Apple - Needs, Wants, Demands, Utility & Value

Needs are the recognition of any difference between a consumer’s actual state and some ideal or desired state. The actual state of the customer is someone without an iPhone, the desired state is someone with an iPhone. Apple, the creators of the iPhone, came to the conclusion that the need for mobility, flexibility and reliability are key to satisfying everyone involved in the marketing process. The customer has to be able to use the iPhone everywhere and always have a connection, it needs to be possible to use it the way you want it to use, and you have to be able to rely on your iPhone to work at all times.

There are a couple of types of needs, but the need for an iPhone is a social one.

The need to be in touch and to receive belonging and affection in an easy way. As an iPhone is a media product, there are five motivations for consumers to use one.

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Apple followed a few of these motivations at its best. An iPhone increases your self-confidence, status, and reassurance, you can always be involved in everything that is happening and you will never feel left out. This tells us that personal integrative needs are met. The social integrative needs are fulfilled since there is no easier way than an iPhone to talk to your friends and discuss, for instance, the same show you are watching from a different place. These two points make the key points that Apple wants to fulfil more understandable.

The way that Apple fulfils the desires of the iPhone consumers are the wants. Next to mobility, flexibility and reliability, they also stand for integration, innovation, ease of use, and high-quality user interfaces. Starting off with the outside, the iPhone is specially designed to fit comfortably in your hand, it is thin and lightweight, making it easier to use. The iPhone is one big touch screen and has almost no buttons, this makes it faster to use. With every new iPhone generation comes a better camera, letting the consumer make full high definition photo’s.

The consumers have numerous ways to entertain themselves: dozens of games, music at one touch away in good quality, and all the videos that YouTube offer can be watched. The consumer can see the latest posts on Facebook or Twitter and you can read the latest news, you will always be up-to-date. You can say that the Apple iPhone integrates almost all types of media, from music to television to games to press to the internet.

Demand results when you couple desire with buying power to satisfy a want. It is very hard to talk about demands when it comes to the Apple iPhone. Apple made such a good name for itself, that people will buy every new generation of the iPhone that will come out, without thinking anything through. Two million people pre-ordered the latest iPhone, the iPhone 5. This doubles the pre-orders for the iPhone 4S and it outnumbers (by far) the pre-orders of cell phones from Apple’s competitors. The demand for an iPhone is dramatically high, even if the quality is not that good.

The iPhone 4S was seen as a huge disappointment as it differed almost nothing from the iPhone 4, the pre-order price was $199. You would say that Apple would play it more safe with their next generation because people lost their ‘trust’ in the iPhone. Yet, Apple made the pre-order price for the iPhone 5 also $199, and as I said before, it was a huge success. This clearly shows that Apple can actually take the risks that other companies wouldn’t even dare to think off. They are in charge of the market and the demand will always stay high. Even with a fail like the iPhone 4S.

Form, place, time, and possession make up the utility marketing model. Form utility is the value a consumer sees in a finished product. The consumer sees, of course, more value in a finishes iPhone than only it’s screen or loose buttons. The form of the product attracts the consumers. You need to produce a tangible good before it grabs the attention of the consumers. Place utility is the value consumers put on where they purchase products. The Apple iPhone is sold in almost every cell phone company, Apple store, or on sites like Ebay. Apple made sure that where ever you live, an iPhone is always around the corner. Consumers don’t have to travel to buy one. If they think that around the corner is still too far, they can always order one online. Ensuring a product is available when the customer wants it adheres to time utility.

This is one where Apple has had trouble with. Apple was forced to push back the release date of the iPhone 5, resulting in a lot of negative comments from the consumers who pre-ordered it. The reason behind it was that the demand for the iPhone 5 was bigger than their stock. You need to make sure that you can provide your good when the consumer wants it and counts on it. Possession utility is the value consumers put on purchasing a product. You can by an iPhone with or without a contract.

You will pay the same amount of money every month if you have an iPhone with a contract. You can choose between 1 or 2 years, after these years you can’t use your phone anymore. You have to trade it in for another (i)phone, a newer one. If you buy it without a contract, the buying price of the iPhone is extremely high, but the months afterwards will be lower and you will always be able to use your iPhone. The consumer has choices with both pro’s and con’s. It depends on how much they want to keep their old iPhone or just trade it in after a year or two.

Value is the benefits a consumer gets from buying the product. As I said before, the Apple iPhone covers almost all media types in one. It meets up with plenty of the needs and wants of the consumers, which makes the good very beneficial. This means that consumers are prepared to pay a lot of money for the product. Although the first iPhone was seen as a huge step in technology, Apple’s competitors were able to keep up and offer the same features and functions on their phones, but in a slightly different way. Still, the iPhone stays number one of the phone sales. Apple offers the highly valuable iPhone for a high price, you would say that this makes the perceived value low. For the iPhone, this is the opposite. This makes it clear that consumers indeed think that the iPhone is valuable enough for the full price.

Sources:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/profiles/world-wide-technology/ http://suite101.com/article/an-introduction-to-apple-computer-inc-a219539 http://www.forbes.com/sites/connieguglielmo/2012/09/17/apple-says-iphone-5-demand-outstrips-supply-as-pre-orders-shatter-previous-record/ http://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-types-utility-marketing-24420.html http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/apple-forced-to-push-back-some-iphone-5-orders-due-to-heavy-demand-267577