In Their Personal Lives, People Routinely Purchase Goods Or ✓ Solved

In their personal lives, people routinely purchase goods or

In their personal lives, people routinely purchase goods or services. Describe how a marketer could develop differing marketing strategies to target your personal use of goods or services. Provide a real-world example of a marketer who does this, and include links to relevant marketing pieces to illustrate your example.

Paper For Above Instructions

Overview

Consumers regularly buy tangible products (goods) and intangible offerings (services) to meet needs, wants, and maintenance requirements. Marketers must deploy distinct, often complementary strategies to influence decisions about goods versus services because each has different attributes (tangibility, perishability, variability, and inseparability). This paper explains how a marketer could design differing strategies to target my personal use of goods and services, then presents Apple Inc. as a real-world example demonstrating these dual approaches with links to marketing pieces.

Segmenting Personal Use: Goods vs. Services

First, effective targeting begins with segmentation. For goods, segmentation often emphasizes product attributes, price sensitivity, lifestyle, and usage frequency (Kotler & Keller, 2016). For services, segmentation should incorporate relationship stage, service needs, timing, and trust factors because services are consumed over time and often require ongoing interaction (Zeithaml, Bitner, & Gremler, 2018). For my personal context, goods segments include durable devices (e.g., smartphones), consumables (groceries, toiletries), and discretionary items (gadgets). Service segments include subscription entertainment, cloud storage, and device repair plans.

Positioning and Value Proposition

Marketers must craft differentiated value propositions. For goods, the proposition stresses product features, build quality, design, and one-time purchase benefits (e.g., camera quality, battery life). For services, the proposition highlights benefits over time: convenience, subscriptions bundling, reliability, customer support, and updates (Berry, 1983). Communication for goods should leverage sensory appeal and product demonstrations; for services, emphasize trust, reviews, guarantees, and experience quality (HBR, 2010).

Product Strategy and Development

Goods strategy involves product line decisions, packaging, SKUs, and refresh cycles. A marketer targeting my smartphone purchase would focus on spec improvements, limited editions, and upgrade incentives. Services strategy focuses on modularity, tiers, and seamless integration. For cloud backup or streaming services used on the same smartphone, the marketer would offer tiered plans, family sharing, and cross-sell bundles to remove friction and increase lifetime value (McKinsey, 2020).

Promotion and Messaging

Promotion for goods emphasizes demonstrations, reviews, comparative specs, and scarcity or launch events. For services, messaging should lead with outcomes, convenience, recurring value, and social proof (reviews/testimonials). Digital tactics differ: product pages and influencer unboxings work well for goods, while email onboarding flows, free trials, and in-app notifications are more effective for services (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016).

Pricing and Distribution

Goods pricing can use one-time MSRP, promotional discounts, and bundled accessories. Distribution channels include retail, e-commerce, and carrier partnerships for devices. Services typically use subscription pricing, freemium models, and trial periods; distribution relies on app stores, direct sign-up, and in-platform upsells. For my personal use, a marketer could offer device financing or trade-in credit to lower the purchase barrier for goods while simultaneously promoting a service bundle (e.g., extended warranty, cloud backup) as a subscription add-on (Forbes, 2021).

Customer Experience and Retention

Goods marketing emphasizes warranty, packaging experience, and point-of-sale satisfaction; aftercare includes easy returns and repair options. Service marketing emphasizes onboarding, reliable delivery, customer support, and continuous engagement (renewal reminders, content updates). For personal targeting, a marketer should ensure a seamless handoff from product activation to service enrollment to lock in recurring revenue and build loyalty (HBR, 2018).

Data and Personalization

Personal data enables personalization in both arenas but with different focal points. For goods, data drives targeted ads based on browsing and spec-compare behavior. For services, usage analytics enable personalized recommendations, retention offers, and churn prediction. Privacy and transparent policies are crucial for services that hold user data (McKinsey, 2020).

Real-world Example: Apple

Apple illustrates how a single marketer executes differentiated strategies for goods (iPhone hardware) and services (Apple One, iCloud, Apple Music). For goods—the iPhone—Apple uses product-centric launches, cinematic ads emphasizing hardware features (camera, design), in-store demos, carrier partnerships, and financing/trade-in programs to motivate purchase (Apple iPhone product page). Promotional campaigns such as "Shot on iPhone" highlight tangible image quality and user creativity (Apple, iPhone photography).

For services—Apple One, iCloud, Apple Music—Apple emphasizes ongoing value: seamless integration across devices, family sharing, curated content, and privacy promises. Service marketing uses subscription pricing, free trial periods, in-device prompts, and cross-selling within iOS to convert device owners into paying subscribers (Apple One bundle page). Apple’s services ads and web pages focus on experience, convenience, and trust rather than single-instance product specs (Apple Services pages).

By bundling services with hardware incentives (e.g., free trial of Apple TV+ or iCloud storage for new device activations), Apple uses a coordinated approach: hardware purchase drives service adoption, and services increase stickiness and lifetime revenue (Statista; Forbes analysis). Examples of Apple marketing pieces include the official iPhone product page (goods) and the Apple One bundle page (services):

Implementation Example for My Personal Use

For my next device purchase and ongoing digital needs, a marketer should (1) run product launch ads emphasizing camera and battery improvements; (2) offer trade-in credit and 0% financing to convert price-sensitive buyers; (3) present bundled services with a compelling first-year discount and easy opt-in during device setup; (4) use onboarding emails and in-app nudges to highlight service benefits like family sharing and backup; and (5) monitor usage to provide personalized retention offers. This combined approach leverages the strengths of goods promotion (scarcity, sensory appeal) and services marketing (ongoing value, personalization) to maximize conversion and lifetime value.

Conclusion

Marketers must intentionally differentiate strategies for goods and services while ensuring seamless integration where appropriate. Apple’s model demonstrates how product launches, sensory-rich ads, and retail experiences drive hardware sales while bundled services, subscription models, and trust-focused messaging drive ongoing revenue and retention. For personal purchases, marketers that align segmentation, positioning, pricing, and post-purchase engagement across goods and services achieve stronger conversion and longer customer relationships (Kotler & Keller, 2016; McKinsey, 2020).

References

  1. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson. (Foundational concepts on segmentation, positioning, and product strategy). https://www.pearson.com
  2. Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (2018). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. McGraw-Hill Education. (Service-specific marketing frameworks).
  3. Apple. (n.d.). iPhone. https://www.apple.com/iphone/ (Apple product marketing and specifications).
  4. Apple. (n.d.). Apple One. https://www.apple.com/apple-one/ (Example of services bundling and subscription marketing).
  5. Apple. (n.d.). Shot on iPhone. https://www.apple.com/iphone/photography/ (Campaign emphasizing tangible product benefits).
  6. Apple. (n.d.). Privacy. https://www.apple.com/privacy/ (Trust and privacy messaging used in services marketing).
  7. McKinsey & Company. (2020). Personalization: The missing link in the digital transformation. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights
  8. Harvard Business Review. (2018). A Better Way to Map Consumer Decision Journeys. Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. https://hbr.org (Insights on customer journeys and post-purchase experience).
  9. Forbes. (2021). Apple’s Services Business Is Growing — Here’s Why It Matters. https://www.forbes.com (Analysis of Apple’s hardware-to-services strategy).
  10. Statista. (2023). Apple - revenue share of products and services. https://www.statista.com (Data on Apple’s revenue mix and business model trends).

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