USS Monitor in the American Civil War

One of the first ironclads constructed for the US Navy, the origins of USS Monitor began with changes in naval ordnance during the 1820s. Early in that decade, French artillery officer Henri-Joseph Paixhans developed a mechanism that allowed for shells to be fired with flat trajectory, high-powered naval guns. Trials using the old ship-of-the-line Pacificateur (80 guns) in 1824 showed that exploding shells could inflict significant damage on traditional wooden hulls. Refined over the next decade, shell-firing guns based on Paixhans design were common in the worlds leading navies by the 1840s. Rise of the Ironclad Recognizing wooden ships vulnerability to shells, Americans Robert L. and Edwin A. Stevens began the design of an armored floating battery in 1844. Forced to re-evaluate the design due to rapid advances in shell technology, the project came to a halt a year later when Robert Stevens fell ill. Though resurrected in 1854, the Stevens vessel never came to fruition. During this same period, the French successfully experimented with armored floating batteries during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Based on these results, the French Navy launched the worlds first ocean-going ironclad, La Gloire, in 1859. This was followed by the Royal Navys HMS Warrior (40) a year later. Union Ironclads With the start of the Civil War, the US Navy convened an Ironclad Board in August 1861 to assess potential designs for armored warships. Calling for proposals for iron-clad steam vessels of war, the board sought vessels capable of operating in the shallow waters along the American coast. The board was further spurred to action due to reports that the Confederacy was seeking to convert the captured remains of USS Merrimack (40) into an ironclad. The board ultimately selected three designs to be constructed: USS Galena (6), USS  Monitor (2), and USS New Ironsides (18) Monitor was designed by Swedish-born inventor John Ericsson who had previously had a falling out with the Navy in the wake of the 1844 USS Princeton disaster which had killed six people including Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Gilmer. Though he had not intended to submit a design, Ericsson became involved when  Cornelius S. Bushnell consulted him regarding the Galena project. In the course of the meetings, Ericsson showed Bushnell his own concept for an ironclad and was encouraged to submit his revolutionary design. Design Consisting of a revolving turret mounted on a low armored deck, the design was likened to a cheese box on a raft. Possessing a low freeboard, only the ships turret, stacks, and small armored pilot house projected above the hull. This almost non-existent profile made the ship very difficult to hit, though it also meant that it performed badly on the open sea and was prone to swamping. Highly impressed by Ericssons innovative design, Bushnell traveled to Washington and convinced the Navy Department to authorize its construction. The contract for the ship was given to Ericsson and work began in New York. Construction Subcontracting the construction of the hull to Continental Iron Works in Brooklyn, Ericsson ordered the ships engines from Delamater Co. and the turret from Novelty Iron Works, both of New York City. Working at a frenetic pace, Monitor was ready for launch within 100 days of being laid down. Entering the water on January 30, 1862, workers began finishing and fitting out the ships interior spaces. On February 25 work was completed and Monitor commissioned with Lieutenant John L. Worden in command. Sailing from New York two days later, the ship was forced to return after its steering gear failed. USS Monitor - General Nation: United StatesBuilder: Continental Iron Works, Brooklyn, NYLaid Down: October 1861Launched: January 30, 1862Commissioned: February 25, 1862 Fate: Lost at sea, December 31, 1862 Specifications Type: Monitor-class ironcladDisplacement: 987 tonsLength: 172 ft.Beam: 41 ft. 6 in.Draft: 10 ft. 6 in.Complement: 59Speed: 8 knots Armament 2 x XI-inch Dahlgren smoothbores Operational History Following repairs, Monitor departed New York on March 6, this time under tow, with orders to proceed to Hampton Roads. On March 8, the newly completed Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia steamed down the Elizabeth River and struck at the Union squadron at Hampton Roads. Unable to pierce Virginias armor, the wooden Union ships were helpless and the Confederate succeeded in sinking the sloop of war USS Cumberland and frigate USS Congress. As darkness fell, Virginia withdrew with the intention of returning the next day to finish off the remaining Union ships. That night Monitor arrived and took up a defensive position. Returning the next morning, Virginia encountered Monitor as it approached USS Minnesota. Opening fire, the two ships began the worlds first battle between ironclad warships. Pounding each other for over four hours, neither was able to inflict significant damage on the other. Though Monitors heavier guns were able to crack Virginias armor, the Confederates scored a hit on their adversarys pilot house temporarily blinding Worden. Unable to defeat Monitor, Virginia withdrew leaving Hampton Roads in Union hands. For the rest of the spring, Monitor remained, guarding against another attack by Virginia. During this time, Virginia attempted to engage Monitor on several occasions but was refused as Monitor was under presidential orders to avoid battle unless absolutely required. This was due to President Abraham Lincolns fear that the ship would be lost allowing Virginia to take control of the Chesapeake Bay. On May 11, after Union troops captured Norfolk, the Confederates burned Virginia. Its nemesis removed, Monitor began participating in regular operations, including reconnaissance of the James River to Drurys Bluff on May 15. After supporting Major General George McClellans Peninsula Campaign in the summer, Monitor participated in the Union blockade at Hampton Roads that fall. In December, the ship received orders to proceed south to aid in operations against Wilmington, NC. Departing under tow by USS Rhode Island, Monitor cleared the Virginia Capes on December 29. Two nights later, it began to take water as it encountered a storm and high waves off Cape Hatteras. Foundering, Monitor sank along with sixteen of its crew. Though in service for less than a year, it profoundly influenced warship design and several similar ships were built for the Union Navy. In 1973, the wreck was discovered sixteen miles southeast of Cape Hatteras. Two years later it was designated a national marine sanctuary. At this time, some artifacts, such as the ships propeller, were removed from the wreck. In 2001, recovery efforts began to salvage the ships steam engine. The next year, Monitors innovative turret was raised. These have all been taken to the Mariners Museum in Newport News, VA for preservation and display.

Kpop Influence Essay - 587 Words

The Korean pop music, commonly referred to as K-pop (it being an abbreviation of the term Korean pop), has actually become a greater part of the Korean pop. The K-pops popularity has been notably attributed to individualism and also talent. It is also worth noting that the music has been having a wide diversity through the collaboration with different musicians. K-pop has been however termed as being widely manufactured. In the recent years, the Korean entertainment companies are now heavily depending on the YouTube as a key medium for the purpose of spreading of the Korean culture. K-pop music has actually been, and is increasingly music for charlatans. There always been a place for those who are unable to neither play instrument nor†¦show more content†¦In order for one to well comprehend whether the Korean pop music is really mature or not, there are various aspects one ought to consider. First it is apparent that the Korean music industry is actually aging and not just the alleged sense of number increment. A number of idols that seems endless have had a constant debuting, giving singers in other genres no single chance to at least reach for the spotlight before its disappearance. Those who are the industry representatives universally agree that the very industry happens to be in a desperate need for quick and urgent measures. The industrys immaturity has led to many agreeing that the apparent possibility of success as pertains to todays current market with what is being referred to as normal music is just 0%. Allegations put forward to support the fact is that for example the idol groups of the first generation the likes of H.O.T, Sechskies, Fin.K.L and also the S.E.S were all termed as a shock and actually unconventional as they were mere high scholars, an average of 17-19 years old. Over the years, the concept has gone through many transformations and now includes the junior school students who apparently are younger than 15 years. Involvement of such young people in the industry makes it lack the sense of maturity even in the eyes of the rest of theShow MoreRelatedKpop influence filipino teenagers1780 Words   |  8 Pagesinfluenced their fandom. Statement of the Problem This study intends to determine the Influence of Korean music (K-Pop) to Flipino Teenagers. Specifically, this research intends to answer the following questions: Why do Filipino Teenagers like K-Pop? Why does Filipino Teenagers get addicted to K-Pop? How does Korean Music (K-Pop) influence Filipino Teenagers? How can Music Authorities influence Filipino Teenagers to patronize OPM? Objectives of the Study This Research intends toRead MoreWinter Wave : The Korean Wave And The Korean Wave936 Words   |  4 Pageswith gangsters, and etc. while rapping, and singing. 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The factory farms normally hold a large number of animals Free Essays

Factory farming can be perceived as an enterprising activity that is aimed at increasing the animals’ productivity at the lowest cost   possible so as to increase the profit margins while meeting the huge market demands. The factory farms normally hold a large number of animals, and mostly cows, pigs, chickens and also turkeys indoors, and the purpose of holding these animals is to produce milk, meat and eggs at the cost effective production level. A wide range of artificial applications are practiced in order to improve the animals’ health and production and they include   the application of growth hormones, vitamin supplements and also the use of antimicrobial agents. We will write a custom essay sample on The factory farms normally hold a large number of animals or any similar topic only for you Order Now Due to the large number of animals within a small area, their movements and actions are restricted as these movements and actions are considered to be unnecessary, as the main objective of the farm is to increase productivity which will definitely imply high profits. The breeding of these animals while in factory farms is controlled by limiting the animals to the production of certain breeds which are likely to be productive depending on the manipulated genetically compositions. The paper emphases on the various practices in the factory farms on animals and their impact on the animals, the environment and also the effect on humanity as the consumers of these products. The paper ends by giving the possible measure that can be put in place to correct evils of factory farms if any as identified in the following arguments. The treatment of animals in factory farms can be perceived as being unfair if the animals are to be regarded as living things which are liable to respond to irritations and other stimuli. The animals that are held in the factory farms are treated unfairly at the expense of the farm owners trying to maximize their profits, hence treating animals like just production units. The animals in factory farms   which are held for the production of meat, eggs and milk are subjected to animal abuse, genetic compositions are alterations to produce the desired breeds with high productivity levels, they are over crowded and confined in cages which restricts their movements and certain behavioral actions, they are subjected to cruel mutilation, they are handled in a harsh manner, neglected, and they are slaughtered in an inhumane manner (Seitz 216). All the above mentioned unfair treatment of the animals in factory farms has been occurring and is certain to continue increasing as the demand for the products from these animals increase. This scenario of animal abuse has been enabled by the fact that there is no federal   legal protection for these animals like in the case of dogs and cats where these acts are likely to be illegal, which portrays the biasness in the application of law (Francione Watson 145). The farm animals are equivalent to dogs and cats who are cherished as champions as they less sensitive, intelligent and responsive to pain than the dogs and cats thus they need a fair treatment. The animals that are kept in cages, are deprived their freedom to move and also the liberty to exercise, and rather their energies are preserved so as to increase their productivity (Armstrong and Botzler 180). The animals are fed with drugs with an aim of fattening them faster and getting genetically manipulated to grow faster, produce a lot of milk than they can produce naturally and also the laying of eggs made quicker and the quality of eggs ensured. This treatment of the factory farm animal is unfair because it is likely to impose stress on the animals making them to develop some behaviors which are not natural because they are over strained to meet a given production level which is high above the natural level, thus over capacity utilization. This situation also posses the risk of loosing the indigenous breeds due to the genetic manipulation, which eliminates the indigenous traits in animals. There is also a risk of a certain species of animal going into extinction as the genetically modified animals are meant for some specific purposes like the production of meat, egg or milk, while ignoring to consider the future existence of these animals because these genetically modifications are meant to meet the immediate need for profit maximization and not considering the possibilities for the animals to ensure generational progress, without forgetting side effects inherent in the manipulations which might come up later in the future generations including the infertility of the animals (Kistler 90). How to cite The factory farms normally hold a large number of animals, Papers

Marketing & Management of Apple

Question: Describe about the Marketing Management of Apple? Answer: Introduction The marketing function has emerged as an important support function for large organizations like Apple Inc. Macs, which are designed by Apple, are considered the best computers in personal computers in the world, with OS X, iWork, iLife and professional software as the series of operating software and supporting software for the computer. Apple is also leading in the digital music revolution with iTunesonline and iPods that are consistently being upgraded as per customer requirements. Also, the mobile market was too reinvented by Apple with the revolutionary products like iPhone and AppStore (Carew, 2012). They have also been a pioneer in the mobile tablet market with its iPad. Apple vision statement Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings Section 1: Understanding the concepts and process of marketing Elements of Marketing Process Product IPhone differentiates it product by combining an iPod, mobile phone and Internet communication device in a single unique product as a value proposition (Maria, 2012). Features like desktop class emails, searching, maps and web browsing are some of the features compatible both with Mac and Windows based personal computer, which is based upon Multi-Touch interface that company provides. Automatic sync is provided from users iTunes libraries and with the bookmarks, contacts and email accounts. iTunes stores (Carly, 2012) are provided for the user to download video and audio files in an iPhone. Also, the company allows the third party to sell their products along with their own stores exclusively selling the product. Apple focuses on quality and fundamental parts, which is why it provides splendid features releasing not so many versions of the phone. Apple also provides its own operating system and other applications made in house. Price In an industry where profit margins are low, and the industry is facing huge competition with multiple players trying to wage a price war, Apple is one of the few who offer products, which are different from the already existing products. Apple focuses on quality and fundamental parts, which is why it provides splendid features releasing not so many versions of the phone. Apple also provides its own operating system and other applications made in house. Promotion Users training, smart advertising, and customer instructions are some of the tools that are being used by the company for its promotional activity. Apple focuses on its relationship with the customer, using word of mouth as its main promotional activity apart from advertisements it creates to touch customer life. Apple focuses on customer retention more rather that market penetration to acquire more customers through offers, discounts, free shipping, etc. Place Apple focuses on providing the right product to the right customer in required quantity and at the right place. In most of the countries, Apple stores can be found except for some third world countries like UK and Europe where the demand is less. The country list as per the Apple support bylaws is very limited and covers region like Asia Pacific as their main market with Australia and New Zealand covering most of the customer needs. Physical Layout Manufacturing dominated the economy in the past need not required physical layouts to be very important for the customers as they never went inside a factory ever. But now times have changed making physical layouts more important than ever. Apple has been a pioneer in this section as well. They ensure that proper merchandising is in place, retail shops having the required product with equally trained employees to help customers understand key offerings of the company, clothing stores with Apples merchandise are some of the areas Apple focuses on. Provision of customer service Modern service industry considers customer service a key essential part with many companies now realizing its power. Better face-to-face interactions, telephonic support services have helped Apple increase the customer loyalty towards the company. The company is always ready to serve the customers who are not satisfied with Apple products. For example, Steve Jobs announced earlier that it would provide a credit of $100 to every customer in iTunes if they feel they have bought the phone at a higher price and are not happy with the product. Processes There are different processes associated with customer service that helps make marketing activity a success (Colin, 2013). Processes for handling orders, processes for handling customer complaints, processes for handling identifying key needs and requirements of a customer to name a few are very important. Customer law (Apple support) provides 1 year Warranty and AppleCare Protection plan benefits to every customer. Benefits and Costs of Marketing orientation Apple Inc. follows both Product oriented and marketing (David, 2012) oriented strategy. It is difficult to differentiate which strategy it majorly focuses on. It is considered product oriented because it focuses on the quality of the product it offers to the customers and uses innovation (Alan, 2012) as a prime tool to penetrate new market segments. Competitive advantage is the prime motive and Apple uses it to ensure that its product is offering more value proposition (Sameer, 2012) than the other competitors products in the market. Apple do not launch many versions of its products but ensures that the product it offer to its customer each time has valuable features and different value proposition (Son, 2015) than its competitors. It can be considered Marketing oriented because if its wide use of marketing research to ensure continuous improvement and development of its products. It also uses innovation not just to ensure better quality but also to launch new products, which may att ract new customers. Apple has always been a customer-oriented company, which is why they ensure that the customer gets the best product through use of extensive innovation. There are different benefits and cost associated with this kind of strategy. Building customer Value (Albajes, 2012) Through market-oriented approach customer loyalty can be increased thus helping the company to increase repeat sales from the existing customers. Also, the threat from customers is also reduced as the customer is satisfied with the quality and value companys (Billy, 2013) products offer. Responding to Demands Using extensive use of marketing research Apple in the past has successful understood the requirements of the customer, which is why they have been successful in cutting down cost by eliminating products, which have less or no demand and incur a loss to the firm? This helps the company to reduce guessing and forecasting trends and patterns about customer requirement and work on only those features that the customer wants. Increasing value (Steve, 2012) increasing cost Increasing the value of the product also increases the costs that are to be incurred by the company to make that product. For example, by giving warranties and support as per the customer demand can increase the cost of maintenance staff and training to be provided to the support staff. These are some of the many costs that are to be incurred by the company. Extensive and Expensive Research For a successful (Roger, 2014) marketing oriented strategy, extensive research is required which needs a lot of resources to be deployed. This eventually helps the company to know the requirements of the customers but also increases the hiring cost for these market research activities. The costs of the research rely on the fact that how much of in-depth research is required by the company. Section 2: Understanding and using the concepts of Segmentation, targeting and positioning Macro and Micro Environmental Factors Micro environmental factors are the factors that affect the internal environment of the company directly or indirectly having both positive and negative effects on the key operations (Baldwin, 2015) of the company. Following is the SWOT analysis of Apple that clearly tells about the micro environmental factor of the company. Macro-environmental factors are the factors that affect the external environment of the company directly or indirectly having both positive and negative effects on the brand reputation of the company. Strengths Weakness Brand Reputation Customer Loyalty Innovation in the market Financial Performance Strong marketing and advertising team Product Recalls Relatively higher price Patent infringements/ patent series Opportunity Threats Market share growth in Asia/Pacific region High end accessories and support software to service-oriented countries like BRICS Gross margin pressure Competition Google entering the market with NEXUS Political Political influence is a very crucial part to measure macro-environmental factor of Apple as 52% (Sultan, 2012) of the products sold by Apple in 2010 were outside United States due to political crisis between the USA and other countries. Economic The global economic crisis seems to be one of the most crucial problems that has in past affected the sales and revenues of the company. Currency fluctuation due to global turmoil has greatly affected the companys sales. Social Apple has always considered customers as their most important asset and has always developed their products as per customers social cultural activities. Designs are developed as per the global needs and requirements with Apple focusing upon key services like iCloud and iTunes. Technology Innovation and RD have always been key processes that are always in line with the customer requirements. Apple has always been regarded as one of the most innovative technology (Juliana, 2013) gathering company, which can be seen in its key offering it provides to its customers. Segmentation for any company can mainly be divided into following variables. Demographic variables such as Age, Religion, Family Size, Race, Education, Occupation, Ethnicity, Gender, Income, Family life cycle and Social Class Geographic Variables such as Population, City, Density, Urban, Region, Size, Suburban, Market, Climate and rural Psychographic Variables such a Motives, Personality attributes and Lifestyles Behavioristic Variables such as End-use, Volume usage, Brand loyalty, Benefit expectations and Price sensitivity Apple iPhone majorly targets the people within the age group of 18 to 40 years with a major focus on people who are interested in buying new technology. Apple also tries to target more males than females due to their high interest in games; applications and features such as The Internet enabled devices, which are mostly being used by the male population as compared to the female one. Students belonging to a high class or higher middle class are the ones buying Apple products due to the prices of the product and high-end features the product provides. The products of Apple are firstly sold in the USA, Some parts of Europe and UK because of the competition and better infrastructure they give to the company. Apple always says that products it makes are more of an experience than an electronic device. Apple is a company, which primarily targets the customers who are concerned with design, style, and simplicity of the product. Innovation is one of the key operations at Apple through which the company can target these people. All Apple products have an interactive user interface with both style and ease of use. Apple uses many segments and targets them for successful selling of their products. Matt Asay says that Apple offers its customer to decide how and where they want to use their products. Apple targets Teenagers, business professionals, college students, young children and kids and adults for marketing their product. Forbes considers Apple one of the unique marketers. Apple has invested a lot in observing different patterns and had worked extensively on market research to understand the requirements of the customers. How buyer behavior affects marketing situation in different buying situation Understanding buyer behavior has become indeed one of the most important things for any company whether it is a local technology company or multinational technology company like Apple. Tools such as questionnaires and other market research tools help the company understand different buyer behavior and act accordingly. Two different situations in which buyer behavior affects marketing situation are- Social Media Campaigns: This platform has become one of the most influential methods for marketing campaigns and to know the acceptance of the product to be launched. Launching a new product and a great response to the product online can help the company understand the acceptance of the product and also in the marketing of the product. Pricing: Offering special discounts or promotional offers to bring loyal customers to the store and even some new customer to try companys products. By analyzing how much money customers are happy to spend, how often customer spend and the type of product they are willing to buy help the company in better pricing of the product. Positioning as per Kotler can be defined as perspective of a consumer mind on what he thinks about the brand. Apple positions its products in the mind of people as high premium products having a high degree of innovation through extensive use of research and development and targets people having good lifestyle buying luxury items. Apples products are premium products with high price and exclusive features at the same time over other competitors products. Apples image and reputation has enabled the company to quote products at such prices and users buying the products without any query. Apple has changed the way people look at electronic items being used daily. Apple helps user experience the product through exclusive features it provides through innovation. Apple has ensured that no one can copy its products through many patents it has for every unique feature it provides to its customer for which it quotes such high prices. Section 3: Understanding the individual items of the extended marketing mix Competitive Advantage Apple products are developed to sustain competitive advantage to compete in such dynamic and low-profit margin industry in which most companies are facing problems. Apple over years has ensured that customers using Apple can easily differentiate the product and wide variety of features that are provided to the customers. The competitive advantage that the product provides to the customers is. Protective ecosystem: Unlike other companies, Apple has its own operating system named iOS which has helped the company differentiate its products from those who are using a common platform like Android, Windows etc. During a survey done in the USA by Simonlycontracts.co.uk, it was found that 78% of the iPhone users thought that they couldnt imagine using any other phone and 59% said that they do not want to change because of the brand loyalty they have. Other companies have to compete with each other as Android is open source and anyone can make their own devices as per there requirements and sell at a lower price. Brand Appeal: Apple is one of the few technology brands, which are considered a luxury brand. During a survey done by Hurun Research Institute, it was reported that Apple is considered most luxury brand in China in 2014 beating brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc. ITunes and Digital Asset Management: Apple is not just an electronic company but also a digital asset management company through extensive control over iTunes. Apple through use of this manages credit card information of almost 100 million customers, which shows the extent of loyalty, and trust customers have over the company. Distribution providing customer convenience Distribution channel related decisions should be based upon the expectation regarding where the customers are most likely to buy the product. The aim of any business is to reduce the overall distribution cost keeping them at low as possible. This would include inventory, storage, and transportation. Marketing management is used to decide the intensive, exclusive or selective network of distribution, depending upon the kind of product to be sold. Right choice regarding these factors along with appropriate wholesaler or dealer helps create competitive leverage, which Apple has successfully achieved. Apple has created a brand image of the luxury item for which people dont mind visiting places far off to visit exclusive stores of the company. In an interview, Tim Cook once said that companys objective was never to sell a low cost phone but to sell a great phone that enables the user to have a great experience. They just do it while figuring it out at a lower price than its competitors. Four pillars upon which Steve Jobs strategized the companys objectives are (1) focusing on the higher end (2) offering a small number of products (3) making people starve for company products by creating a halo effect (4) giving priority to profit share over market share. Apple focuses on four pillars stated above to offer product, which is best in class and provides user interactive features, which enables the user to do things which other companys product do not. Promotional activities Apple has always worked to achieve better high end products enabling it to be the best out in the market. Users training, smart advertising, and customer instructions are some of the tools that are being used by the company for its promotional activity. Apple focuses on its relationship with the customer, using word of mouth as its main promotional activity apart from advertisements it creates to touch customer life. Apple focuses on customer retention more rather that market penetration to acquire more customers through offers, discounts, free shipping, etc. This helps the company to insure that companys objectives are in line with the promotional activities that are being done by the company to focus upon the current customers and new potential ones. Additional elements of extended marketing mix Manufacturing dominated the economy in the past need not required physical layouts to be very important for the customers as they never went inside a factory ever. But now times have changed making physical layouts more important than ever. Apple has been a pioneer in this section as well. They ensure that proper merchandising is in place, retail shops having the required product with equally trained employees to help customers understand key offerings of the company, clothing stores with Apples merchandise are some of the areas Apple focuses on. Modern service industry considers customer service a key essential part with many companies now realizing its power. Better face-to-face interactions, telephonic support services have helped Apple increase the customer loyalty towards the company. The company is always ready to serve the customers who are not satisfied with Apple products. For example, Steve Jobs announced earlier that it would provide a credit of $100 to every customer in i Tunes if they feel they have bought the phone at a higher price and are not happy with the product. There are different processes associated with customer service that helps make marketing activity a success. Processes for handling orders, processes for handling customer complaints, processes for handling identifying key needs and requirements of customers to name a few are very important. Customer law (Apple support) provides one-year Warranty, and AppleCare Protection Plan benefits to every customer. Section 4: Understand and use marketing mix in different context Marketing mixes for two different segment in consumer market In context of Apple, marketing mix should be extensively planned so as to ensure future success and remain one of the market leaders in the industry they play in. They have to ensure continuous work on the four key market mix such as Product, Place, Promotion, and Price. Product: - Mac, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch and softwares are main products that Apple is continuously working upon to dominate in consumer (Galmarinia, 2013) electronic section. But to ensure continuous growth, Apple need to continuously develop new products like Apple Smart vehicle like Google just launched as its product development intensive growth strategy. Promotion: - Premium image and quality of the product are the two things that are continuously focused upon by the companys advertising team. Marketing mix of Apple includes Advertising, Public Relations, Sales Promotion and Personal Selling. Apple has mastered this element of marketing mix very well and needed to ensure that it holds it till the end. Place: - Apples distribution strategy is very well constructed. It plans well to provide the right product to the right segment of customer at right place. Right choice regarding these factors along with appropriate wholesaler or dealer helps create competitive leverage, which Apple has successfully achieved. Apple has created a brand image of luxury item for which people dont mind visiting places far off to visit exclusive stores of the company. Price: - Apple focuses on four pillars stated below to offer product, which is best in class and provides user interactive features, which enables the user to do things, which other companys product do not. Four pillars upon which Steve Jobs strategized the companys objectives are (1) focusing on the higher end (2) offering a small number of products (3) making people starve for company products by creating a halo effect (4) giving priority to profit share over market share. Difference in marketing product and services to businesses rather than consumer market In todays market one needs to understand the particular market they are serving to be successful. Markets can be either of the two Consumer market or business market. Using two questions one can understand which market one is serving. Why is one purchasing? And who is buying the goods? Are the two questions? Sales and purchases to different businesses, market intermediaries and government by the company of either goods or services are considered a business market. On the other hand when sales and purchase are done to consumers for their own use of either goods or services is called consumer market. Marketing strategies for both the market are different by needs, wants, and behavioral patterns. In the business market, more than one decision maker is present with different people handling different aspects of buying decision. One can be an engineer; one can be purchasing manager and more. Difference of international market from domestic market Marketing can be considered an effective and efficient management of the key resources at hand and their utilization to meet the customer demands and companys objectives. It should have successful planning, conceptualizing, execution, promotion, pricing, and distribution of products. Domestic Marketing When companys products are being sold within a local financial market, it is called domestic marketing. Only one set of competition is dealt with here making it a more convenient choice. No language barriers or cultural constraints exist and understanding the consumer pattern is much easier. Thus, it helps the decision making and help developing strategies. International Market When one sells companys products and services to different countries, it is called international marketing. It is a much more complex as compared to domestic marketing and requires huge capital investment. 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