Executive Summary
E-marketing is one of the latest forms of marketing strategies that are increasing in popularity. This concept is a major component of any marketing plan. This report looks at the e-marketing strategies for a phone brand.
The report discusses e-marketing and some of the major concepts that are applied while focusing more on the works done in this area. The brand on which focus is placed is the iPhone. The report begins with an analysis of the major competitors in terms of how they use of the e-marketing concept.
In comparison, the chosen brand is doing better in relation to its main rival who is also discussed to be applying advanced techniques in e-marketing. The report provides some of the recommendations for iPhone, including the development of an elaborate e-marketing strategy.
Introduction
The invention of the internet has revolutionised marketing based on its increased use throughout the world. Organisations are able to reach diverse clients at different parts of the world using this technology.
The use of the internet in marketing has led to the emergence of the concept of e-marketing, which is an important concept in the modern-day marketing field (Marie-Odile, Jean-Charles, Zhiyong & Sanjay 2010).
E-marketing, which is the short form for electronic marketing, refers to the marketing principles that use electronic media (Dennis, Merrilees, Jayawardhena, Wright 2009). According to Yadav and Pavlou (2014), this form of marketing is synonymous with internet marketing, web-based marketing, and online marketing.
This form of marketing has proved very useful in the contemporary marketing practices. It has made it easy for organisations to market their goods and services in an efficient manner. Just like other forms of marketing, e-marketing requires an elaborate marketing strategy to succeed (Ho & Dempsey 2010).
The telecommunication industry is one of the industries that have embraced e-marketing. Competition has shifted from the traditional platforms to this form of marketing. Companies are engaged in competitive practices over the internet (Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty 2012; Gaskill & Winzar 2014).
This paper presents a marketing strategy for the iPhone. However, it focuses on the techniques that the brand has chosen to use in e-marketing in addition to those that are used by the competitors. The report also features some of the recommendations that may ensure a successful e-marketing campaign for the chosen product.
Brand Synopsis
The brand whose e-marketing strategy is presented is the iPhone, which is a product of the Apple Company. The product is a mobile phone with several capabilities that differentiate it from other types of phones that are present in the market. Apple has been known for making smart gadgets.
It is the leading manufacturer of computers and other electronic gadgets. The phone has one of the main features being the ability to run on advanced operating system that allows its users to perform an array of different tasks at the same time.
The design of this phone has been described as one of the most revolutionary of its kind, with many individuals demonstrating a liking for the functionality of most of its parts.
This brand of phone is located in the Smartphone category. It is among the pioneers in the use of different technologies within the device.
The manufacturer guarantees a longer battery life compared to other Smartphones, better speeds while using the internet, and a range of applications that may be installed to help the owner manage the day along with other daily functions.
This phone represents the latest computer technology, which allows its users access and operate some of the programmes that were previously limited to computers.
The other aspect about the brand of the phone under discussion is the positioning within the market sector in which it is situated. The iPhone has continued to register significant success in this sector, with stocks being bought for every new design that is produced.
The positioning can also be described in the form of pricing for this particular product. The phone model is premium priced, with most of the buyers having the capability to buy at this price.
The presence of stiff competition from other companies and other established brands have not hindered the positive performance of the iPhone on the global market. Few companies are as competitive as this company. The phone model has few critiques.
The targeted market in the e-marketing campaigns consists mainly of young individuals who are able to operate this kind of phone. In most of the surveys that have been conducted, the popularity of Smartphones is mainly in the younger generation of individuals that are tech-savvy and are usually using the internet.
This generation of customers prefers phones that are fast on the internet, and whose capability rivals that of other models. Therefore, the e-marketing campaign that is carried out for the iPhone targets the young generation and most of the individuals who have the technological expertise.
The key features of the brand that add value in the marketing campaign include the strong brand name that the maker company has managed to build in other areas.
The company has managed to replicate the same in the phone manufacturing industry, with the iPhone being the product of this innovation. The other features of the phone include the sleek design that is characteristic to this model, which has allowed its easy identification in the marketing campaigns.
The brand synopsis looks at the capabilities of the product under discussion, its performance in the market, the customer preference, and its likely performance at the market. The iPhone is a relatively successful brand on the international front.
It uses its particularly renowned brand name to expand its online and offline influence. Companies that use their brand names effectively on the internet have better success in their marketing strategies (Strauss, Ansary & Frost 2006). However, the use of one form of marketing is not advised.
Organisations should ensure that they diversify their marketing strategies (Rocha, Jansen, Lofti & Ribeiro Fraga 2013). It is important to consider the use of e-marketing by some of the competitors in the same industry.
Pegoraro (2013) confirms that competitors set a benchmark on which a company can assess its performance. Therefore, the following section presents an analysis of the main competitor for the company and brand name under discussion.
Competitor Analysis
The main competitor for Apple’s iPhone is the Samsung Galaxy. This model of the phone has a series of phones in it with special features that are closely related to those of the iPhone.
According to Pope, Silva, and Almeyda (2010), competition is usually high for companies that produce products that are similar in design and function. This competition is even higher if the companies choose to push it to a higher level and engage in e-marketing (Hamblen 2008).
Samsung Galaxy phone models are well positioned on the internet where they offer stiff competition to the iPhone.
The Kapferer’s method is an ideal one in the illustration of how the competitor brand engages with each other in digital marketing (Kapferer 1992; Constantinides 2006). This model is useful in the context where the analysis of iPhone’s competition is carried out.
Physique
According to Kapferer (1992), the physique of a competitor in e-marketing refers to the position of the company or brand in online marketing. Samsung Galaxy has a favourable position on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), with the listing being equivalent to the level of the iPhone.
SERP allows customers to access the products that they are looking for using short terms that may be otherwise too short for engines to provide results. A product that is performing adequately on the e-marketing platform has a better SERP listing.
Search engines provide a list with the product in the initial search of terms that relate to the product (Whiting, & Dixon 2012). Samsung Galaxy is a common term on search engines, and hence the high listing on the SERP.
However, this finding is not as high as the SERP listing on the iPhone, which is equally popular with many internet users.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a common term in online marketing. Companies often target to increase their visibility on the internet using this technique.
In this technique, companies often make many attempts to have their products appear early and more frequently on search engine results list since this strategy is a guaranteed way of attracting visitors to their main site (Levy 2012).
Samsung is one of the companies that use aggressive SEO to increase the number of visitors to their homepage.
Samsung Galaxy may be found on social sites such as Facebook, Tweeter, and Hi-Five among others. The use of social sites constitutes another important marketing strategy for companies that use e-marketing (Schulze, Schöler & Skiera 2014).
The use of advertising on other companies’ websites is common on the internet. This method of e-marketing is applied by Samsung Galaxy. The same advertising campaign is applied by the iPhone, which is present on a host of other companies’ websites.
Personality
Brand personality can be communicated in the marketing strategy that is employed by a particular company. This claim is also the case in the e-marketing strategies employed by various companies.
Samsung Galaxy is one of the companies that practice it. The company that markets the product uses an avatar, which ensures ease of marketing for this rand.
The personality of the company in marketing may be communicated through a number of ways, including the use of words, images, and the tone of messages during communication (Baye, Gatti, Kattuman & Morgan 2007). E-marketing has continuously applied the use of these concepts in marketing communication.
Samsung galaxy uses wording as the main strategy in the determination of personality during marketing of its brand. Many customers can identify with the wording that is used by this company on the internet to market its products.
According to Kapferer (1992), e-marketing has not overcome the reliance of wording in its marketing tactics. However, this form of marketing is dependent on images as compared to voice and other characteristics of marketing.
Many of the companies that market their products online use images to market their products (International Business 2013; Teresa 1998).
Samsung Galaxy is compatible with iPhone in its use of e-marketing, with both companies applying visual and audio marketing in their e-marketing strategies. The company uses this component of e-marketing to enhance its presence on this marketing platform.
Tone is also an important part of e-marketing since it allows companies to advance their marketing strategies and/or improve their product performance. Samsung Galaxy can be said to be one of the companies with an efficient use of tone in their online marketing strategy.
Relationship
In the marketing, the relationship between organisations and companies is important to foster since it allows companies to interact positively with each other.
E-marketing has allowed the interaction of companies through a number of ways, including building relationships between companies and their customers (Kim 2013). Samsung has enabled positive interaction between companies and customers.
The company has created virtue communities through the creation of blogs and other access and interaction points. Companies that offer complementary services can access Samsung Galaxy’s products through these special sites that have been created purposely for this role.
The communication models that Samsung Galaxy mostly uses include one-to-one communication, one-to-many, and the many-to-many concepts.
These models allow vertical and horizontal communication between the various players in the market in which the company operates (Morgan-Thomas & Veloutsou 2013; Edwards 2013). This strategy is an effective means of ensuring continuous contact between the company and the different clients and customers.
The communication between the various organisations that offer products and services that relate to those offered by Samsung Galaxy enhances perfect marketing between the companies. iPhone has a marketing strategy that utilises the same means of ensuring a working relationship between individuals and companies.
Culture
In this section, culture as it relates to e-marketing refers to the brand values that are evident in the online marketing campaigns for the competitor. Most marketing strategies have an underlying culture that is spelt out in the different strategy policies in place for the particular organisation.
According to Bartikowski, Walsh, and Beatty (2011), these strategies include the actions taken by the company in its marketing and the statements that it provides on its site. Samsung has provided a number of policies and statements for its Galaxy models.
These include the policies that the company may adopt in the course of its marketing protocols. The company provides many other policies, including the goals, mission, vision, and strategic objectives.
Some of the features of a marketing strategy make it successful (Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick 2009; Smith & Munn 2006; Devi & Anitha 2013).
Reflection
This section presents the means by which the competitor is finding out about the target markets’ wants and needs. Several methods are used to ensure that a company establishes the needs of the targeted market.
One of these ways is the conducting of consumer surveys that establish the consumer preference for some of the products that are on offer. Samsung has a fully functional feedback mechanism through which customers can interact with the company.
In the adverts that the company sponsors for Samsung Galaxy, there is the provision of special links through which customers and other interested individuals may provide feedback to the company. The company also sponsors some surveys that are meant to establish the prominence of the brand.
Self-Image
Samsung Galaxy, just like most other phone brands, allows the prospective customers and other individuals who access their website to interact with the company and create a valuable self-image.
Some companies are reported to invite their customers to send photos of themselves (selfies), although this strategy is not practiced in Samsung Galaxy brand marketing.
This tactic can be a defining difference with the suggested marketing plan for the iPhone because it allows customers to interact with the manufacturer at a personal level (Chebat, Davidow & Borges 2011; Coviello, Brodie, Brookes & Palmer 2003).
The iPhone
The same model that is used above can be applied in the marketing strategy that iPhone utilises.
Physique
The iPhone has an online presence that can be compared to that of its main competitors. The brand’s presence on SERPS is adequate, with a favourable position in the same scale. The company uses several marketing strategies in its e-marketing campaign.
These strategies are compatible with those of its competitors. The main difference is in the use of SEO where the company has adopted a favourable position in the use of SEO. According to Goldsmith (1999), social sites are increasing in influence in the practice of e-marketing.
The iPhone has not been left behind. It has an established presence on all of the social sites. The company runs its advertising campaigns from this platform where major decisions and marketing policies are made (Challenges In E-Business And E-Marketing 2014).
Personality
Just like its rival company, the iPhone has established methods of communicating with the target audience. The e-marketing campaign is tailored to meet the needs of large companies, individuals, and other parties that may be interested in the product.
Vertical and horizontal communication is ensured using images, an adequate tone in the audio messages, and the use of appropriate wording. This mixture ensures that the company’s marketing strategy manages to capture the attention of as many individuals and companies as possible (Apple-iPhone 2014).
Relationship
The iPhone has a well-established online culture where it has managed to build relationships with other companies on the online front.
The adverts and websites for the company have a distinctive culture that is evident through the various available statements. The mission, vision, objectives, and targets for the brand are listed on the respective sites and online adverts.
Culture and Self-Image
The iPhone has a culture that is similar to the one adopted by its competitors, especially the main competitor brand that is discussed above. The internet allows the reflection of individual customers. The company has a policy that allows the reflection of customers who are involved in its usage.
The framework is in place to allow customer feedback for the various products that are available under the brand. Users can provide feedback on the company’s website, with a promise of action for any of the reported issues.
Conclusion
The use of e-marketing is an effective method of advertising and marketing. It allows companies to improve in sales. The iPhone’s main competitor that is discussed in the paper is Samsung Galaxy. The paper establishes that the brand is performing very well in its online marketing campaign.
There is a need for improvement in the strategies employed by iPhone if it is to remain competitive on the online front.
Recommendations
For online marketing to be successful, the iPhone company should make several changes while introducing revolutionary methods of carrying out this form of marketing. The company needs to create a site that is dedicated to this product to ensure that there are many visitors to this site.
There is also a need for a vigorous marketing campaign for the product to ensure that people have the appropriate information on how to access the site. The company needs to operate on the various social networks to ensure that it is visible online.
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