Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Apple is a company who has a reputation of success In the market, how do they do it? Part of that success has to do with how Apple Segments and Targets its markets. As we all know without segmenting and targeting a particular market it is impossible for a company to succeed because  the company would not know what are the needs, desires and interests of that market, also the company would not know the cultural preferences, the demographics, the beliefs and so on of that particular market.


In order for Apple to meet the needs of its target markets, it has to first successfully divide the specific market into meaningful, relatively similar and identifiable segments or groups. One of the strategies that Apple is using to segment its markets is referred as geographic segmentation. Apple, in the USA, locates its retail stores based on the population and the density of each state. For example, in  California, the most populated state in the US, Apple currently hosts 52 retail stores, whereas in less populated states such as Maine, Apple hosts as little as one store.


Two additional strategies that Apple uses to further segment its markets are known as demographic and psychographic segmentation. Demographic segmentation is of great importance for a company because it targets groups of people based on their age, gender, income, ethnic background and family life cycle. Every segment of this subgroup has different interests and needs which poses great challenges for Apple's marketing managers to effectively create a marketing mix that meets the needs of this segment.  But, it is the psychographic segmentation that is based on the personality, motives and lifestyles of a group that paves the road of success for Apple. Apple, is known for its efforts in creating stylish, elegant and upscale products, such as the elegant and thin iPhone 6, which besides having a large variety of features satisfying every personality regardless of its motives or needs. It also allows the user to access more powerful apps and allows the user to do more work play more games due to the newly inserted A8 Chip and 64-bit processor which allows the device to perform much better. Apple in this segmentation is trying to appeal to low or high income groups, teens, adults and baby boomers and ultimately improve every lifestyle, no matter its diversity.


According to an article on CBS news the new features and design has expanded Apple's target market to the more "professional users and Phablet users". This means that due to the bigger screen, new design and features on the iPhone 6 the company has now added the target market of big screen and technology loving users, users that were stuck with competitor Samsung because of the bigger screens, designs, and technology of their Samsung galaxy S smartphones.