Product and Service Marketing Analysis Essay

Product and service merchandise argon highly related. Take the success of a company like apple, for example. The technology giant operates close 400 retail incloses, employs more than 42,000 people and hosts more than a million visitors each day. In 2012, orchard apple trees retail operations generated nearly $19 billion. Furthermore, its estimated that orchard apple trees Fifth highroad store generates more than $35,000 per square off foot, making it the highest grossing retailer in New York ever. Those statistics reinforce the companys crossing and service strategies of those of a highly successful company. apple continues to hold a number iodineness spot on a list of the worlds most admirable companies. However, the success of apple hasnt always been so great. It wasnt until the company combined good products with good services, that profits increase exponentially.Slide 12-12 Service Differentiationorchard apple tree actually had a point in business in which it struggl ed. That was in the 1990s when the company was selling products through larger retailers such as CompUSA and Sears. It was then, that Apple computers were shoved to the side, place of the main view of customers, as just another computer brand available on store shelves.Apple employees didnt invent enough attention to the installation of the product in the big boxful stores in which it was being sold, so in that location wasnt a true selling point for buyers. Also, the product delivery took a major hit. In fact, the brand became so weakened when retailers did not market the products properly, that the record wasnt fully stocked. While Apple products plummeted in gross r stillue, the Gateway company was nominateing direct sales to consumers in its own stores, and Apple had to reinvent its business model, and quickly register how to operate in a different manner.Less than two years after Apple launched its retail stores, Gateway shut reduce all of its shops and laid off 2,500 w orkers. Only three years later, CompUSA closed its chain of 23-year-old stores as well. Apple went against much of the advice it had received, and clearly the company was doing something am curio. Apple created retail stores that offer more than just a product. The stores offer a shopping experience that consumers often give raving reviews on. That includes ordering ease, smooth delivery, clear installation, the right customer training and consulting, and simplified maintenance and repair.Slide 12-11 Product DifferentiationApple Stores are at one time the highest performing stores in retail history. This isnt due to just good in-store and online service. The products typically set the run among all other technology products offered in the industry. Many Apple products come with customizable features based on a customers wants and needs. That includes hard drive and disk space, all the way down to the detail of an optional custom engrave on a product. In addition to the features, Apple products are known to hold superior mental process quality. Sure, the products arent cheap, nevertheless typically when a customer buys an Apple product, they know that product will pay for itself over time.Slide 13-5 Categories of Service MixWhen youre dealing with a product that Apple designs and sells, its typically a highly technological device. That tangible good brings on accompanying services. The more advanced the product, the greater the need for those high-quality supporting services. When a customer goes into an Apple store looking for a young computer or an iPad, theres a chance they dont know how to maximize its use to its full capability. Apple found a way to assist costumers, so they can learn about the devices theyre purchasing for justify. Employees at each Apple retail shop hold free workshops for consumers to teach the basics. In addition to workshops, customers can sign up for one-on-one training sessions to dig even deeper into their products capabil ities.Slide 13-6 Service DistinctionsThese services offered by Apple require the clients presence therefore employees need to be considerate of the consumers needs. That is why Apple is known for hiring customer-obsessed, sympathetic employees. Apple cofounder Steve Jobs offered a unique insight about how consumers interact with technology. Jobs said often the problem was that consumers are limited to thinking in terms of only what they know, instead of what is possible. Jobs once said that one of the keys to Apple is that the company builds products that turn the employees on. That is certainly to the benefit of the customers, that it often means products are exactly what they want because Apple employees are so deeply entrenched in and committed to the customers experience.Slide 13-8 classifiable Characteristics of ServiceWhile many consumers know the physical products Apple offers are those of high quality, the company has do it a point to manage the evidence, and tangibilize t he intangible. In doing so, Apple had to create stores that arrive a clean layout, in which traffic flows steadily, have employees that are busy, but they can still manage the workload, have equipment that is state of the art, have a symbol that suggests quality in both product and service, and finally, has a reasonable price for service. We already know that Apple services are offered for free, the companys logo is iconic, and that the equipment is top notch.So, Apples stores had the main focus of a clean layout and employees readily available, yet still busy. When a customer walks into an Apple store, the aesthetics are clean and well thought out. Each product is on display for interrogation use, and the floors, walls, and counter spaces are clean and tidy. In addition to that, carefully recruited and trained sales associates are further to take customers on a ride. They give each willing customer a short, informative circumference of the space to be able to have a conversatio n and connect with each and every visitor. Then, of course, theres the offering of support for each customer, which is just another delight to those who shop at Apple.The end result of Apples mix of product and service marketing combined is certainly one of success. Apple has the highest retail sales per square foot than any other U.S. retailer. The stores average more than $6,000 per square foot, which is more than twice the former gold standard Tiffany & Company. That success did not come with quality products alone, but quality product marketing coupled with quality service marketing. The companys marketing dodge is unique, but the company figured out how to attract and retain customers, generate an extremely large sum total of word-of-mouth and brand appeal to give it a huge competitive advantage.Works CitedChazin, S. (2013). The Retail Secrets of Apple. Retrieved from http//www.marketingapple.com/marketing_apple/2013/01/the-retail-secrets-of-apple.html on 07/23/2013.DuBois, S. (2011). Worlds Most Admired Companies. Retrieved from http//money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2011/snapshots/670.html on 07/23/2013.Kotler, P Keller, L (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall.Moorman, C. (2012). Why Apple is a neat Marketer. Retrieved from http//www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/ on 07/23/2013.