MKT500 Discussion Board 9 "Trending Now" The lectures that correspond to the topic is attached for your information. Thank You

MKT500 Discussion Board 9 \"Trending Now\" Marketing Research Response must be 10 sentences or greater. Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for one of your favorite brands as well as two or three of its competitors. Analyze the trends that you observed with each company. 1. Provides trend and brief description of company and 2 or 3 competitors. 2. Points out differences among the companies. 3. Provide information on how they serve the target market. To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trend(s)? 1. Analyzes trends, provides information on increases or decreases over time. 2. Provides reason as to why it may be happening. 3. Identifies the different changes in the competitors and the favorite company. What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? 1. Provides recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice. 2. States why the target market would react to recommendation. 3. States the recommendation will not work given all other information. https://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/956951/uiconf_i d/24290031/entry_id/1_ic3ebdyc/embed/iframe?&flashvars[streamerType]=auto or mediatools. (2015, May 4). Google tools for media: Trends and analytics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/b9ZHw0VpWxI. MKT500 Week 9 Lecture 1: Customer Satisfaction and Customer Relationships Slide 1 Introduction Welcome to Marketing Management. In this lesson we will discuss customer expectations, how to measure customer satisfaction. Slide 2 Objectives Please go to the next slide. Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to design customer satisfaction evaluation processes and quality assurance measurements. Please go to the next slide. Slide 3 Customer Evaluations Have you ever purchased a product and found that you were not satisfied with it in some regard or another? Did it meet the expectations you had and that were advertised via a television commercial or print ad? More than likely, you have had both positive and negative outcomes based upon the expectations you possessed for the product. There are three possible evaluation outcome expectations. The first is that your expectations for the product were confirmed and you were satisfied with the product. The second is that the expectations were not confirmed, but the product exceeded the expectations you had for it and therefore, the outcome of the purchase is that you were extremely satisfied with the purchase. Lastly, the product did not meet your expectations and you were left with negative feelings about the purchase and the product. The evaluation that consumers go through in rating their purchase satisfaction occurs regardless of whether the purchase was one of low-involvement or high-involvement. You may recall that low-involvement purchases are those that typically not much thought goes into the decision to make the purchase such as items that you regularly use like paper towels or laundry detergent. For low-involvement purchases, the evaluation occurs almost immediately. For high-involvement purchases like a new car or personal computer that require more research and thought, the evaluation process is more deliberate and the consumer is more conscious of evaluating whether or not the purchase met the expectations. Slide 4 Sources of Customer Evaluations Please go to the next slide. This first source is our own personal experiences. Perhaps we had a purchase experience at a local diner and the meal received is consistently good and decently priced. This type of evaluation would be one which is direct. Or, the evaluation experience can be indirect, meaning that the experience falls along a continuum of experiences. An example of an indirect evaluation would be expecting food received at a Taco Bell fast food establishment to be consistent, regardless of which Taco Bell restaurant one would visit. A consumer would evaluate the purchase based upon expectations that are established according to the brand which is supposed to be consistent across restaurants. Another indirect evaluation would be for a product that is not purchased very often and for which we don't have many expectations as a result. Secondly, we rely upon the experiences of trusted sources such as family members, friends, and coworkers who share information about their own purchase evaluations with us, most often by relaying information through word of mouth communication. The consumer shopping for the used car may ask the opinion of parents and friends who are known to have purchased a used car from a dealership in the past as to what to expect during the shopping experience. The third source of customer evaluation source refers to various components of the marketing mix such as advertisements from the auto dealership or the brand manufacturer such as Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Honda, or Volvo. However, we expect auto dealerships and brand manufacturers to be biased toward their own products since their end goal is to sell you a car. The final source is third party communications from which a consumer can gain information such as the Internet, publications such as Consumer Reports, or television commercials. For the most part, the information is valid. But, for the used car example, Consumer Reports may not rate customer satisfaction very highly for the type of auto a consumer is interested in purchasing. Therefore, the information is considered to be more objective since it is out of the control of the auto dealership. Please go to the next slide. Slide 5 Matching Customer Expectations & Experiences Consumers typically and regularly evaluate the core aspects of a purchase such as performance and quality, as well as the service components including employee responsiveness, knowledge, and courtesy. For example, while dining out, a consumer expects the food to be good. The food is the core component of the purchase. The consumer also expects decent service, responsiveness, and courtesy from the server. These qualities are the service components. If the food served is not good, the customer will inevitably be dissatisfied with the meal. If the service is not good and the waiter is rude and unresponsive to the consumer, the customer may also be dissatisfied. Both core and service components affect the consumers judgment of the purchase. For the most part, consumers expectations are realistic and there are three different types of expectations that consumers may have. The first is ideal quality. Consumers with ideal quality expectations may be demanding and expect perfection. Most consumers expect more realistic and average levels of quality. Lastly, the third quality level is adequate. This is when the consumer expects a lower level of quality which they deem as acceptable such as when one purchases a generic dishwashing detergent. Slide 6 Please go to the next slide. Customer What a consumer expects from a purchase also relates to the Expectations & price that is paid for the product and whether or not the consumer feels he is getting a good value. To determine the value of the Experiences purchase, the consumer would need to evaluate all costs incurred (cont.) for the purchase. A consumer may be willing to accept a lower level of quality if the perception of the value is high based upon all costs incurred. As an example, one might not perceive saving two cents per gallon for gas as a value if it is necessary to drive three miles each way to obtain the gas considering the cost of driving six miles and the wear and tear the car incurs in the process. However, if the gas were forty cents a gallon cheaper, the costs incurred to drive six miles to save some money would constitute a good value. Please go to the next slide. Slide 7 Measuring Quality & Customer Satisfaction How can a marketer measure whether or not a consumer is satisfied with a product purchase and all aspects of the purchase with a high level of precision? Well, simply put, they can't. Consumer perceptions vary and it is believed that people are not necessarily capable of perfectly consistent behavior. But, that said, one way to measure consumer perceptions and satisfaction is through the use of surveys. Surveys allow marketers the opportunity to collect data relative to a consumer's perceived satisfaction with a purchase. The design of the survey is imperative to collective sufficient data that is deemed usable and actionable. Consideration must be given to what questions to include on the survey so that all facets of the purchase are rated by the consumer. For example, a consumer with back pain may decide to give acupuncture a try as an attempt to relieve the pain. Many factors will influence the consumer's perception as to whether or not the experience was satisfactory such as the cost of the service, the length of time to get an appointment, how many appointments are necessary, and the expertise of the acupuncturist. If the marketer wishes to measure the satisfaction of the consumer for the acupuncture experience, numerous questions must be posed. One question asking if the consumer was satisfied with the experience would not be sufficient since there are various factors that the consumer must take into consideration. Such questions to be asked on a survey might be: Did you experience pain relief as a result of the service? If so, how many visits did it take before you felt pain relief? Was the cost of the service reasonable? Did your insurance cover the cost of the service? Did the acupuncturist take your condition seriously? Did the acupuncturist ask you questions about your medical history before beginning treatment? Most marketers unrealistically believe that with an increasing number of satisfied customers sales will also increase. This is not necessarily the case. Due to the variety of customer expectations and purchase experiences, it is difficult to satisfy all customers. This is why companies initially target specific segments of the population to sell products to. Some research has shown that increased sales sometimes lead to lower levels of customer satisfaction because the market share is expanding. What are the best ways for companies to improve upon customer satisfaction? One way is to regain the customer through recognizing the problem, empathizing with the customer, and offering something to the customer to prompt them to return. Suppose you were dining at a restaurant and received your meal, but the server neglected to provide you with utensils to eat this meal. You asked the server to bring you utensils and she did not. You sit there while your meal is getting cold unable to eat it and growing increasingly frustrated. Finally, ten minutes later, the server finally brings utensils to the table. You are dissatisfied and bring this to the attention of the restaurant manager who recognizes the problem, empathizes with your experience, and informs you that you will not be charged for your meal. The restaurant manager knows that there is heavy competition in the restaurant industry and it would be very easy for you to never come back to this restaurant. He wants to retain you as a customer and continue to develop a long-term relationship with you so that you will be a frequent repeat customer. Slide 8 Loyalty & Customer Relationship Management Please go to the next slide. Companies definitely want their customers to be satisfied, but let's face it, companies are in business to make a profit! It is possible for companies to make a profit even with dissatisfied customers. That said, most companies want to provide a good product, they appreciate satisfied customers, and they want customers who are loyal to the brand. As a result, the customers are more apt to speak positively about the product through word of mouth to others. Marketers need to strive to be taken seriously by company executives and need a method by which to determine the financial value of a customer by assessing the lifelong customer value per customer or per market segment. Long-term relationships with customers are considered the first step in achieving customer satisfaction. Previously, long-term relationships were sought using such methods as price discounts. Companies believed that they could gain customer loyalty by offering incentives such as buy three meals, get one meal free offerings. More recently, companies have established loyalty programs to develop long-term relationships with their customers. We are all familiar with the concept of frequent flyer miles that many airlines use to retain their customers. The customer racks up miles and can trade them for seat upgrades and free trips. These programs provide loyal customers with certain special benefits, and can keep customers from using competitors. Loyalty programs may also prompt customers to make additional purchases. Please go to the next slide. Slide 9 Check Your Understanding Slide 10 Summary We have reached the end of this lesson. Let's take a look at what we've covered. First, we explained customer expectations and how to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. This completes this lesson. MKT500 Week 9 Lecture 2: Marketing Research Tools Slide 1 Introduction Welcome to Marketing Management. In this lesson we will discuss customer expectations, how to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty, the importance of marketing research, and conducting focus groups and surveys. Slide 2 Objectives Please go to the next slide. Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to design customer satisfaction evaluation processes and quality assurance measurements. Please go to the next slide. Slide 3 Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value (RFM) Customer relationship management is a tool that is often used by companies to track spending regardless of the level of loyalty of the customers and the segments in which they fall. Previously, CRM involved collecting data such as customer identification and contact information. As well, some information was gathered regarding the recency, frequency, and monetary value of purchases. More recently, another customer relationship management system called RFM has been adopted which targets the most desirable customers by gathering more specific information regarding their purchases and offering special, premium incentives via direct marketing avenues such as email. To find these most desirable customers, companies look at data related to recent, frequent, and high value purchases. These three factors are combined to make up a score that is assigned to a customer using a scoring model. The customers behaviors are recorded, coded, and weighted based upon each behavior's judgment of importance. The customer's score is maintained in a company database and the customers with the highest scores are believed to warrant special attention. One downside of the RFM model is that its focus is on past behaviors. Please go to the next slide. Slide 4 Slide 5 RFM (continued) Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) The best RFM programs seek to learn more about their customers beyond just their past behaviors. They include such data as future customer earnings, worth, and segments. By having increased knowledge about their customers, companies can custom tailor their offerings by revising the way they do business. The company can make modifications to products they feel might be desired by customers or offer their product in more convenient locations. But, to accomplish these tasks, it is necessary to plan, spend money, and increase the work load of the company. The customer behaviors must also be monitored which may involve collecting data on website visits, telephone call outcomes, catalog purchases, and product returns. It is also necessary to utilize an efficient database to store the information gathered and maintain the data so that it is current and useful. Lastly, an information system must be designed that can systematically integrate the information that is gathered. Please go to the next slide. Companies are also interested in the worth of customers to the company since some customers cost more to acquire and others cost more to keep. It is important for a company to determine how to best segment the market to maximize profits and to target the most appropriate or worthwhile customers. This is done through estimating a customer's lifetime value. To estimate or compute a customer's lifetime value, a model is used that includes the three components of money, time, and financing. The money component includes estimates related to acquisition costs, retention costs, and the average contributions for the market segment being considered for targeting. The data necessary for the time component includes estimates related to likely retention from year to year and an estimate of the lifespan of the product or brand. The final component of financing involves determining estimates to be used for forecasting and budgeting purposes. The most important consideration for CLV calculations is to make accurate estimates and assumptions and to use the numbers as a guide to determine which consumers to target, which customers to keep happy, and which customers to allow to let go. Please go to the next slide. Slide 6 The Value of Marketing Research Marketing research involves gathering information about customers, the marketing environment, competitors, and company strengths. Savvy companies will continuously gather data and marketing information so that they are always prepared for action. We have already discussed one method of information gathering using customer relationship management databases. The marketing research process is extensive, comprehensive, and involves numerous important steps. The types of marketing research data are secondary and primary, as well as exploratory, descriptive, and causal. Secondary data is data that already exists and can often be found online. This type of data is easily found and often inexpensive to obtain. Primary data requires the design of a study to collect and analyze data. The resulting primary data yields precise information. Exploratory data involves forming marketing questions through the use of focus groups and interviews. Descriptive data uses information obtained from surveys and scanner data to gain information. Causal data involves the use of experiments to study the effect on sales and customer attitudes by manipulating marketing mix variables. Slide 7 Cluster Analysis Please go to the next slide. A cluster analysis is one form of marketing research technique that is used by marketers to collect data and analyze it. The end result of a cluster analysis is that it helps companies identify segments. A cluster analysis technique uses data and qualities that customers have in common to determine segment titles or names. The attributes used to label the segments are determined based upon the outcome of survey questions related to the product or service. The data used in a cluster analysis is inputted by a marketer and the analysis results in the formulation of groups or segments based upon the attributes that customers are seeking in the product or service and the size of each segment. Cluster analysis will help with segment identification and size, but it will not provide the company with information as to the specific target to segment. Please go to next slide. Slide 8 Perceptual Mapping Companies use perceptual mapping market research techniques to create a map that is based upon attributes of a product or service. The information used in a perceptual map comes from survey questions that customers are asked. There are two types of perceptual mapping that are used including attribute-based and multidimensional scaling. In attribute-based perceptual mapping, the customers are asked to rate how one company rates on a number of attributes and the importance of each of these attributes. The first question will ask how the company rates on five different attributes in terms of not as good as other companies or better than other companies. Often, a Likert scale is used whereby the survey respondents rate using numbers from one to five with one representing a rating such as poor and five representing a rating such as excellent. In the second question, the survey respondents are asked to rate how important each of the five different attributes are to them with one representing not important at all and five representing extremely important. Then, the averages for each of the five attributes are calculated for both questions. These averages are plotted on a two-dimensional chart. The results of the perceptual mapping will provide the company with areas for improvement or opportunity, as well as their existing strengths. Slide 9 Perceptual Mapping (continued) Please go to the next slide. The second type of perceptual mapping market research technique is known as multidimensional scaling or MDS. Multidimensional scaling uses survey questions to ask customers to compare one company to its competitor companies. The first question asks how similar the company is to each comparison company. The outcome from the question yields what are called similarity judgments for each pair of companies. The similarity judgments are expressed in terms of simple averages. The second question asks customers to rate each comparison company on a number of attributes. This question is asked for each comparison company. After the data is gathered from the two questions, a two-dimensional map is created which overlays the information in the form of data points on an X and Y axis. This data is known as ideal points. These maps are frequently used to identify opportunities for improvement by the company on the various attributes. The map also shows a picture of where the company is positioned among its various competitors. Please go to the next slide. Slide 10 Check Your Understanding Slide 11 Conducting Focus Groups Focus groups are used by companies as an exploratory technique whereby focus group participants discuss a company's products compared to another company's products. Typically, each focus group includes eight to ten consumers and three or four focus groups constitute a sample size. It is often wise to follow up focus groups with a larger scale survey. Focus groups are most often used for concept testing in the early stages of new product development or when developing an advertising campaign. A paid moderator with focus group moderation experience asks questions of the focus group members based upon a list of items that is provided by the company. The moderator will begin the focus group by asking each member to introduce themselves. Then, the moderator will ask the group members questions about the company's proposed advertisement or new product being considered for development. Focus groups typically last about one and a half hours and the participants are paid for their input. Slide 12 Conducting Surveys Please go to the next slide. Customer feedback is important information for a company. It can be used to gauge how satisfied customers are with the company's product or service. Businesses have been developed that specialize in survey research so that a company can pay an external vendor a fee to create and conduct the survey on its behalf. The main premise behind a survey is to ask customers questions about their experiences in one regard or another. A popular survey question asks about customer satisfaction and the question can be very straightforward by simply asking the respondent how satisfied he was with the service received from a service-oriented company for example. The respondent is asked to rate their satisfaction on a scale of one to ten with one representing dissatisfied and ten representing extremely satisfied. Other popular survey questions ask respondents if the purchase met their expectations, if he would purchase the item again, or if he would recommend this product to others. It is vital that the survey questions are actionable so that if the responses indicate dissatisfaction, the company can make changes to address the dissatisfactions noted. Surveys need to be short which will increase the response rate. Respondents do not want to take a lot of time to complete a survey and may easy get bored or disinterested with the survey if it is too lengthy. Responses to surveys are to be kept confidential and are to be used for research purposes only. There are various methods by which surveys can be administered including in person, online, over the telephone, or by fax. Oftentimes, restaurants will leave a brief survey card on a table which encourages diners to complete the survey regarding their dining experiences. Slide 13 Summary Please go to the next slide. We have reached the end of this lesson. Let's take a look at what we've covered. First, we described the importance of market research. Next, we discussed conducting focus groups and surveys. This completes this lesson. 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple, Inc. The major competitors of Apple, Inc. in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Apple, Inc. segments the population in various groups on the basis of certain characteristics. Samsung HTC Blackberry Microsoft 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple Samsung HTC Blackberry Microsoft 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple Samsung HTC Blackberry Microsoft 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. It is a United States based multinational technology company. The products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Apple, Inc. segments the population in various groups on the basis of certain characteristics. It targets specific groups for its different products on the basis of segmentation. Apple, Inc. has observed an increasing trend in sale of iPhones. It has captured a big segment of market worldwide. Brandon (2015) suggested that in seven years Apple, Inc. has dominated with 60% of smartphone industry. Apple, Inc. serves that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. The market of iPhone is increasing because the phone has unique unmatched features and specifications. The quality of the hardware of iPhone is also high. Holding an iPhone has become a status symbol as it satisfies ego and esteem needs of the users. Apple, Inc. has a number of competitors in smartphone segment. They are increasing day by day and are introducing low quality and low priced smartphones to the customers. It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. As a result of it the revenue and profitability of the company will also increase. The iPhone leads the world market in smartphones and has a competitive edge over its competitors. HTC is a Taiwanese company. Samsung is from South Korea. Apple, Inc. and HTC are manufacturers and sellers of consumer electronics whereas Samsung deals in consumer electronics as well as in consumer durables. Microsoft has also emerged as a competitor of Apple, Inc. after acquiring Nokia of Finland. Samsung is the prime competitor of Apple, Inc. in smartphone space and keeps on introducing new smartphones to the customers. Overall, iPhone is the leader in smartphones worldwide. References Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple. The major competitors of Apple, Inc. in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Apple, Inc. segments the population in various groups on the basis of certain characteristics. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with various lines of business. The company was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. It is prime competitor of Apple in smartphone marketplace. The company also manufactures medical equipment, apparel, ships, chemicals, etc. HTC is a Taiwan based consumer electronics company. The industry of company is telecommunications equipment. The company was founded on May 15, 1997. The primary products of the company are smartphones and tablets and are sold worldwide. Blackberry is Canada based multinational company. The industry of the company is telecommunications and it was founded on March 7, 1984. The company is better known for its multinational wireless telecommunications software. It also produced mobile hardware and is also popular for its smartphones. Microsoft is a United States based multinational national technology company. It was established on April 4, 1975. It produces and sells computer software, personal computers, and is better known for windows. The company recently acquired cell phone business of Nokia and emerged as a competitor of Apple. 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple manufactures and sells smartphones that bear a high price tag, so its target market is elite customers who like to purchase high priced and high quality goods. Apple, Inc. serves that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. Apple, Inc. has seen a tremendous rising trend in the sale of iPhone since its launch and it has become most popular phone all around the world. Samsung manufactures a large range of smartphones. It caters the need of high end customers with unique features in its phones and also produces phones that are low on cost and are affordable by lower class of society. The smartphones of Samsung have seen an increasing trend, HTC and Blackberry also targets high end customers. Like Apple, it also keeps high price tag of its smartphones and caters to that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. Microsoft took over the business of Nokia and its products are low on cost. The customers who look for more features in less cost are the target market of Microsoft. 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple: The increase in trends of Apple can be attributed to its innovative features, latest technology and durable hardware quality. Owing to high quality the company has established itself at top position in the industry and its sale in increasing significantly Samsung: Samsung offers better designs and some unique features, but, its hardware quality is poor as compared to Apple. The latest example is Galaxy Note 5, the battery of phone started blasting and ultimately the company was forced to discontinue it. Attractive design, low price and budget smartphones has led to increasing trend. HTC and Blackberry both have nothing too special about their smartphones. They manufacture high end smartphones and compete with Apple and Samsung. They offer similar features at comparatively lower price. But owing to poor hardware quality, both the companies are losing market. Microsoft is promoting its windows phone in the market. But it is finding difficult to attract customers who are using iOS and androit. Thus, the company is not able to increase its sale and market. 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. The recommendation to promote sale of iPhone in emerging economies will lead to an increase in the sale because the potential customers will start getting the smartphone in their country. There are customers who want to purchase iPhone but do not know from where to purchase. Such customers will get a chance to purchase the iPhone and subsequently the sale will increase. The introduction of low priced range for the customers of emerging economies will enable them to purchase iPhone in their budget and they will not mind spending some money for iPhone which will again result in increase in revenue of the company. References Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple, Inc.. The major competitors of Apple in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with various lines of business. The company was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. It is prime competitor of Apple in smartphone marketplace. The company also manufactures medical equipment, apparel, ships, chemicals, TV's, and a host of manufactured goods and services.. HTC is a Taiwan based consumer electronics company. The industry of company is telecommunications equipment. The company was founded on May 15, 1997. The primary products of the company are smartphones and tablets and are sold worldwide. Blackberry is Canada based multinational company. The industry of the company is telecommunications and it was founded on March 7, 1984. The company is better known for its multinational wireless telecommunications software. It also produces mobile hardware and is also popular for its smartphones. Microsoft is a United States based multinational national technology company. It was established on April 4, 1975. It produces and sells computer software, personal computers, and is better known for windows. The company recently acquired cell phone business of Nokia and emerged as a competitor of Apple. 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple manufactures and sells smartphones that bear a high price tag, so its target market is elite customers who like to purchase high quality luxury goods. Apple, Inc. serves a segment of customers who have unique needs of desires of their electronic gadgets. Apple, Inc. has seen a tremendous rising trend in the sale of iPhone since its launch and it has become most popular phone all around the world. Samsung manufactures a large range of smartphones. It caters the need of high end customers with unique features in its phones and also produces phones that are low on cost and are affordable by lower class of society. The smartphones of Samsung have seen an increasing trend, HTC and Blackberry also targets high end customers. Like Apple, it also keeps high price tag of its smartphones and caters to that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. Microsoft took over the business of (Did they acquire them or a segment of their business?) Nokia and its products are low on cost. Their customers desire more features for lower cost. 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple: The increase in trends of Apple can be attributed to its innovative features, latest technology ,and durable hardware quality. The high quality and announcement of new features has established Apple as the leader the industry and sales. Samsung: Samsung offers better designs and some unique features, but, its hardware quality is poor as compared to Apple. The latest example is Galaxy Note 5, the battery of phone started blasting and ultimately the company was forced to discontinue it. Attractive design, low price and budget smartphones has led to increasing trend. HTC and Blackberry both have nothing too special about their smartphones. They manufacture high end smartphones and compete with Apple and Samsung. They offer similar features at comparatively lower price. But owing to poor hardware quality, both the companies are losing market. Microsoft is promoting its windows phone in the market. But it is finding difficult to attract customers who are using iOS and androit software platform. Thus, the company is not able to increase its sale and market. 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. The recommendation to promote sale of iPhone in emerging economies will lead to an increase in the sale because the potential customers will start getting the smartphone in their country. There are customers who want to purchase iPhone but do not know from where to purchase. Such customers will get a chance to purchase the iPhone and subsequently the sale will increase. The introduction of smartphones in the low priced range for the customers of emerging economies will enable them to purchase iPhone in their budget. References Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple, Inc.. The major competitors of Apple in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with various lines of business. The company was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. It is prime competitor of Apple in smartphone marketplace. The company also manufactures medical equipment, apparel, ships, chemicals, TV's, and a host of manufactured goods and services.. HTC is a Taiwan based consumer electronics company. The industry of company is telecommunications equipment. The company was founded on May 15, 1997. The primary products of the company are smartphones and tablets and are sold worldwide. Blackberry is Canada based multinational company. The industry of the company is telecommunications and it was founded on March 7, 1984. The company is better known for its multinational wireless telecommunications software. It also produces mobile hardware and is also popular for its smartphones. Microsoft is a United States based multinational national technology company. It was established on April 4, 1975. It produces and sells computer software, personal computers, and is better known for windows. The company recently acquired cell phone business of Nokia and emerged as a competitor of Apple. 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple manufactures and sells smartphones that bear a high price tag, so its target market is elite customers who like to purchase high quality luxury goods. Apple, Inc. serves a segment of customers who have unique needs of desires of their electronic gadgets. Apple, Inc. has seen a tremendous rising trend in the sale of iPhone since its launch and it has become most popular phone all around the world. The sale of its smartphone has increased from 1.39 million units in 2007 to 211.88 million in year 2016. (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/globalapple-iphone-sales-since-fiscal-year-2007/) Samsung manufactures a large range of smartphones. It caters the need of high end customers with unique features in its phones and also produces phones that are low on cost and are affordable by lower class of society. The smartphones of Samsung have seen an increasing trend. The sale of Samsung smartphones has increased from 2.4 million in quarter 1 of 2010 to 77.5 million in quarter 4 of 2016. (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/299144/samsungsmartphone-shipments-worldwide/) HTC and Blackberry also targets high end customers. Like Apple, it also keeps high price tag of its smartphones and caters to that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. (Louis, T. 2013) Microsoft took over all of the devices and services business of Nokia (Johnson, L. 2014). Phones of Microsoft are low on cost as compared to iPhones (Arends, B. 2015). Their customers desire more features for lower cost. 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple: The increase in trends of Apple can be attributed to its innovative features, latest technology ,and durable hardware quality. The high quality and announcement of new features has established Apple as the leader the industry and sales. Samsung: Samsung offers better designs and some unique features, but, its hardware quality is poor as compared to Apple. The latest example is Galaxy Note 5, the battery of phone started blasting and ultimately the company was forced to discontinue it. Attractive design, low price and budget smartphones has led to increasing trend. HTC and Blackberry both have nothing too special about their smartphones. They manufacture high end smartphones and compete with Apple and Samsung. They offer similar features at comparatively lower price. But owing to poor hardware quality, both the companies are losing market. Microsoft is promoting its windows phone in the market. But it is finding difficult to attract customers who are using iOS and androit software platform. Thus, the company is not able to increase its sale and market. 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. The recommendation to promote sale of iPhone in emerging economies will lead to an increase in the sale because the potential customers will start getting the smartphone in their country. There are customers who want to purchase iPhone but do not know from where to purchase. Such customers will get a chance to purchase the iPhone and subsequently the sale will increase. The introduction of smartphones in the low priced range for the customers of emerging economies will enable them to purchase iPhone in their budget. References Arends, B. 2015) Opinion: Why I dumped my Apple iPhone for a Microsoft phone. Retrieved from: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-i-dumped-my-apple-iphone-for-amicrosoft-phone-2015-10-08 Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ Johnson, L. (2014) Microsoft completes Nokia takeover. Retrieved from: http://www.trustedreviews.comews/microsoft-completes-nokia-takeover Louis, T. (2013) The Real Price Of A Smartphone. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/09/14/the-real-cost-of-asmartphone/#5938a8915938 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple, Inc. The major competitors of Apple, Inc. in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Apple, Inc. segments the population in various groups on the basis of certain characteristics. Samsung HTC Blackberry Microsoft 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple Samsung HTC Blackberry Microsoft 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple Samsung HTC Blackberry Microsoft 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. It is a United States based multinational technology company. The products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Apple, Inc. segments the population in various groups on the basis of certain characteristics. It targets specific groups for its different products on the basis of segmentation. Apple, Inc. has observed an increasing trend in sale of iPhones. It has captured a big segment of market worldwide. Brandon (2015) suggested that in seven years Apple, Inc. has dominated with 60% of smartphone industry. Apple, Inc. serves that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. The market of iPhone is increasing because the phone has unique unmatched features and specifications. The quality of the hardware of iPhone is also high. Holding an iPhone has become a status symbol as it satisfies ego and esteem needs of the users. Apple, Inc. has a number of competitors in smartphone segment. They are increasing day by day and are introducing low quality and low priced smartphones to the customers. It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. As a result of it the revenue and profitability of the company will also increase. The iPhone leads the world market in smartphones and has a competitive edge over its competitors. HTC is a Taiwanese company. Samsung is from South Korea. Apple, Inc. and HTC are manufacturers and sellers of consumer electronics whereas Samsung deals in consumer electronics as well as in consumer durables. Microsoft has also emerged as a competitor of Apple, Inc. after acquiring Nokia of Finland. Samsung is the prime competitor of Apple, Inc. in smartphone space and keeps on introducing new smartphones to the customers. Overall, iPhone is the leader in smartphones worldwide. References Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple. The major competitors of Apple, Inc. in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Apple, Inc. segments the population in various groups on the basis of certain characteristics. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with various lines of business. The company was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. It is prime competitor of Apple in smartphone marketplace. The company also manufactures medical equipment, apparel, ships, chemicals, etc. HTC is a Taiwan based consumer electronics company. The industry of company is telecommunications equipment. The company was founded on May 15, 1997. The primary products of the company are smartphones and tablets and are sold worldwide. Blackberry is Canada based multinational company. The industry of the company is telecommunications and it was founded on March 7, 1984. The company is better known for its multinational wireless telecommunications software. It also produced mobile hardware and is also popular for its smartphones. Microsoft is a United States based multinational national technology company. It was established on April 4, 1975. It produces and sells computer software, personal computers, and is better known for windows. The company recently acquired cell phone business of Nokia and emerged as a competitor of Apple. 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple manufactures and sells smartphones that bear a high price tag, so its target market is elite customers who like to purchase high priced and high quality goods. Apple, Inc. serves that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. Apple, Inc. has seen a tremendous rising trend in the sale of iPhone since its launch and it has become most popular phone all around the world. Samsung manufactures a large range of smartphones. It caters the need of high end customers with unique features in its phones and also produces phones that are low on cost and are affordable by lower class of society. The smartphones of Samsung have seen an increasing trend, HTC and Blackberry also targets high end customers. Like Apple, it also keeps high price tag of its smartphones and caters to that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. Microsoft took over the business of Nokia and its products are low on cost. The customers who look for more features in less cost are the target market of Microsoft. 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple: The increase in trends of Apple can be attributed to its innovative features, latest technology and durable hardware quality. Owing to high quality the company has established itself at top position in the industry and its sale in increasing significantly Samsung: Samsung offers better designs and some unique features, but, its hardware quality is poor as compared to Apple. The latest example is Galaxy Note 5, the battery of phone started blasting and ultimately the company was forced to discontinue it. Attractive design, low price and budget smartphones has led to increasing trend. HTC and Blackberry both have nothing too special about their smartphones. They manufacture high end smartphones and compete with Apple and Samsung. They offer similar features at comparatively lower price. But owing to poor hardware quality, both the companies are losing market. Microsoft is promoting its windows phone in the market. But it is finding difficult to attract customers who are using iOS and androit. Thus, the company is not able to increase its sale and market. 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. The recommendation to promote sale of iPhone in emerging economies will lead to an increase in the sale because the potential customers will start getting the smartphone in their country. There are customers who want to purchase iPhone but do not know from where to purchase. Such customers will get a chance to purchase the iPhone and subsequently the sale will increase. The introduction of low priced range for the customers of emerging economies will enable them to purchase iPhone in their budget and they will not mind spending some money for iPhone which will again result in increase in revenue of the company. References Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple, Inc.. The major competitors of Apple in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with various lines of business. The company was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. It is prime competitor of Apple in smartphone marketplace. The company also manufactures medical equipment, apparel, ships, chemicals, TV's, and a host of manufactured goods and services.. HTC is a Taiwan based consumer electronics company. The industry of company is telecommunications equipment. The company was founded on May 15, 1997. The primary products of the company are smartphones and tablets and are sold worldwide. Blackberry is Canada based multinational company. The industry of the company is telecommunications and it was founded on March 7, 1984. The company is better known for its multinational wireless telecommunications software. It also produces mobile hardware and is also popular for its smartphones. Microsoft is a United States based multinational national technology company. It was established on April 4, 1975. It produces and sells computer software, personal computers, and is better known for windows. The company recently acquired cell phone business of Nokia and emerged as a competitor of Apple. 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple manufactures and sells smartphones that bear a high price tag, so its target market is elite customers who like to purchase high quality luxury goods. Apple, Inc. serves a segment of customers who have unique needs of desires of their electronic gadgets. Apple, Inc. has seen a tremendous rising trend in the sale of iPhone since its launch and it has become most popular phone all around the world. Samsung manufactures a large range of smartphones. It caters the need of high end customers with unique features in its phones and also produces phones that are low on cost and are affordable by lower class of society. The smartphones of Samsung have seen an increasing trend, HTC and Blackberry also targets high end customers. Like Apple, it also keeps high price tag of its smartphones and caters to that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. Microsoft took over the business of (Did they acquire them or a segment of their business?) Nokia and its products are low on cost. Their customers desire more features for lower cost. 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple: The increase in trends of Apple can be attributed to its innovative features, latest technology ,and durable hardware quality. The high quality and announcement of new features has established Apple as the leader the industry and sales. Samsung: Samsung offers better designs and some unique features, but, its hardware quality is poor as compared to Apple. The latest example is Galaxy Note 5, the battery of phone started blasting and ultimately the company was forced to discontinue it. Attractive design, low price and budget smartphones has led to increasing trend. HTC and Blackberry both have nothing too special about their smartphones. They manufacture high end smartphones and compete with Apple and Samsung. They offer similar features at comparatively lower price. But owing to poor hardware quality, both the companies are losing market. Microsoft is promoting its windows phone in the market. But it is finding difficult to attract customers who are using iOS and androit software platform. Thus, the company is not able to increase its sale and market. 1d.) What recommendations would you give to the brand managers of your favorite brand to increase the trend line for the future? It is suggested to the brand managers of Apple, Inc. to promote the sale of its iPhones in emerging economies. These are the countries which have the potential customers to purchase iPhones. The brand managers should also work on introducing new range of iPhones with lower price tag. The lower priced iPhones should target the emerging economies in particular. The other recommendation is to increase the models of the iPhone. It will lead to an increase in the customer base of the company. 1e.) Provide a recommendation and explanation for why it would be a good choice, and mention why the target market would react to recommendation. Make sure the recommendation will work given all other information. The recommendation to promote sale of iPhone in emerging economies will lead to an increase in the sale because the potential customers will start getting the smartphone in their country. There are customers who want to purchase iPhone but do not know from where to purchase. Such customers will get a chance to purchase the iPhone and subsequently the sale will increase. The introduction of smartphones in the low priced range for the customers of emerging economies will enable them to purchase iPhone in their budget. References Brandon (2015) 18 Key Apple Target Market Demographics. Retrieved from: http://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/ 1.) Go to Google Trends at google.com/trends and search for your favorite brand and two or three of your favorite brand competitors. My favorite brand is Apple, Inc.. The major competitors of Apple in the smartphone marketplace are Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, and Microsoft. 1a.)Provide a brief description of each company. Apple, Inc. is a United States based multinational technology company. The multi-line products of Apple, Inc. are sold worldwide and are known for their high quality and unmatchable features. Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate with various lines of business. The company was founded on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chul. It is prime competitor of Apple in smartphone marketplace. The company also manufactures medical equipment, apparel, ships, chemicals, TV's, and a host of manufactured goods and services.. HTC is a Taiwan based consumer electronics company. The industry of company is telecommunications equipment. The company was founded on May 15, 1997. The primary products of the company are smartphones and tablets and are sold worldwide. Blackberry is Canada based multinational company. The industry of the company is telecommunications and it was founded on March 7, 1984. The company is better known for its multinational wireless telecommunications software. It also produces mobile hardware and is also popular for its smartphones. Microsoft is a United States based multinational national technology company. It was established on April 4, 1975. It produces and sells computer software, personal computers, and is better known for windows. The company recently acquired cell phone business of Nokia and emerged as a competitor of Apple. 1b.) Provide a brief description of their trends and how each company serves their target market. Apple manufactures and sells smartphones that bear a high price tag, so its target market is elite customers who like to purchase high quality luxury goods. Apple, Inc. serves a segment of customers who have unique needs of desires of their electronic gadgets. Apple, Inc. has seen a tremendous rising trend in the sale of iPhone since its launch and it has become most popular phone all around the world. The sale of its smartphone has increased from 1.39 million units in 2007 to 211.88 million in year 2016. (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/globalapple-iphone-sales-since-fiscal-year-2007/) Samsung manufactures a large range of smartphones. It caters the need of high end customers with unique features in its phones and also produces phones that are low on cost and are affordable by lower class of society. The smartphones of Samsung have seen an increasing trend. The sale of Samsung smartphones has increased from 2.4 million in quarter 1 of 2010 to 77.5 million in quarter 4 of 2016. (Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/299144/samsungsmartphone-shipments-worldwide/) HTC and Blackberry also targets high end customers. Like Apple, it also keeps high price tag of its smartphones and caters to that segment of customers who have unique needs of gadgets. (Louis, T. 2013) Microsoft took over all of the devices and services business of Nokia (Johnson, L. 2014). Phones of Microsoft are low on cost as compared to iPhones (Arends, B. 2015). Their customers desire more features for lower cost. 1c.) To what could you attribute the increases or decreases in each company's trends over time and reasons as to why it may be happening? Apple: The increase in trends of Apple can be attributed to its innovative features, latest technology ,and durable hardware quality. The high quality and announcement of new features has established Apple as the leader the industry and sales. Samsung: Samsung offers better designs and some unique features, but, its hardware quality is poor as compared to Apple. The latest example is Galaxy Not