Product and Service Marketing Analysis Essay Example for Free

carrefour and returns Marketing Analysis EssayProduct and service merchandising ar extremely related. make believe the success of a caller-up like orchard apple tree, for example. The engine room giant operates nearly 400 sell stores, employs more(prenominal) than 42,000 people and hosts more than a million visitors each day. In 2012, orchard apple trees retail trading operations generated nearly $19 billion. Furthermore, its estimated that Apples Fifth Avenue store generates more than $35,000 per agora foot, making it the highest grossing retailer in New York ever. Those statistics reinforce the political partys product and service strategies of those of a highly successful company. Apple continues to hold a number one spot on a list of the worlds most admir fit companies. However, the success of Apple hasnt always been so great. It wasnt until the company combined good products with good service, that profits increased exponentially. slip 12-12 Service distinctio nApple actually had a point in business in which it struggled. 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, out of the main view of customers, as just another computer brand available on store shelves.Apple employees didnt concede enough attention to the installation of the product in the big box stores in which it was being sold, so on that point wasnt a true selling point for buyers. Also, the product delivery took a major(ip) hit. In fact, the brand became so weakened when retailers did not market the products properly, that the inventory wasnt fully stocked. time Apple products plummeted in sales, the Gateway company was reachering direct sales to consumers in its own stores, and Apple had to reinvent its business model, and quickly learn how to operate in a different manner.Less than twain years after Apple launched its retail stores, Gateway shut down all of its shops and laid off 2,500 workers. 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 right. Apple created retail stores that offer more than just a product. The stores offer a shopping companionship that consumers often give raving reviews on. That includes ordering ease, smooth delivery, clear installation, the right customer training and consulting, and simplify maintenance and repair.Slide 12-11 Product DifferentiationApple Stores are now the highest performing stores in retail history. This isnt due to just good in-store and online service. The products typically set the bar among all other technology products offered in the industry. Many Apple products come with customizable features based on a customers wants and shoots. That includes hard drive and book space, all the way down to the detail of an optional custom engraving on a pro duct. In auxiliary to the features, Apple products are known to hold superior performance graphic symbol. Sure, the products arent cheap, but 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 sustenance services. When a customer goes into an Apple store looking for a new 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 free. 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 int o their products capabilities.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, empathetic employees. Apple cofounder Steve Jobs offered a anomalous 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 for sure to the benefit of the customers, that it often means products are exactly what they want because Apple employees are so late entrenched in and committed to the customers experience.Slide 13-8 Distinctive Characteristics of ServiceWhile more consumers know the physical products Apple offers are those of high quality, the company has made it a point to succeed the evidence, and tangibilize the intangible. In doing so, Apple had to create stores that have a comely 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 swooning 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 testing use, and the floors, walls, and counter spaces are clean and tidy. In addition to that, carefully recruited and trained sales associates are encouraged to take customers on a ride. They give each willing customer a short, informative tour of the space to be able to ha ve a conversation and connect with each and every visitor. Then, of course, theres the offering of yield 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 antecedent 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 strategy is unique, but the company figure out how to attract and retain customers, generate an extremely large amount of word-of-mouth and brand charm 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 berth Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall.Moorman, C. (2012). Why Apple is a Great Marketer. Retrieved from http//www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/ on 07/23/2013.