Customer Relationship Management

We Are The Source Of Apple's Success

  Customer relationship management (CRM) a new marketing trend in which organizations try to get to us as individuals in order to satisfy our wants and needs more accurately. Apple uses information we provide them to enhance their products and services and to enhance their marketing. A customer exchanges information with the company in many different ways including points of sale, the web, promotions and any form you fill up with your information. In their privacy policy Apple explain how they threat our information, how they collect it, disclose it to, and what they do with it. CRM is a form of relationship marketing that is powered by us, because we are the source of Apple's success.

  Apple collects our information in many different ways, for example when you create an Apple I.d, register your products, online surveys, register for workshops at any of their retail stores and when you apply for commercial credit. They collect information that ranges from your name, address, phone number, and contact references, to your social security number. They store this information in data  bases that they use to research the market, analyse market segments, and target their advertising campaigns to the right target market.  Apple also uses this information to inform us about new products, events, software updates, paperless receipts and also to deliver their products when we order them online. The main idea behind Apple getting our information is to develop new products that meet our needs on a deeper level.

   Did you know that Apple uses “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons to control the number and times we see an ad in our mobile devices. Well they use these technologies that track down what part of their internet page you saw so that they can improve their content or make it more efficient for you. They also track down your preferences and show you ads that go according to them. This CRM process helps them to figure us out as individuals and provide advertising that suits our needs and wants which is the base for good marketing. When you enter a sweepstakes, or any other contest Apple also collects that information to better administer the programs again. 

   Apple has been awarded the TRUSTe seal because they show "transparency, accountability and choice regarding the collection and use of your personal information." Apple treats information as personal and non-personal, they only disclose non-personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. Non personal information is information that doesn't have your name or any other way to associate you with it for example "occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used." This disclose this type of information to any of their associates at any time for the purpose of improving their products and marketing. Personal information is guaranteed to be stored and protected in data warehouses where it can only be accessed by authorized personnel. Apple's brand reputation backs their name and gives you a peace of mind when you share your personal information with them. 

    Apple's main goal is to keep you updated and informed with the company, they tell you how they use your information on their privacy policy so it'll be wise for you to read it. CRM is good for us as customers because we get products that fit our needs a little better just by giving them a little bit of information. Apple has been successful at using our information, that's why they are one of the leading companies in the world. If you want to update any of your personal information you have with Apple just go to www.apple.com/contact/myinfo. There you can access your Apple I.d and update your personal information just or just make sure is accurate to let them know you are an Apple consumer and that you are the reason for their success.

Integrated Marketing Communications part 3

Public Relations

If you are interested on what'coming next for Apple , watch this video.

    This is an example of public relations in which s Mr. Jobs tells us the public about what to expect from Apple in the coming months. They inform us of new product releases, software, statistics that show how the company is doing. These Keynote Addresses are great because  they make me feel that Apple cares about informing me on what they are planning to do in the future.
   All of the things Apple does to keep us informed and aware of their product are really working out because they are a very fast growing company that will only keep on growing. The way they integrate their marketing communications is amazing because they target such a broad market but yet they are successful at reaching us and making us buy.

Apple - iPod nano - New way to nano

Integrated Marketing Communications part 2

 A product's life cycle is very important to the way the firm applies their marketing mix. The iPod Touch is in the iPod product line  than the and at a different stage in its product life cycle than the new Mac Book Air. The Touch has reached its maturity stage which means its an established product that needs reminding and persuasive advertising in other to maintain and gain market share. Of course the iPod is the leader in the mp3 market due to its competitive advantage and the ability from the company to keep on developing new and improved products that form an planned adsolescence so that customers feel the need to buy a new iPod when they come out. Apple advertises the iPod line everywhere, from billboards like the one on the picture on top to videos on social networks like the one below. Look at the Ad on top, do you see the encoded message? Well they are trying to make you picture yourself with the with ear bugs dancing and being all happy, and all you need for that is a an iPod. The commercial below shows how the iPod has new amazing features like the 2 new cameras that enable you to Face Time and record HD videos and  also the video game capability that according to Steve Jobs has gotten them to #1 in the portable video game market. It is reminding how great the product is while persuading you to go out and buy it because its "All Kinds of Fun."

ALL KINDS OF FUN

Integrated Marketing Communications

Preface

            Promotion is essential for the survival and success of any product in the market place. Depending on the stage a product is on its life cycle a company most inform, persuade, or remind the customers that their product is relevant to them and that they should go out and buy it. A firm most also encode a message that a receiver most decode and if the message is right then the receiver will  go out and buy the product. Integrated marketing communications consist of making a perfect fit of a firms promotional mix which consist of Advertising, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling, And Public Relations. Apple has done  a great job at implementing a good promotional mix for all of their products that are at different stages in their life cycle; that's why they are very successful.

Introducing the new Mac Book Air

       In this ad Apple  is introducing the new Mac book Air, there is an encoded message in the video if you look closely. Apple is trying to tell you and show you that the new computer has amazing new features and is the most beautiful computer ever. They tell you that they integrated their most powerful computers with the mobile multi-touch devises that they have come up with a product that has no comparison. The engineers also expose all these great things like how little it weights, how amazingly tin it is, and also how strong they built it. The internet has changed the way advertising is done, Apple is adapting their Ads for the fast growing non traditional media audience. I found this video on their Website but it can also be found on YouTube, and if you Google it you'll definitely get it. The message I decoded from the Ad, was to go out and buy the new Mac because "its the future of computers" and it has so many features and its so affordable that thay are almost giving them away. The hidden message is to establish a competitive advantage in your head that makes you you the ne computer a superior to any other PC in the market. The Mac Book Air is a redesigned product that but so Apple is marketing it like a new product. They have gone back to the introductory stage where they inform you about the product to get you to buy it.

This is where the name "iPod"comes from.

2001: A Space Odessey

Product Concepts

Preface

( In order  for a marketer to create a marketing mix the first thing they need is a product. There are different types of consumer products, they go from convenience products that are cheap everyday things like soda and toothpaste; to specialty products that you are willing to die for like a new car. Companies must determine the line the new product is going to be in so that they can figure out how they are going to advertise it, package it and what their target market is going to be. Companies most also determine when they should modify their products in order to meet the consumer needs more accordingly, or they should plan an obsolescing which means that they'll modify a current product and so that those that have already been sold become useless to the consumer before they really need a replacement. Brands are very important for a company because that's the way people recognize their products and buy them, people develop brand loyalty and that gives you frequent buyers. Trademarks are also important because they are the symbols that identify a product, for example we can all recognize a Yankees (NY),a Coca Cola bottle, and the Facebook logo from a mile away. The way Firms package their products is very important because the package not only protects the product but also advertises it and informs the customer about the product. You need to make sure that the packaging is the adequate one for the place the product is being send to in order to avoid any damage to the product, the package also needs to be easy to store, ship, and stock so that wholesalers and retailers can be as happy with your product as they can be. In conclusion even the best product in the world can't be sold if it doesn't have a good brand backing it up and an attractive package.)

iPod

Vinnie Chieco came with name based on the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" in which Dave (played by actor Keir Bullea) tells the spaceship's computer to "open the pod bay doors."

         Introducing a new product to the market can be very risky for any firm no matter how big or small; but Apple hit the target when they 1st introduced the iPod on October 23rd, 2003. The 1st iPod was 5GB, $400, and only compatible with Mac, the advertising campaign that was in place was called "1,000 songs in your pocket. It's been just over 7 years that Apple introduced this magnificent devise and since, they have introduced 22 different iPods and I'm sure they are working on the next already. Apple's ability to keep on reinventing the iPod making the design more beautiful each time around and the amazing new features that they have pioneered in the mp3 player market that makes you want to go out and buy the new version before the old one is broken; that is a perfect example of how Apple makes a planned  absolescence work. The iPod is a specialty product, that's why people are willing to pay alot more for an iPod than a regular mp3 player and won't replace it with any other music player. There are currently four products in the iPod's product line, the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, and of course the iPod classic. The iPod's white ear-buds have become an iconic symbol of the 21st century; they are manufactured by the Fostex Corp. in Japan. Without a doubt they key to success is to have a great product backed by a very well know brand, Apple.

Brand

  

             Apple is a very well know brand not only in America but also around the world, the original apple brand mark was designed by co-founder  Rod Janoff. A picture of Sir Issac Newton, there is a phrase on the that reads “Newton… A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone;” it only lasted a year. The second brand mark designed by Rod Janoffthey  is the iconic colorful Apple logo, that lasted from 1976-1978. The brand mark was a bitten apple that symbolized knowledge and lust, it was a contrast between the company's knowledge and the colorful rainbow that was not in order. Steve Jobs said that they just wanted the green on top "because that's where the leaf was." He also said that it humanized the company and gave it a playful look. The third mark brand is the Monochrome logo was adopted by the company in 1998, less than a year after Steve Jobs returned to Apple. the change was right because Mr. Jobs wanted to reinvent the company that was then falling apart. The new monochromatic logo gives the company a more high tech look without taking the globally recognize bitten  apple. There is an Apple logo printed in everyone of Apple's products, it gives their products the name and respect of one of the most universally know brands. It was only right that Apple changed their logo because the back of an iPhone would not  looked as great with a little colorful apple. Apple has develop an amazingly high brand equity so that's why it is important that Apple's displays it in all their products, if you see an Apple you know it'll work.

Sales Promotion And Personal Selling

 Holiday Sales 

( Sales, Sales, Sales where should we do our shopping this holiday season? Sales promotions are short-term incentives that motivate consumers to buy a product immediately either by lowering the price or by adding value. How many of you have ever used a coupon, or a rebate? How many loyalty programs are you enrolled in? Do you enjoy free sampling? And today with the internet being more available than ever how many of you have used an online discount code? How many store credit cards do you have in your wallet? All these are common forms of customer sales promotions around us. During the holiday season firms try to make us shop compulsively by having all these sales around us or giving us a premium in exchange for our business; BEWARE OF THE SALES!!!!!!. )

Say it with an iPod.

                                                    Apple is not usually the cheapest brand in the market but this holiday season they are rewarding you for being a good customer. They are engraving your iPod or iPad for free so that you can make it even a more special gift. They also offer gift wrapping and free delivery with orders that are more than $50, this is a great way for them to promote their products during this holiday season. You don't even have to leave the commodity of your home when you can shop on line Just click on the link (after you finish reading my blog of course) http://store.apple.com/us*******************************************************************************************************************************************

      Rebates, how many times have you had a rebate in your hand? Well rebates are a another form of sales promotion; money back on a purchase. Firms give you these rebates because they know that most of us just postpone all the paper work it takes for later, and never actually get it done. Apple has a few rebates that they are offering at this time and here is the link (http://www.apple.com/promo/)where you can check them out, maybe you qualify for some money back and not even know.

                         Apple also offers a back to skool program that runs from late May to early September. If you buy a Mac they'll give you a free iPod touch. What they don't mention is that you have to pay for the iPod up front but and then the'll give you a $200 rebate, and the iPod is not the latest. There is also an education discount for certain colleges and K-12 schools where you sign up and get about $100 off any purchase, unfortunately BMCC is not on the list:( 

I took this picture during my retail
visit!!!!

Store Information

Address:

767 Fifth Ave.New York City, NY 10153(212) 336-144

      (P.O.P) "Point of purchase display is a promotional display set up at the retailer's location to built traffic, advertise the product, or induce impulse buying." You see I think that the Apple retailers are P.O.P's  all year long, the store in Fifth Avenue is amazing. Even you are not planing to go to Apple that day, the store just says "look come in and shop". Another P.O.P that Apple just has all year long is their products displayed in the store. They advertise and let you sample at the same time making it a great experience to visit their store. 
      The truth is that Apple doesn't need sales or coupons or rebates, they have products that work and satisfy customer wants and needs. It is nice for them to at least give us something in return for the business we give them. Did you know that you can get free head phones if you bring your old ones back? And you can also get an USB cable in case yours brakes. All you need to dois go to any of the retailers and ask them very nicely.