Marketing Extended Response Feedback (1 Viewer)

Joined
Jul 6, 2022
Messages
34
Gender
Female
HSC
2023
Hi, could someone please give me feedback on my extended response for marketing on HSC business studies? I have an exam coming up in 2 days where the question is given to us for one section of the exam, and I really needed feedback on it so that I can perfect this essay (20/20) before I memorise it. Anyone that is kind enough to do so, I'll appreciate it very much as my teacher not at school at the moment, and never replies to my emails lol!

This is it:

How do the influences on marketing affect Apple's ability to affect its strategic role? - An extended response

The Strategic Role of Apple
Apple's strategic role is to be a leader in innovation and design in the technology industry, whilst maintaining a differentiated brand image and maximizing profits. The company's vision statement is to "design the best products and services in the world, and to make a difference in people's lives." The pivotal role of Marketing contributes to the achievement of the business's strategic role. In achieving this, marketing at Apple has developed strategies that appeal to its consumers choices through the use of the extended marketing mix. By carefully managing each element of this marketing mix - product, price, place, promotion, people, processes and physical evidence - Apple can present products that meet the needs and preferences of each of its target markets globally, therefore developing its brand awareness and increasing consumer loyalty.

The influences of marketing on Apple
Marketing strategies play a crucial role in helping Apple achieve its strategic role by enabling the company to communicate its brand message and product offerings to its target market effectively. Therefore, it is crucial for market researchers at Apple to understand the factors that influence consumer behavior so that the business can develop targeted marketing strategies that effectively appeal to its target market. The influences on consumer choice include:

Psychological:
Consumers are often influenced by their own attitudes, beliefs, values, and motivations when making purchase decisions. Apple has effectively used psychological factors in its marketing strategies by appealing to consumers' emotions and values. For example, Apple's strong global branding has been a crucial factor in the company's promotional success. The iconic Apple logo, sleek design, and focus on innovation have helped to build a strong emotional connection between the brand and its customers. Apple's brand is associated with high quality, innovation, and creativity, which has helped the company to build a loyal customer base and differentiate itself from competitors. Moreover, Apple's focus on product development and innovation reflected by releases of new iphone designs has helped the company to stay ahead of the curve and continually offer products that meet the changing needs and expectations of its customers. By constantly improving its products, Apple has been able to maintain its position as a leader in the technology industry.

Sociocultural:
Sociocultural factors such as culture and reference groups impact consumer behavior. In response to this, Apple has used elements of the promotion mix in its marketing strategies to attract a diverse range of market segments and implements aspects of to raise brand awareness. For example, Apple's marketing often features people from diverse backgrounds, showcasing its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and is known for its strategic product placement in popular films and TV shows to promote its products. Apple's "Behind the Mac'' advertisement, and related campaigns that were also implemented on screen, feature people from diverse backgrounds, including women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who are using their Macs to create and innovate.

Economic:
Economic factors such as income, inflation, and recession can impact consumer behavior. Apple has taken economic factors into account in its pricing strategies. Although Apple's pricing skimming strategy for the iPhone involves charging a premium price for new products to maximize profits, Apple has also introduced lower-priced options, such as the iPhone SE, to appeal to price-sensitive consumers possibly affected by financial situations such as the global financial crisis or coronavirus pandemic. Apple products are also sold through a variety of channels in different places, including Apple's own retail stores, online store, and third-party retailers in a variety of price ranges across multiple countries to appeal to its consumers' willingness to spend.

Government Regulations and Consumer Laws:
Different countries have different regulations on advertising and marketing practices. For example, deceptive and misleading advertising can have a negative impact on Apple's marketing efforts. If Apple engages in such practices, it could damage the company's reputation because consumers who feel deceived or misled by Apple's advertising may be less likely to purchase their products in the future. Additionally, regulatory bodies such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission may take action against Apple for engaging in deceptive advertising and related practices, resulting in fines or other penalties that could harm the company's financial performance. Thus, Apple's marketing processes emphasize its compliance with government regulations and standards such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010, by establishing compliance programs to monitor compliance and maintaining transparency about its compliance efforts in its annual reports.

Ethical Concerns:
Apple's ethical concerns in marketing can affect its ability to achieve its strategic role in several ways. Therefore truth, accuracy, and good taste in advertising are important to maintain consumer trust and credibility. Apple's marketing emphasizes the importance of privacy and safety of consumers and their data, particularly in the wake of high-profile data breaches and government surveillance. The business has a strong reputation for its customer-centric approach through relationship marketing, rewarding it with a loyal customer base who make repeat purchases. This is done by ensuring employees across all channels of distribution such as physical stores are trained to provide a high level of service to customers, and that ongoing support is provided via consumer engagement programs like Apple care. Moreover, elements of product placement have raised ethical concerns due to the possibly deceptive nature of its advertisements. As a company that prioritizes good taste in advertising and the safety and wellbeing of its customers, Apple carefully considers the use of product placement such by ensuring that its products are presented in a way that aligns with the company's values, does not deceive or disturb viewers being entertained, and does not collect or share consumers personal data without their consent. This commitment to ethical business practices surrounding consumer welfare has helped Apple to build trust with its customers and differentiate itself from competitors who may not prioritize ethics in the same way, ultimately aligning with its strategic role.
 

jimmysmith560

Le Phénix Trilingue
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2019
Messages
4,119
Location
Krak des Chevaliers
Gender
Male
HSC
2019
Uni Grad
2022
This may be a late post. If it is, I hope that you still find the thoughts and feedback that I provide helpful going forward.

Before I begin, I think that something is not quite right in the question:

"How do the influences on marketing affect Apple's ability to affect (?) its strategic role?"

I will assume that this was probably a small error and that the correct word would be "achieve".

Here is what I think:

The Strategic Role of Apple
Apple's strategic role is to be a leader in innovation and design in the technology industry, whilst maintaining a differentiated brand image and maximizing profits. The company's vision statement is to "design the best products and services in the world, and to make a difference in people's lives." The pivotal role of marketing contributes to the achievement of the business's strategic role. In achieving this, marketing at Apple has developed strategies that appeal to its consumers choices through the use of the extended marketing mix. By carefully managing each element of this marketing mix - product, price, place, promotion, people, processes and physical evidence - Apple can present products that meet the needs and preferences of each of its target markets globally, therefore developing its brand awareness and increasing consumer loyalty.
This is a well-written and coherent paragraph. However, there is one issue, which is that you have initiated a discussion of the marketing mix. As you are likely aware, the marketing mix is part of marketing strategies, and given that the question requires a response in terms of the role of marketing (specifically the strategic role of marketing dot point) and influences on marketing, a discussion of marketing strategies is not directly relevant to your response.

The influences of marketing on Apple
Marketing strategies play a crucial role in helping Apple achieve its strategic role by enabling the company to communicate its brand message and product offerings to its target market effectively. Therefore, it is crucial for market researchers at Apple to understand the factors that influence consumer behavior so that the business can develop targeted marketing strategies that effectively appeal to its target market. The influences on consumer choice include:
As mentioned earlier, the focus is on the strategic role of marketing and influences on marketing, making your suggestions regarding marketing strategies mostly redundant. Otherwise, a clear and concise way of introducing your next main points.

Psychological:
Consumers are often influenced by their own attitudes, beliefs, values, and motivations when making purchase decisions. Apple has effectively used psychological factors in its marketing strategies by appealing to consumers' emotions and values. For example, Apple's strong global branding has been a crucial factor in the company's promotional success. The iconic Apple logo, sleek design, and focus on innovation have helped to build a strong emotional connection between the brand and its customers. Apple's brand is associated with high quality, innovation, and creativity, which has helped the company to build a loyal customer base and differentiate itself from competitors. Moreover, Apple's focus on product development and innovation reflected by releases of new iPhone designs has helped the company to stay ahead of the curve and continually offer products that meet the changing needs and expectations of its customers. By constantly improving its products, Apple has been able to maintain its position as a leader in the technology industry.
Businesses do not "use" factors. It is more correct to say that a business considers factors. In your case, you may wish to consider changing "effectively changed" to "effectively considered". This actually raises an important point regarding the quality of expression (including grammar and choice of words) in Section III and Section IV responses, something I was actually discussing with my younger sister, who is currently a year 11 student taking Business Studies.

It seems that you are linking the strategic role of marketing (which falls under the role of marketing) to marketing strategies, the latter being a separate section of the marketing topic and not directly assessed by this question. Once again, this makes your discussion of Apple's marketing strategies mostly redundant because you are not directly answering the question, which does not target marketing strategies. It is important to ensure that you correctly identify the relevant syllabus dot points to cover for each question because although the information that you include is technically correct, its lack of relevance can limit your mark.

Otherwise, the quality of your expression is good.

Sociocultural:
Sociocultural factors such as culture and reference groups impact consumer behavior. In response to this, Apple has used elements of the promotion mix in its marketing strategies to attract a diverse range of market segments and implements aspects of to raise brand awareness. For example, Apple's marketing often features people from diverse backgrounds, showcasing its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and is known for its strategic product placement in popular films and TV shows to promote its products. Apple's "Behind the Mac'' advertisement, and related campaigns that were also implemented on screen, feature people from diverse backgrounds, including women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who are using their Macs to create and innovate.
A well-written paragraph that supports its main point with appropriate case study material. A suggestion would be not to emphasise terms that belong in the marketing strategies section. Instead, you can simply refer to them as "Apple's marketing" and/or "Apple's marketing activities".

Economic:
Economic factors such as income, inflation, and recession can impact consumer behavior. Apple has taken economic factors into account (much better expression) in its pricing strategies. Although Apple's pricing skimming strategy for the iPhone involves charging a premium price for new products to maximize profits, Apple has also introduced lower-priced options, such as the iPhone SE, to appeal to price-sensitive consumers possibly affected by financial situations such as the global financial crisis or coronavirus pandemic. Apple products are also sold through a variety of channels in different places, including Apple's own retail stores, online store, and third-party retailers in a variety of price ranges across multiple countries to appeal to its consumers' willingness to spend.
A well-written paragraph that supports its main point with appropriate case study material. You should consider the implication of this in terms of the strategic role of marketing, i.e. what does this information suggest in terms of the strategic role of marketing?

The rest of the feedback will be in a subsequent post because I have reached the maximum character limit.
 

jimmysmith560

Le Phénix Trilingue
Moderator
Joined
Aug 22, 2019
Messages
4,119
Location
Krak des Chevaliers
Gender
Male
HSC
2019
Uni Grad
2022
Government Regulations and Consumer Laws:
Different countries have different regulations on advertising and marketing practices. For example, deceptive and misleading advertising can have a negative impact on Apple's marketing efforts. If Apple engages in such practices, it could damage the company's reputation because consumers who feel deceived or misled by Apple's advertising may be less likely to purchase their products in the future. Additionally, regulatory bodies such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission may take action against Apple for engaging in deceptive advertising and related practices, resulting in fines or other penalties that could harm the company's financial performance. Thus, Apple's marketing processes emphasize its compliance with government regulations and standards such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010, by establishing compliance programs to monitor compliance and maintaining transparency about its compliance efforts in its annual reports.
A very good paragraph.

Ethical Concerns:
Apple's ethical concerns in marketing can affect its ability to achieve its strategic role in several ways. Therefore truth, accuracy, and good taste in advertising are important to maintain consumer trust and credibility. Apple's marketing emphasizes the importance of privacy and safety of consumers and their data, particularly in the wake of high-profile data breaches and government surveillance. The business has a strong reputation for its customer-centric approach through relationship marketing, rewarding it with a loyal customer base who make repeat purchases. This is done by ensuring employees across all channels of distribution such as physical stores are trained to provide a high level of service to customers, and that ongoing support is provided via consumer engagement programs like Apple Care. Moreover, elements of product placement have raised ethical concerns due to the possibly deceptive nature of its advertisements. As a company that prioritizes good taste in advertising and the safety and wellbeing of its customers, Apple carefully considers the use of product placement such by ensuring that its products are presented in a way that aligns with the company's values, does not deceive or disturb viewers being entertained, and does not collect or share consumers personal data without their consent. This commitment to ethical business practices surrounding consumer welfare has helped Apple to build trust with its customers and differentiate itself from competitors who may not prioritize ethics in the same way, ultimately aligning with its strategic role.
A very good paragraph.

Overall, I believe that your response is leaning towards the higher standards, and I would therefore give it a 17/20.

There was one minor issue with written expression and a more significant issue in terms of recognising the specific parts of the syllabus that a question targets.

I hope this helps! 😄
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2022
Messages
34
Gender
Female
HSC
2023
A very good paragraph.



A very good paragraph.

Overall, I believe that your response is leaning towards the higher standards, and I would therefore give it a 17/20.

There was one minor issue with written expression and a more significant issue in terms of recognising the specific parts of the syllabus that a question targets.

I hope this helps! 😄
Thanks so much! My business exam went quite well and I think ill manage to score an A on it :)
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top