Abstract
Apple’s Chief Executive Officer made an announcement about the long awaited Apple Pay launch. He made it clear that their vision is to displace wallet and the first they would do is to change the payment method. The CEO after declaring this invited their internet services and software’s senior vice president to give a clear elaboration on how effective Apple Pay would impact the industry of mobile payments. He gave an explanation of how the use of Apple Pay would give their customers an opportunity to finish the usual processes of checkouts with one touch on the apps. It will also allow them to finish these processes without constantly entering the information on their credit cards, shipping addresses and billing address. As at October 2014, the consumers in America were able to use Apple Pay in different stores with the aid of their iPhone 6 plus, iPhone 6 and Apple Watch. In 2015 March, 700,000 retail shops had accepted Apple Pay and this is inclusive of the vending machines of Coca Cola (Christensen & Raynor, 2013).
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The first marketing strategy is Team Structure. When they were designing the Apple Pay, Apple created a small experts’ team from their functional groups in various departments like iOS retail, human interface, server technology and wireless technology. A structure that is functional is so much better than a structure of the business unit. People should make sacrifices and come together for the good of the business and that should always be the first priority. This strategy works best for Apple because they have major skills like expertise on their wireless systems that are available in all their devices. However, as much as they focused on the experience of the customer, Apple did not customer test before launching Apple Pay. They have a good team for the launching and release of Apple Pay but it was limited to few customers. For example, only customers who have the iPhone 6 and above can access the Apple Pay. This leaves us with the question of what happens to customers with older iPhones and the Android users.
The second marketing strategy that a person should consider is the security of the product and that of the customer. Apple did their best when it came to this sector. This is so because when a customer makes his purchases with his iPhone, the cashiers are not able to see his name, security code, credit card number. The use of fingerprint to unlock and to make these purchases has been able to ensure that there is no leakage on the customer’s information. In cases where a consumer adds debit or credit card information with Apple Pay, it does not store this information and on the contrary, it offers the customer with a unique account number for every purchase made. In addition to this, they do not collect or keep a customer’s history of purchase. However, this is not as safe as it sounds (Burge, 2015). Even though it is a smart and unique idea, the fact that it is done electronically, means it works just like the PIN number. The payment code goes straight into the available payment network makes it insecure and there is not much that has been accomplished. The payments cannot be done when the phone is off.
Lastly, another strategy for marketing is the distribution of that particular good differently from competitors. This is a very effective way to change a product into a more valuable something by a more specific audience. For example, iTunes had a rebuilding on their music value when they reinvented the single concept into a single digital track. They allowed their consumers to purchase the kind of music they needed in a new different way and at new prices. One can redefine how customers acquire content and then choose to focus on changing it. This is described as an extremely different value equation as compared to how it was before; it is however a value equation. The launch of Apple Pay can be described as disruptive as compared to the previous payment methods like credit cards and wallets. This is because; it still has to rely on the ecosystem of credit. There is not much of a change in the Apple Pay from the competitors as was expected.
Recommendations
- As a marketing officer, I would recommend that we come up with a stronger team to discuss and listen to the wants of our target market. Unlike Apple that did not customer test before launching Apple Pay, I would recommend a launch for the customers to experience what we have and give their opinions. I would then work on them to ensure that their needs are met.
- I would recommend that we put into consideration all customers when making business decisions. Every customer matters. Apple did not consider their customers who had the earlier iPhones when making the major decisions. They should also have considered the Android users that would have like to use the Apple Pay.
References
Burge, M. E. (2015). Apple pay, bitcoin, and consumers: The ABCs of future public payments law. Hastings LJ, 67, 1493
Christensen, C., & Raynor, M. (2013). The innovator’s solution: Creating and sustaining successful growth. Harvard Business Review Press.
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