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Introduction
Data analysis applied in marketing and marketing research process can greatly benefit the Apple Corporation to increase sales and reach in a wider consumer base. Currently, Microsoft Corporation is Apple’s biggest competitor controlling about 72% of the market share (Kunkel 36).
Marketing is the process through which organizations determine the products or services which may be of interest to the consumer hence verifies the strategy to be used in the sale of the product, communication to the consumer and overall business growth. Marketing is therefore an important fundamental process through which an organization can generate value for the consumer as well as create strong customer relationships so as to seize value from the consumer.
Marketing research on the other hand is the methodical collection, documentation and analysis of all the data that is of importance to the marketing of given products and services (Mohan 56).
The Apple Corporation manufactures its own computers known as the Macintosh also known as Mac and also creates the operating systems that run on Macs, for instance the Mac OS X. in addition, Apple autonomously develops Mac compatible software which is bundled with the Mac computers hence the organization basically locks in its market share (Kunkel 36).
Microsoft on the other hand develops operating systems for almost all brands of computers the main one being the Windows operating system. Most computer brands like Toshiba, dell, Compaq and Panasonic are compatible with the Windows operating system for instance the latest Windows 7 unlike the Mac Os which is only compatible to the Mac brand of computers (Mohan 61). Consequently, Microsoft controls a large portion of the operating systems market when compared to Apple.
Furthermore, software created by Microsoft is compatible to the Windows operating system making it common among most computer users hence Mac users have to purchase Mac compatible Microsoft software for example in 1997, Apple partnered with Microsoft to release new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, hence Apple was buying part of Microsoft’s products which consequently benefited Microsoft to the sum of $150 million worth of non-voting Apple stock (Kunkel 39). There is therefore a need for Apple to widely market its products in order to lock in a wider market range and compete on the same level as Microsoft.
Data collection tools
In-Home product testing is an excellent way to market a product and at the same time carry out marketing research. This method could be used by Apple in order to obtain fast responses in the form of consumer opinion data based on in-home product trial and evaluation (Lewis 94).
Apple could for example offer an individual a Mac computer to a Microsoft user and ask the individual to compare the two operating systems (Veryard 90). The organization can also place a number of individuals in an office environment and instruct them to complete specific tasks using the Mac computers and afterwards answer a series of questions or fill in a questionnaire to determine the performance of the product in the market (Kunkel 48).
Focus groups are another potent way through which Apple can learn more about the performance of an impending product. Through focus groups, the organization gets in person interaction with consumers for dynamic, qualitative marketing research (Mohan 58). Apple for example can set up a marketing research team at every Apple store and the role of the team would be to engage the customers in conversations about and existing product or a sample product yet to be launched (Mohan 59).
For instance if the organization has a new operating system or needs to market a given system the marketing research team should have an active space where consumers can talk about the operating system as they point out the strong and weak points of the operating system(Lewis 98). The marketing research team should be trained on how to approach the customers and how to interactively engage them in order to extract honest answers (Mohan 68).
New product promotional and testing social gatherings are another way that Apple can present new products for public scrutiny in a controlled environment before the product is officially launched. Recruited group leaders are required to host a social gathering where they present a product to a limited number of individuals who are required to spend a given amount of time with a given product then give responses at the end of the social gathering (Veryard 92).
This a good way for marketing research on portable products such as the iPhone and the iPod since the research group can easily interact with the users and offer assistance where necessary(Veryard 95). This method incorporates the elasticity of Internet based marketing research to a friendly and familiar in-home or in-office environment for group product testing hence precipitating a wide variety of opinions which are vital in marketing(Lewis 102).
Conclusion
There are several ways in which Apple can benefit from the data analysis of information collected through market research. However, the marketing process needs a number of veto points laid out between the overall processes. The first step would be to analyze the data regarding a product immediately a prototype is released.
Once the model of a new product is unveiled, Apple should have a team of technical and creative analysts within the organization to separately scrutinize the product and make independent observations regarding the product (Mohan 63).
The data collected from the analysts can then be analyzed and the necessary adjustments made (Veryard 97). Once the adjusted model is complete, a sample model should then be distributed to the marketing research teams in all Apple stores for further analysis (Kunkel 79).
The teams should inspect the products independently and make objective observations regarding the product, and the information collected from the teams together with the sample models should then be sent back to the department responsible for production for analysis (Veryard 99). Necessary adjustments can be made depending on the majority of recommendations and new samples then dispatched to the Apple stores.
The new samples can then be introduced to a few members of the public through In-Home product testing, focus groups and product promotional and testing social gatherings where further data regarding the product is collected (Lewis 102). The data is then sent back to the production department for analysis and adjustments made according to the recommendations obtained (Veryard 98).
Marketing research teams can also hold sample models with them and introduce them to random members of the public like friends and family. After the individuals have carefully studied the product, the researchers can then ask a series of questions or offer a questionnaire through which data regarding the product can be collected. Consequently, the final product to be released has a much greater potential to impact the market since the overall make up is based on the consumer’s opinion.
Works Cited
Kunkel, Paul. Apple Design: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group. New York: Macmillan Press. 1997. Print.
Lewis, Michael. Data Analysis: an Introduction. London: Sage Publications Inc, 1995. Print.
Mohan, Joshi. International Marketing. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.
Veryard, Richard. Pragmatic data analysis. London: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1984. Print.
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