Market research for Apples upcoming product the iScale has been challenging but effective. Understanding that this product will serve not only in the tech industry but the health and fitness industry as well is something that was essential to being able to have a more well rounded and complete research plan. Apple’s objectives as a company are “in a nutshell, to obtain stellar products and services within tight timeframes, at a cost that represents the best possible value to our customers and shareholders.” Researching the company and target demographic for this company has helped to solidify and enhance upon these objectives. Researching each individual industry to understand what constitutes for a “stellar” product and a “price that represents the best possible value” is how the research has been aligned with the companies objectives.
Looking at industry trends we focused on health and fitness. Here we see that as time goes on the mesh between tech and health and fitness becomes more prevalent. As of late, the rise in wearable tech like smart watches and Fitbit’s have been on the rise and the center of popularity. This gives its users the ability to track their workouts and daily activities. This is a good indication of future trends as well. We see that Apple, as a company, is becoming more and more intertwined into the health and fitness industry with each update to their products. One of the implications for this industry however is that this is a focus on the mobile aspect of health and fitness tech and the product proposal is for more stationary item (scale). To counter this we looked into the smart scale market to ensure there is a stable enough market for a product like this.
The marketing strategy here for the iScale is the combination of pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies. These being Profit maximization, competitive pricing, and paid, earned and social media. This is in alignment with current legal, ethical and industry standards. Looking at our campaign it is up to date and in compliance with all FTC regulations in accordance to the truth in advertising portion that suggests how advertising should be conducted. In summation this states how labels and advertising cannot be misleading by a company or its product. This is also how we will keep on top of industry standards for this product as tech industry and health and fitness industries have very different aspects that need to be considered.
The biggest limitations I have encountered with this product market proposal has been really understanding the need for the product in the market space. I had a hard time separating my personal beliefs from what is actually true in the market. Understanding that while this is a great product concept, without a market need it is nothing more than a concept. Understanding the current gaps in the smart scale market to see the barriers to entry has been the biggest challenge. This is where we get the limitations from. This type of product while not entirely new as a concept is fairly new to the market when thinking about what the new age smart scales offer as a product. Because of this, it is hard to obtain accurate data on the smart scale market. These limitations have proven difficult in my research but, I feel with what we have though, there is enough to be successful with this product launch.
Fitness Industry Roundup: Millennials Are Good for Business. IHRSA. (n.d.). https://www.ihrsa.org/improve-your-club/industry-news/fitness-industry-roundup-millennials-are-good-for-business/.
Truth In Advertising. Federal Trade Commission. (2020, May 7). https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/truth-advertising.
Inc., A. (n.d.). Apple and Procurement. Apple. https://www.apple.com/procurement/.
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