Discussion: Feedback Loops of Apple Inc .

To stay on top of the dynamic and ever-changing marketplace, an organization must routinely and consistently review the market as well as the reception of new products or services with its branding. By not staying current or even ahead of the curve, an organization opens the opportunity for competition to slide into new openings and lure away customers. If executed skillfully, the competition's move could deliver a strategically devastating blow from which recovery could be extremely difficult.

Management must develop systems and measurements to assess how well the new product or service is realistically aligning with the corporate mission, how it differentiates from the competition, and whether it has been appropriately priced and effectively branded. These systems and measurements should be both internal and external. For example, the efficiency and production accuracy of the product line could be evaluated with calibration settings and defect reports as an internal measure. Customer satisfaction could be evaluated using email or telephone surveys. Social media can also play a part in this. Management must also decide how often this should occur and if different parts of the company dictate different timing intervals. Returning to our previous examples, assembly line accuracy may need to be checked every month, while customer satisfaction needs to be measured annually.

Mechanisms to share feedback must also be considered. They must be organized and meaningful. For instance, customer comments from a survey could be compiled then shared prior to a quarterly marketing department meeting. This way, all participants have an opportunity to review the comments from the survey and time to develop solutions to any problems that may be illuminated. Communication among departments must also be considered, to ensure that all company activity is aligned. For example, if the marketing department collects customer survey information and a problem exists with the final product quality, this information must be communicated to production. A well-constructed and well-organized feedback and refinement loop can increase the likelihood of an organization maintaining alignment with its mission, customer needs, branding and core competencies.

Core Competencies are critical for marketing success for numerous reasons, not the least of which is the company's ability to differentiate itself from its competitors. What defines a core competency? It must meet these three criteria, as shared by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) (n.d.):

A core competency can lead to the development of new products and services and must provide potential access to a wide variety of markets.

It must make a significant contribution to the perceived benefits of the end product.

It should be difficult for competitors to imitate. In many industries, such competencies are likely to be unique.

In other words, what makes your company special? In fact, core competencies are very much related to the profitability of any size company.

In addition, marketing is as much an art form as it is a science in that marketers can only create marketing solutions when they have the qualitative and quantitative data necessary to make appropriate decisions. Focus groups, open-ended surveys, and/or individual interviews are a few examples of ways to gather qualitative data. On the other hand, quantitative data can be contrived from profit-and-loss statements, surveys with numerical scoring, and polls.

Once the marketer obtains this data, they are in a position to make smart decisions prior to the product or service launch. Additionally, this data informs the marketer on how to best launch the product or service, such as the appropriate target demographic(s), and the lifecycle, including the product's death or removal from the shelf. While the company is considering the creation of a product or idea, enough market research may be obtained to change the method or timing of the launch. The reality is that "only 55% of all product launches take place on schedule, according to the 2019 product manager survey from Gartner, Inc." (Rimol & Goasduff, 2019). There are a number of reasons why this is the case, one of which is often market research.

In fact, enough research may be obtained to cause a company to abort the launch altogether! While this may seem like a waste of time and energy, launching a failing idea would be even more catastrophic, which is why market research is imperative at all stages: from when a product is an idea, to knowing what changes to make once the product is in the marketplace, to removing the product entirely.

Qualitative and quantitative data points serve as inputs into the much larger picture of feedback loops. Consider the following when creating a customer feedback loop:

Qualitative data, quantitative data, and feedback loops are all part of a company's continuous improvement process to regularly review information in order to implement needed changes and stay competitive.

References

Rimol, M., & Goasduff, L. (2019, September 9). Gartner survey finds that 45% of product launches are delayed by at least one month. Gartner. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2019-09-09-gartner-survey-finds-that-45-percent-of-product-launches-are-delayed-by-at-least-one-month

Society for Human Resource Management. (n.d.). Competencies: How can our company determine its core competencies? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/corecompetencies.aspx

QUESTION'S

What qualitative and quantitative measurements is the Apple inc actively using as a foundation for marketing?

How is this Apple Inc specifically using feedback loops, as based on the five steps provided in the textbook?--Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision-Making Approach, Chapters 6, 10 (pages 261-278), 17, and 18

How do you see each of the five steps of a customer feedback loop specifically brought to life in Apple Inc?