Essay Example on Data-Based Marketing: Measuring Performance With Metrics

Introduction

Data based marketing is the current trend in the business environment. As a result, there is a continued need for metrics to judge marketing performance. Metrics are systems of quantifying a trend (Ambler, 2000). They are essential for any organization with an online presence to account for their marketing efforts. Besides, the marketing team determines the performance of the business indirectly. Therefore the metrics challenge them to keep working towards positive business performance. Marketing metrics are in several categories customer profile, end user-behavior, memory, Physical availability, mental metrics, and the major one that cuts across all companies is Revenue. It is in this light that this paper explores the use of marketing metrics within Apple.

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Revenue

Revenue refers to the income from sales (Ambler, Kokkinaki & Puntoni, 2004). Sales made in an organization are essential as they indicate the exact financial gain from the production and sale of products. Apple is a data-driven company that has a focus on its revenues, which provides deeper information than what meets the face. Revenue is the starting point for marketers, and it is key to making critical decisions such as pricing. As for Apple Company, pricing is not a significant issue because they have a strategy to reach the high-end customers. Their products are, therefore, well priced and intended to raise significant revenue. Of primary concern in Apple is the quantity, which is also a determiner of total revenue. In this aspect, Apple focuses on the quality products which beat competitors' products, and as a result, they have a way of acquiring more sales from customers who are seeking out for Sales through price reduction and the end they compromise on quality. Price reduction is no longer a marketing technique as it takes the company to the pit, and rising again may take forever. Increased revenue can be translated differently as a marketing measurement. It means new leads and also customer retention, which is as a result of customer satisfaction. It also means efficiency in the company's marketing efforts.

Market Share

Market share is an indication of sales by the company as a percentage of total sales within the same industry. Market share is essential in understanding the success of efforts made by the marketing department (Ambler et al., 2004). An increased market share of different periods would mean maybe the competitors have shifted to a new product and left the old item to the company. On the contrary, this kind of data differs from different publications, but its implication in assessing performance and planning for the company cannot be undermined. The organization can set goals for an increased market share in the coming period with an improvement of the product. Apple is best in coming up with new items and rendering products from other competitors old and out of fashion. More so, this information is vital in determining the sustainability of the market. Marketing managers go deeper into determining factors behind any performance, which helps them in planning for the future and they also contribute to the innovation team. The innovation team utilizes the information in devising new product form, features, and other functionalities to ensure their product remains unique and is still needed.

Brand Awareness and Equity

Branding is always a tactic for customer perception by the marketing team (Ambler, 2000). Most Apple customers are high-end profiles as a result of brand. People who consume a brand for its class more than the functionality. Having a mass following beats rivals. Besides, Apple has been successful in becoming a unique brand that anyone wants to identify with when it comes to electronic gadgets. Brand equity is also an asset to the marketing team (Ambler, 2000). It allows a company to gain greater sales than its competitors with minimal efforts. Brand equity has offered a sustainable advantage for Apple. Besides, Apple has efficient strategies in product placement and targeting their niche since they have understood customer behavior. They are also able to bring the experiences which their customers would not trade for anything else. As a result, they have established strong bonds with consumers, which leads to more sales.

Customer Profitability

Customer Profitability is a metric that tells the financial performance of a customer which informs prospective decisions to the marketing department (Gaskill & Winzar, 2013). Customer counts though complicated to determine, are essential to any organization. Customer relationship is the soul of any organization, and therefore maintaining the records of customer interactions is critical. In keeping such records, the company can identify valuable customers who are better than others from the profit perspective. To increase customer profitability, the organization can categorize the customers with top-tier, second-tier, and third-tier if need be. Rewards given to these categories go hand in hand to generate more sales, either directly or indirectly.

Innovation

The underpinnings of success in the high tech industries such as the one Apple has involved innovation (Gaskill & Winzar, 2013). Innovation teams spend significant resources from the company in coming up with suitable products that are innovative enough for their market or potential market. Apple is significantly ahead in the industry when it comes to innovation and timely innovations. In fact, at one point, they had a fight with Huawei for making their new gadgets seem irrelevant. Selecting the optimal path for products and doing things intelligently and efficiently is a measure of excellent performance. Essentially, this is because, with such a product, you never miss the opportunity. Innovation enables a firm to meet its goals and objectives of capturing anticipated market opportunities. It also enhances product differentiation, which generates new sales. Apple has succeeded in product differentiation by creating an excellent user experience for every product, and that has led to more sales.

References

Ambler, T. (2000). Marketing Metrics. Business Strategy Review, 11(2), 59-66. doi: 10.1111/1467-8616.00138

Ambler, T., Kokkinaki, F., & Puntoni, S. (2004). Assessing Marketing Performance: Reasons for Metrics Selection. Journal Of Marketing Management, 20(3-4), 475-498. doi: 10.1362/026725704323080506

Gaskill, A., & Winzar, H. (2013). Marketing Metrics That Contribute to Marketing Accountability in the Technology Sector. SAGE Open, 3(3), 2158-2178. doi: 10.1177/2158244013501332