Proposal to Boost Apple iPad Pro Sales: Strategies & Insights

Your Last Name 1 PROPOSAL ON ENHANCING APPLE’S IPAD PRO SALES Name of Student Course Name of Professor University Date

Your Last Name 2 PROPOSAL ON ENHANCING APPLE’S IPAD PRO SALES Outline I. Background II. Identified Needs III. Solution IV. Costs and Timings V. Account Management

Your Last Name 3 Proposal on Enhancing Apple’s iPad Pro Sales Background Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer in 1976, and its first product was the Apple 1 microcomputer. Apple manufactures designs, and markets tablets, wearable gadgets, PCs, and smartphones. In addition, the firm offers software applications and correlated accessories, services, and third-party digital content. The company’s product portfolio comprises iPad, Mac, iPhone, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and iPod (Global Data, 2022). The company has emerged to be among the leading firms producing consumer electronic goods. Having no change, the technology giant risks its line-up of iPad in emerging perpetually behind the iPhone provisions in the market. Apple fails to position its products clearly, which is the issue for consumers to decide whether a computing gadget is right to purchase. For the daily user who has 1200 US Dollars to replace their outdated personal computers (PC), there is the Macbook Air, the Macbook, or the iPad Pro to choose from in Apple’s offering (Vasylieva and James, Jr., 2021). The tech-geeks will assert that it is obvious that one must select the right tool for the work. The iPad Pro is meant for creative professionals, the Macbook is designed for people who require super-portable typical tools, and the Macbook Air is for individuals who prefer good general-purpose tools that perform most things well (Ferrell, Hartline and Hochstein, 2021). It leads to confusion in the marking of iPads in the market. However, Apple forgets to regard that in the case of iPad Pro and MacBook, their functions are not full-time. Besides, a journalist uses the Macbook Pro in an office when writing and doing dedicated study while the inventive user owns the Mac Pro and many huge external monitors when carrying out heavy projects of post-processing. It is not an easy task for a non-

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your Last Name 4 tech-savvy daily user who can afford only a single gadget (Dalgic, 2019). The many features and specifications on the information brochure appear confusing for most people; therefore, they depend on the marketers for advice. Nonetheless, the marketers of Apple discuss every gadget individually; this is especially a massive feature description with its superlatives. The marketers fail to express who each Apple product is designed for in the market (Kotler et al., 2019). The product provision at Apple seems to expand while its market delineation is blurred, making it more challenging for consumers. Identified Needs Apple has failed in its launch and marketing of the iPad Pro. The company’s sales and marketing approach was not clear as the entire marketing and launch concerned productivity, and it influenced positioning it to be a potential replacement for PC. Apple continues to make the best iPads in the world, even though a small percentage of consumers keep purchasing the inappropriate ones, and then keep complaining about them, slowly tarnishing Apple’s public image while decreasing the customer ratings thus, making iPad Pro graded closer to its competitor (Kotler et al., 2019). Ultimately, a single-minded rival comes along with a superior entry-level tablet that is almost similar to the iPad Pro of Apple but appears to aggressively market and target the students; hence, stealing this market from the firm. Others follow in the same step, each taking away various parts of the company’s business (Mertala, 2020). Therefore, the marketing failure of the iPad Pro is projected to have an effect in the short and medium term on the Apple’s sales. Based on the sales and marketing perspective, despite iPads having modern technology, respective nomenclatures indicate that chips available in modern iPhones have advanced chips

Your Last Name 5 compared to those in modern iPads. Hence, Apple needs to have a clear sales and marketing strategy for each product and not only a description of its features for its consumers (Guidolin and Guseo, 2020). Its targeted audience of Apple comprises upper-class and middle-class users based on their affordability as they can pay higher prices for the products that offer them an inconceivable user experience (Zhou and Gupta, 2020). It implies that the users have high disposable income and are ready to pay more for high-value products such as iPad Pro. However, the company fails to tailor the sales and marketing based on the needs of its consumers as a small percentage of consumers end up purchasing the wrong product such as iPad Pro. The marketing team had convinced them that the iPad Pro works better than a PC; thus, making them opt for it. Nonetheless, the role of the iPad Pro is not full-time, which Apple fails to tell its consumers (Dalgic, 2019). Therefore, it shows that Apple’s talks concerning its iPad Pro in segregated, only on feature descriptions and mass of superlatives. The company fails to express clearly who the iPad Pro is designed for in the technological world (Lan, 2021). There is a need for a firm to consider having a sales and marketing plan for a specific group of consumers based on its uses. A good example of failed sales and marketing for iPad Pro concerns Mary who is a constructor and needs to replace her laptop. She has all set to have a Macbook Pro then sees an advert about the iPad Pro on the television. It asserts that the Apple CEO, Tim Cook referred to the iPad as presenting a personal computing future that can operate Microsoft Office and has an attachable keyboard. Thus, he thinks this is a perfect replacement instead of the Macbook Pro (Mertala, 2020). She believes in using it for her business and then can watch movies on it in the evening.

Your Last Name 6 However, after getting it and starting to work on her account’s spreadsheet, she finds it difficult to do without the mouse. Upon attempting to draft the project’s new plan for future tasks she notices that the attachable keyboard is not functioning like the real one. This implies a failed marketing approach for iPad Pro as it does not serve the needs of consumers as it was intended to. In this case, Mary will not blame herself for purchasing the wrong machine but will blame Apple as she expected it to work (Dalgic, 2019). She will tell her friends concerning her encounters and as the narratives build up, the company’s reputation and image will slowly get damaged. Solution Apple has expanded its product offering, which makes it more challenging for consumers as these market delineations have blurred. Therefore, to compensate for this, as a salesperson through engagement with consumers, messaging should be tailored to position iPad Pro, and tablet, in the market. The target market for this tablet must be clear and should not overlap (Bartels, 2019). It will assist Apple to focus and make it easier for consumers to decide the right product for them. The firm’s best opportunity is to try to realign the iPad Pro with its key roles and targeted users. Through the use of digital marketing and traditional marketing practices, one can help to align the product uses to specific consumers in the market rather than targeting mass consumers based on their disposable income (Mertala, 2020). The latest iPad needs to be sold based on the buyer’s circumstance and not their disposition. At first, there is a need to engage consumers on the product through social media platforms mostly, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram while focusing on the uses, features, and benefits to a consumer on purchasing an iPad Pro when buying online. It will entail using demos

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your Last Name 7 to show how the tablet can be used by consumers based on its unique features. However, as salespersons, there is a need to dissuade from asserting that iPad Pro serves as a replacement for laptops such as Macbook Pro or MacBook. This will lead to confusion as it makes consumers buy the product and at end fail to serve what was intended for when purchasing it (Vasylieva and James, 2021). Since social media sites can reach a wide range of consumers at a reduced cost, a salesperson at Apple will benefit from utilizing them to improve consumer engagement. Further, as a salesperson, there is a need to tell iPad Pro consumers stories in contrast to other products to allow them to see the difference both in uses and design. The sales approach should focus solely on the iPad but in certain instances make references to other products that relate to it with their respective uniqueness to the tablet. It will aid in setting it apart from others as consumers can distinguish its roles from other products that Apple makes. Hence, a consumer cannot purchase an iPad as a substitute for other products that Apple manufactures. In the case of Mary, who had the idea of replacing her laptop and ended up substituting it with an iPad because the advert noted that it could serve as a laptop (Bartels, 2019). Therefore, to address such misunderstanding and misguidance for consumers, the company has to tailor-made its marketing messages through the stipulated channels to meet consumers’ specific needs. Moreover, there is a need to utilize television and Apple’s ads to market the iPad Pro tablet to targeted consumers. The company should aggressively target specific consumers with its product other than the feature descriptions and mass of superlatives. Despite having the best products in the market a company may fail to get the required consumers due to a poor marketing approach as Apple did with the iPad tablet (Vasylieva and James, 2021). The product has to be sold to meet the concerned customer’s needs in the market. This will differentiate it

Your Last Name 8 from competitors who only target a specific group of consumers such as students with the tablet. IPad Pro is promoted in the sold as a product with its unique revolution and uses and not a substitute for other products such as Microsoft’s Surface Pro which has been marketed as one to overtake the Macbook and the future of personal computers (Dalgic, 2019). In this perspective, the salesperson will be failing the product if it does not perform as per the consumer’s expectation. Furthermore, the intended market of iPad Pro is commercial and student users as it has more memory and processing capacity than earlier tablets. The tablet aimed at attracting a distinct group of professional clients. It is a mini PC gadget endowed with superior compatibility mode and ease of application for users (Dalgic, 2019). IPad Pro is a fully equipped gadget in which a user may take pictures, download a huge amount of data, watch movies, and send and receive emails, documents, and attachments. The tablet is designed to offer ultimate user- friendliness and accessibility to all modern technological developments together in a single mini gadget. It is meant for business and personal usage in which a user may be highly connected and digitized to the world in seconds without hassle. Additionally, Apple’s iPad Pro has several fascinating features that can enhance productivity support innovativeness or amaze one’s friends. For instance, two applications can be employed simultaneously on it (Jannah, Fitri, and Nurjannah, 2023). It enables shoppers to utilize social media platforms while surfing the internet concurrently and emailing and viewing document. Costs and Timings Table 1: Shows the budget for iPad Pro sales and marketing both online at stores Activity Cost ($) Timing

Your Last Name 9 Customer research through offline surveys via media agencies 200,000 One month Conjoint analysis via media agencies 120,000 Two weeks Digital advertising via social media platforms 300,000 Three months Television advertising to enhance engagement and consumer knowledge 420,000 Two months SEO experts for social media marketing 300,000 Three months SMS campaigns 50,000 Six months Testing the outcome via consultants 20,000 One week Total 1,420,000 Account Management If selected as the salesperson on my proposal for iPad sales strategy, effective account management strategies for major accounts are what will differentiate me from other salespeople in the market. First, I will have to apply a key account management approach and define what it entails. Then, I will have to select only a few accounts to manage, while establishing the right

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your Last Name 10 numbers. There is a need to understand the key accounts intimately touch base often and offer solutions, not selling products (Bartels, 2019). In addition, there is a need to embrace continuous improvement in consumer engagement perspectives. Reference List Bartels, R.D.W. (2019) ‘Marketing principles,’ Journal of Marketing , 9(2), p.151. Doi: 10.2307/1245988 Dalgic, T. (2019) ‘Niche marketing principles,’ Journal of Segmentation in Marketing , 2(1), pp.5–18. DOI: 10.1300/J142v02n0102 Ferrell, O.C., Hartline, M.D. and Hochstein, B.W. (2021). Marketing strategy: text and cases . Boston, Ma: Cengage. Global Data (2022). Apple Inc: Overview . [online] www.globaldata.com. Available at: https://www.globaldata.com/company-profile/apple-inc/ . Guidolin, M. and Guseo, R. (2020) ‘Has the iPhone cannibalized the iPad? An asymmetric competition model. Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry ,’ 36(3), pp.465–476. DOI:10.1002/asmb.2505 Jannah, M., Fitri, Z. and Nurjannah, N. (2023) ‘IPAD implementation in teaching English at SMP Islam Al-Azhar Cairo Banda Aceh,’ Journal of English Teaching and Linguistics , 4(1), pp.49–56. Doi:10.55616/jetli.v4i1.526

Your Last Name 11 Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Harris, L.C. and He, H. (2019). Principles of Marketing . 8th ed. Harlow: Pearson. Lan, B. (2021). Analysis of Apple’s marketing strategy. Proceedings of the 2021 6th International Conference on Social Sciences and Economic Development (ICSSED 2021) . Doi:10.2991/210407.026. Mertala, P. (2020) ‘It is important at this point to make clear that this study is not “anti-iPad”’: Ed-Tech speak around iPads in educational technology research,’ Learning, Media and Technology , 46(2), pp.230–242. DOI:10.1080/17439884.2021.1868501 Vasylieva, N. and James, Jr., H. (2021), ‘Production and trade patterns in the world apple market,’ Innovative Marketing , 17(1), pp.16–25. DOI:10.21511/im.17 (1).2021.02 Zhou, L. and Gupta, S.M. (2020) ‘Value depreciation factors for new and remanufactured high- technology products: a case study on iPhones and iPads,’ International Journal of Production Research , 58(23), pp.7218–7249. DOI:10.1080/00207543.2020.1722327

Your Last Name 12 Appendix Sales meeting pro-forma Prospect company name Apple Inc Prospect company contact name and position Greg “Joz” Joswiak who is Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Starting the Meeting How I’ll build rapport to start the meeting? In building rapport as a salesperson I need to be human and conversational. Therefore, building rapport starts with showing appropriate body language, which implies being welcoming, open, and relaxed? How will I be dressed? I will be well groomed during the meeting with the sales and marketing manager. (S)Situation What open questions will I ask to establish to prospect’s situation? How do the iPad sales progresses in the market? What do I anticipate the response to be, based upon my research? The sales of iPad are average in the tablet market. (P)Problem What questions will I ask to establish what the problem is that the prospect would like to be solved? How do the issue of confusion in the marking of iPads in the market affect sales for the company? What do I anticipate the response to be, based upon my research? The responses Apple’s iPad Pro has maintained relatively medium market sales as compared to its potential of being the best tablets globally. (I)Implication What questions would I ask to bring the client to a point of realisation that the problem needs to be solved urgently? a. Why are iPad sales still average despite being the best tablet in the market? b. Why consumers consider iPhones to having advanced technology than iPad? c. Why do consumers keep complaining of having purchased the wrong product for a given function? What do I anticipate the response to be, based upon my research? a. The iPads sales decline because small percentage of consumers keeps purchasing the inappropriate ones, and then keep complaining about them, slowly tarnishing Apple’s public image.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Your Last Name 13 b. Consumers consider iPhones be more advanced than iPad because chips available in modern iPhones have advanced chips compared to those in modern iPads. c. Poor sales and marketing contribute to consumers such as Mary ending up purchasing wrong product for their designed function. (N) Need pay off How will I present the potential need/payoff to the prospect? (FABU) I will sale iPad Pro to consumers through enhanced consumer engagement that support consumers to understand the function and use of the products as compared to other products we sell. This will help them avoid purchasing iPad for inappropriate use that makes them complain and damage the company’s reputation reducing the sales for iPad as they claim not to function as stated in advertisement and marketing promotions. Handling objections What objections do I anticipate the prospect to have? a. Being a relative costly approach to take the proposal. b. The increasing competition in the tablet market along with increased substitute products such as Smartphones. How will I respond to these? a. The cost will not be paid once but should be spread out the period for easy management. b. Positioning Apple’s iPad as unique to other products and competitors’ offerings in the market. Closing Which closing techniques will I use and why? The closing techniques I will use are making assumption, offering an alternation option, creating a sense of urgency, giving professional suggestion, and asking a sharp-angle question. Making assumption will be used because it brings positivity and shows good intentions to earn trust from consumers. Offering an alternative option to a consumer encourages the leads to make a purchasing decision or no decision this helps to shun complains of purchasing wrong product. Creating a sense of urgency helps to encourage a positive outcome. As a salesperson one can give professional suggestion because it can lead the consumers to view salesperson as a trusted expert. Lastly, asking a sharp-angle question only when a salesperson receive a positive response.

Your Last Name 14

603912

Related Documents