Target Market and Apple

Marketing

The demographics of Apple's target market are generally educated and well-employed, because their products are priced at a premium. Usually between 20-40 years of age, with a degree or a student working towards a degree. The target market is typically a professional, working in an office. The target market is more often urban, or possibly in a wealthier suburb. The Macbook Pro-is a high end computer and there are many small business and enterprise users. The product specifically appeals to consumers who require a lot of computing power for the work that they do. The largest market for the company is the United States, which has roughly 52% of its population in the bounds of its target market, with a high per capita GDP that means a large percentage of this 160 million fits within its target market economically for its range of computers (CIA World Factbook, 2016). Analysts have estimated that the total market potential of the company is much higher than believed because of its moves into other products, like the watch and its reported move into automotive (Dewitt, 2016).

Apple's products have become essential items to most consumers, in particular those within its target demographic. In terms of psychographics, Apple has several distinguishing features. It targets users who appreciate some element of style in their electronics. The company also targets users who seek a high end product, or at least one perceived to be high end. Their choice of electronic says something about themselves, which stands in contrast to consumers of many of Apple's competitors. This market also wants its electronics to be easy -- it is not looking for a complicated purchase decision, and to that end Apple has eliminated a lot of the friction involved in the buying process.

A SWOT analysis can help to elaborate on Apple's situation. The company has the world's most valuable brand (Interbrand, 2016). Its products are solid, and after the Galaxy Note problems are the clear leaders among smartphones. The company has strong brand loyalty, an exceptional balance sheet, and a proven leadership team. All told, Apple is one of the best-run companies in the world. It has few weaknesses, though its price points have allowed competitors to enter markets and win majority share, and this has happened multiple times to Apple as products become commoditized.

For the past few years, there have been limited market opportunities for Apple -- it has made few meaningful changes to its products, and no new opportunities have emerged. So the company still makes a lot of money, but until a new means of consumer electronics consumption is developed, Apple may have to settle for being a cash cow. Commoditization is one of the only major threats to Apple, as it has proven immune to strong competition and global recession. As prices for consumer electronics are driven down, and Apple does not lower its prices, it is basically content to skim the top 20% or so of any given market. So it is always vulnerable in terms of market share, and new entrants. All told, Apple's many strengths have it well-positioned to identify and exploit new opportunities, and there are not that many meaningful threats to the company as it has successfully parried some substantial threats in the past (the Great Recession, Samsung's rise, Android's rise).

The biggest potential future opportunity for Apple lies in cars. Basically, Apple has long been rumored to be developing a self-driving car, but it is more likely to partner with somebody on this, and provide computer systems to such a vehicle, which would essentially become another place for consumers to consume electronics, as they sit in a car that does its own driving. Such a development would provide an incredible amount of additional consumption that would benefit Apple as a diversified, integrated media company with consumer electronics as the mode of delivery. This is the opportunity that has driven Morgan Stanley's optimistic estimates of future market size for Apple (Dewitt, 2016).

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