchase of new products may be pricy but at the same time important. As a company, Apple Inc. has positioned its innovations in electronic devices as exclusive and high quality through prestigious valuing models that illustrate value and prestige. Woodroof et al. (2019) links prestige with motivations of self-expression and civility which indicates that consumers pursue prestigious products or brands that reflect their traits and values which include the need for uniqueness, emotions, and conspicuousness. Grewal et al. (2019) posits that prestige price sensitivity and emotions are important concepts for marketers and researchers to recognize consumers' acceptance of innovations. Thus these constructs are critical marketers in varied sectors to develop successful positioning and segmentation approaches that can be used alongside psychological characteristics such as emotions and consumer innovativeness.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets consumer electronic products such mobile phones, personal computers, media appliances and portable digital music players. The corporation is also engaged in the sale of services, networking solutions, software, and third-party digital solutions. Apple’s market segment includes Europe, Japan, the Americas, India, China, and the rest of Asia. The firm was founded by Ronald Wayne, Steve Wozniak, and Stave Jobs as a small personal computer manufacture (Grewal et al., 2019) . In 2001, Apple introduced the Mac OSX, a new and user-friendly operating system that was revolution because of its quality of graphics use, stability, and high security level. In the same year, Apple unveiled its retail stores establishing a direct connection with its consumers due to the ineffectiveness of how third-party retailers marketed the company's products. In October 2001, Apple announced the launch of the iPod – a digital music player (Grewal et al., 2019) . The sale of the iPod propelled Apple’s total profits from $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2000 to $3.2 billion in 2001 (Albergotti, 2020) . In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone which was highly admired by consumer because of its unique style, the unavailability of a physical keyboard, and touch screen capability (Albergotti, 2020) . The iPad followed the iPhone in 2010 targeting consumers who needed lightweight devices with large displays that could do most of the tasks achieved on personal computers.
In recent years, every product that Apple has introduced in the consumer electronics market has succeeded. The company has experienced an unparalleled growth from 2004 to 2019 – from $8 billion to $260 billion in 2019 (Albergotti, 2020) . This indicates that the company’s annual revenue has more than quadrupled in the last 10 years. This growth can be attributed to the company’s revolutionary products – the iPhone, Mac Computer, iPad, Apple Watch, and iPhone which are revolutionary products that have enjoyed immense commercial success globally. In 2020, Apple became the first publicly traded American firm to be priced at $2 trillion (Albergotti, 2020) . Apple’s stock increased by almost 60 percent as a lot consumers purchased Mac computers, iPhones, and iPads for personal, work, and educational use. One surprising fact about the company’s market value is that it is higher than the growth domestic product of most developed countries such as Russia, Italy, South Korea, Brazil, and Italy.
Apple’s target market primarily consists of both the upper and the middle class because this demographic has the means to pay a higher price for premium products. Over the years, Apple has been in competition with other manufacturers such as Huawei, Blackberry, Samsung to achieve consumer attention but the company has never been involved in the price war. Apple does not compete on price (Albergotti, 2020) . Over the years, Apple has focused on customer experience. Apple has capitalized on consumer experience by innovating products that function as mobile devices or computers either in the pocket, or on the consumers wrists, to paying for purchases on the go, to controlling home electronics, or paying for a hotel room. All these experiences are integrated, connected, and packaged into a single ecosystem of accessible complimentary products. Apple’s target consumers appreciate quality, performance, and design of technology products and services over prices.
Consumer Purchase Decisions
In recent years, Apple has built its repute for the quality and modern design of its electronic products that has generated millions of devoted consumers. Apple’s brand trustworthiness translates into a premium that the company is able to obtain from its consumers who are disinclined to switch out of the Apple ecosystem (Sciandra et al., 2019) . The capable consumer is a factor that informs the purchase decisions of Apple products. Since the first iPhone, Apple products are a representation of status because of their high prices. Globally, Apple products such as the iPhone are not only a top choice for consumers in the smartphone market, but they are considered a luxury brand in their own right. Research conducted by the national Bureau of Economic Research concluded that owning an Apple iPhone or Mac Book Pro is a status symbol. The researchers found that no other smartphone brand suggested belonging to a high-income group than the Apple iPhone. This indicates that consumers who purchase Apple’s products are rich, capable, and informed about the kind of products that they purchase (Sciandra et al., 2019) . Having the latest Apple product means having up-to-date technology that only the rich can afford. Although all flagship smartphones from Brands such as Samsung and One Plus have similar price tags, owning an iPad or an iPhone is considered a luxury to most people.
Being a premium consumer means being protected by government safety regulations from manufacturer liability. To maintain a competitive edge from other brands and increase the revenue of its products, Apple protects its consumers from defective products and services. If an Apple product is defective or known to cause harm or liability, the product may be returned to Apple. Users with defective products can return them to Apple stores and be issued with a replacement or other products within the same price range or at an additional cost. In 2019, the Federation Aviation Authority banned the MacBook Pros from flying due to a fire hazard. This resulted in the recalling of more than 460,000 units sold in the United States and Canada between September 2015 and February 2017 that contained batteries that may overheat of posed a fire safety risk. Apple also advised its consumers to shut down affected units until their batteries could be replaced (Albergotti, 2020) . In 2014, Apple agreed to issue full refunds to consumers to settle an FTC (Federal Trade Commission) complaint of $32.5 million that consumers incurred on the charges incurred by children in kids’ mobile apps without their parents’ approval. Through the concept of the protected consumer, Apple as a consumer electronics manufacturer is held liable in case of any defects or harms caused to consumers based on manufacturer liability and government regulations.
Consumer Marketing Decisions
Apple targets business to business consumers such as enterprises, educational institutions, the government, and small and medium enterprises. For the diverse groups of consumers, Apple conducts its sales based on the industry served rather than the products being sold. This allows the company to meet the different needs of its consumers by offering solutions from across the Apple portfolio. In addition, Apples employs sales representatives from different cultures to embody every type of person that enters their store and hence connect with them more genuinely. Apple has mastered the art of minimalism in its products. The main objective of simplicity is to ensure that products are simple to use and they can be interpreted easily by novice users. By employing this approach, Apple enters into a contractual agreement or relationship with its consumers based on the services and products being offered. This indicates that if a product is not as advertised, consumers reserve the right to seek legal redress or request for a refund from Apple for selling products and services that do not meet consumer’s demands.
Ethical principles
Ethical marketing requires organizations to be transparent in marketing any product or service including key information about its effective use and safety. This includes price transparency in the cost of the product or service being offered. Apple products are the most sought-after products in the market, and they come with a hefty price (Aroean & Michaelidou, 2014) . In recent years, Apple has been accused or engaging in unethical business practices. The iPhone costs higher in markets such as India and Australia than other markets resulting in an unfair market advantage. At the current exchange rates, Australian and Indian consumers will find the latest iPhone or iPad expensive to buy in their countries than in Asia, the United States, and Canada. Based on the principle of caveat emptor, Apple states that market prices vary based on federal regulations and this is why consumers may experience varying prices in different countries (Aroean & Michaelidou, 2014) . In India and Australia, higher iPhone prices are a result of higher taxes. In terms of refunds, Apple advices its consumers to purchase its products form only Apple trusted sources or seller. If a user buys an iPhone from eBay, they are not eligible for a refund.
Responsibilities of a Marketer
Marketing is role embodied by most organizations and its duty is to identify the needs and wants of a product or service based on market demands. Most marketing departments in firms are tasked to meet a specific need in the market, create new markets for new and existing products, and to satisfy consumers' demands in an attempt to achieve the bottom line (Aroean & Michaelidou, 2014) . To be successful, the marketing strategy of an organization must abide by ethical principles if not they will damage the long-term reputation of the organization. Marketers must commit to human rights and sustainable practices in their activities. Today’s consumers are knowledgeable, and they must be assured that they are purchasing sustainable and ethically produced products and services. Thus, organizations must be transparent their supply chains and product components (Aroean & Michaelidou, 2014) . Marketers must also be able to respond to consumer concerns about their products or services in order to minimize risks and maximize benefits. The main objective of an ethical marketing strategy to benefit as many consumers as possible while creating little harm. Failure to abide by these principles will result in the loss of consumers to competitors, expensive litigations, and the loss of revenue.
Social Media and Data Privacy Policies
Apple Inc. collects, uses, and shares its consumers personal data. Apple’s consumers must agree to these terms before they are allowed to use Apple’s products and services. In its advertising campaigns, Apple should provide transparency in the types of personal data they use in targeted advertising to reduce instances of privacy violations. To reduce incidents of privacy breaches, Apple Inc. should be transparent on the types of personal data being collected and analyzed. To help build trust in their marketing initiatives, Apple should consumers know that they are using their location tracking data. Thus, Apple must make its "closed mindset" on information security, control, and compliance "open."
Conclusion
The paper explored how Apple uses emotion, prestige price sensitivity, and consumer innovativeness in marketing its products. From the above discussion it emerged that Apple is global leader in the consumer electronics market as the company taps into markets segmentation, targeting, and promotion to be a global leader in marketing. By capitalizing on consumer behavior, Apple has been able to create an ecosystem that is superior to that of its competitors. Today, organizations should not underestimate the promotion of their products and services. Advertising and marketing helps businesses to sell their products and services to earn profits by letting people know about them thus resulting in more sales. Companies should leverage market segmentation and consumer innovativeness to maintain a competitive advantage while maintaining ethical practices.
References
Albergotti, R. (2020). Apple hits $2 trillion in market valuation, making it the first U.S. public company to reach that milestone . The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 December 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/08/19/apple-2-trillion/.
Aroean, L., & Michaelidou, N. (2014). A taxonomy of mobile phone consumers: insights for marketing managers. Journal of Strategic Marketing , 22 (1), 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254x.2013.876063
Grewal, D., Hulland, J., Kopalle, P., & Karahanna, E. (2019). The future of technology and marketing: a multidisciplinary perspective. Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science , 48 (1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00711-4
Sciandra, M., Inman, J., & Stephen, A. (2019). Smart phones, bad calls? The influence of consumer mobile phone use, distraction, and phone dependence on adherence to shopping plans. Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science , 47 (4), 574-594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00647-9
Woodroof, P., Deitz, G., Howie, K., & Evans, R. (2019). The effect of cause-related marketing on firm value: a look at Fortune’s most admired all-stars. Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science , 47 (5), 899-918. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00660-y
