Marketing Objectives
The purpose of writing a marketing plan is to study the strategic priorities of the business and the results of the actual activities of the company. The key result of the marketing plan that the company wants to achieve is a 20% increase in smart watch sales over four years. This goal was determined in connection with the growing popularity of wearable gadgets and their increasing role in people’s lives. To achieve this goal, certain sub-goals must be identified. Depending on how the approach corresponds to the task, Apple should edit the advertising strategy. In addition, it is important to revise the pricing policy to cover a wider market sector. It is necessary to expand the lineup by adding watches in more price categories to increase purchasing power. To analyze how consumers react to new watches, you need to constantly monitor the progress of the marketing campaign and adjust it to achieve results in four years. The target sales volume will be calculated based on the sales performance of the product in previous years. It should also consider the cost of the goods and how it has changed compared to the previous year. Considering that sales figures are growing yearly, and in 2020 the company sold 43 million devices, a target sales volume of 51.6 million can be set (Curry, 2022). This number correlates with a desired 20% increase in sales. This marketing plan is created to achieve an increase in sales of smart watches. The mentioned sales increase figures should be achieved within four years.
Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
For the competent preparation and implementation of a marketing plan, it is necessary to analyze the market segmentation. When analyzing market segments, a better understanding is provided not only of the needs of consumers but also of what they are like. Based on these circumstances, it is easier to select market segments for their development and determine what characteristics products must have to gain a competitive advantage. According to Lim (2021), the global smartwatch market reached 127.5 million in 2021, up 27% from 2020. The Apple Watch accounted for about 30% of smartwatch sales, down three percentage points from a year earlier. The decline was due to the late release of the Apple Watch Series 7, thanks to which Samsung Electronics managed to strengthen its position and increase its market share from 9% to 10% in a year. The South Korean manufacturer was helped by the release of the Galaxy Watch 4 series. However, Apple remains the leader in this industry with a significant advantage.
Some variables can help in smartwatch markets segmentation analysis, such as geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral. Potential users of the Apple Watch can be primarily people who wear regular watches. In addition, the product will interest those who understand modern technologies and iPhone users. Geographically, Apple products should be primarily focused on the American and Asian markets, since they are the most concentrated buyers. Thus, we can say that the age range of Apple Watch buyers is quite broad and includes almost all people aged 16 to 55 years. Psychographic segmentation of potential buyers is aimed at people with an active lifestyle who take care of their health. Behavioral segmentation is aimed primarily at users of Apple products because they are already familiar with its products and are more likely to buy a new device. However, apart from this, the company is interested in expanding the sphere of influence on new customers and involving them in the Apple product ecosystem. The main factor in positioning the product is that the watch has many useful features that can significantly simplify the experience of using the phone. Based on the analyzed information, the targeted audience of Apple Watch are women and mothers thanks to the ovulation tracking function and the accident notification system.
Implementation
An essential part of developing a marketing plan is scheduling critical decisions. First, it has to be determined how long it will take to prepare the project entirely. Apple’s product marketing campaign will run for four weeks and last for four years until the designated goal is reached. Table 1 presents the step by step actions that will need to be taken.
Table 1. Timeline.
Advertising should be tracked by customer engagement, interest, and desire to purchase a product. In addition, several important advertising performance indicators need to be monitored. These indicators include Cost Per Click, Click Through Rate, and Cost Per Action. All these tools will help identify the advertising campaign’s shortcomings and improve them. Considering advertising costs, in addition to the presentation of the product, an amount equal to $75 million should be allocated since Peterson (2021) shows that the company spent $64.8 million on advertising in the past. The company will spend more on advertising that will be aimed at a targeted audience.
References
Curry, D. (2022). Apple statistics (2022). Business of Apps.
Lim, S. (2021). Smartwatch market grows 27% YoY in Q2 2021; Apple Watch user base crosses 100 million. Counterpoint.
Peterson, M. (2021). Apple spent $64.8 million on paid search ads in 2020, ranking 12th overall. Apple insider.