What Are Your Thoughts ---> Apple iPad Marketing ???

[harcosparky]

Apple introduces the iPad and it sells well beyond expectations.

In fact it sells so well that Apple has said supply cannot keep up with demand.

Well this is good I guess, unless you want an iPad and cannot get one.

So here we are, the iPad released in several markets and Apple openly admits they are unable to keep up with demand.

So what do they do????

They start selling the iPad in NINE ADDITIONAL markets . ( countries )

Does it make sense?

If you cannot supply the markets you are already selling in, to open up more markets. Aren't you just making the demand vs supply problem bigger?

( yeah OK, I went out to buy an iPad today and could not get one. One Apple store had NONE and the other Apple Store had only the 16GB G3 Model. - if they had had a 64GB version I might have ponied up and bought it )

 

[saxon48]

IMO, it just makes them sound good if they can keep saying that demand is outstripping supply, and complement that by releasing the iPad internationally.

Just a nice business scheme to accentuate how well a product is selling, I guess...

 

[SteveAbootman]

Nintendo had a similar scheme/problem with the Wii when it first came out. By limiting supply lines while demand is at it's strongest, it makes it a more desirable product for those on the fence. When presented with an opportunity to buy one, people feel more urgency to pull the plastic out of the wallet and pick one up for fear they may not get the chance again.

I think Apple is doing this very well. My guess is after back to school here in the US you will see the demand decrease a bit, and the balance start to even out.

 

[doodude]

I havent really been watching the supply chain all that much as Im just a selfish American & I have mine. So there!

But as to marketing, I understand it & its brilliant but I hate being on the receiving end of it.
That is the "just give enough to get 'em to buy" ploy that Apple is so good at.
Im convinced that my iPad could have more memory, a camera, a this & a that that Apple will not release until next software/hardware update.
And even then, they will hold back what new items theyve come up with for the next update.

I remember when computers first started to be widely marketed that everyone talked about how they would be obsolete in a year because of the technology advancing so quickly.

But I think this is not that its advancing so quickly, its that they are holding it back. Damnit!

 

[3lionsbecks]

I havent really been watching the supply chain all that much as Im just a selfish American & I have mine. So there!

But as to marketing, I understand it & its brilliant but I hate being on the receiving end of it.
That is the "just give enough to get 'em to buy" ploy that Apple is so good at.
Im convinced that my iPad could have more memory, a camera, a this & a that that Apple will not release until next software/hardware update.
And even then, they will hold back what new items theyve come up with for the next update.

I remember when computers first started to be widely marketed that everyone talked about how they would be obsolete in a year because of the technology advancing so quickly.

But I think this is not that its advancing so quickly, its that they are holding it back. Damnit!

I'm sure that they have available affordable technology that would be much better than what they have released already but if they constantly kept updating their products (more than the what? 8month cycle they have now) it would be beyond frustrating as a consumer because you could never keep up or enjoy your product.

I want to keep using my electronic devices for at least 2-3years before they are complete rubbish. People would stop buying if they couldn't do this...

 

[aleni]

i don't think apple would want to delay the international ship again, so they don't put all the stocks from China all over to the US only because iPad already sold so much in the US, so they give the international customers a chance to buy one too.

 

[OGDaniel]

I think from now on Apple should announce a product, and then instead of releasing it whenever they say "But before we release this magical and revolutionary product we are going to wait 5 months or manufacture 7 million, whatever comes first. And then we'll ship the devices to all the retailers." Or something like that. I'm losing like 2 hours a week calling stores to see if they have iPhone 4s.

 

[koollectablz]

I think from now on Apple should announce a product, and then instead of releasing it whenever they say "But before we release this magical and revolutionary product we are going to wait 5 months or manufacture 7 million, whatever comes first. And then we'll ship the devices to all the retailers." Or something like that. I'm losing like 2 hours a week calling stores to see if they have iPhone 4s.

Oh yeah nice idea brainiac. Lets make 7 million of a product we have no idea will sell or not, may be obsolete before it goes on the market, and give the competitors 5 months to release their own cheaper product having already announced ours.

 

[pelicanflip]

I think from now on Apple should announce a product, and then instead of releasing it whenever they say "But before we release this magical and revolutionary product we are going to wait 5 months or manufacture 7 million, whatever comes first. And then we'll ship the devices to all the retailers." Or something like that. I'm losing like 2 hours a week calling stores to see if they have iPhone 4s.

Or you could just reserve one and be put on the waiting list, instead of blindly trying to grab an iPhone 4 when they restock.

Why would Apple just spend millions of dollars producing a product for 5 months, without actually selling it. It's a waste of time and money.


They're expanding their market to other countries so that their customer base in those countries aren't forced to buy from the US/UK, etc. Not to mention, it helps to promote sales if the iPad is available in more locations.

 

[fobfob]

If you cannot supply the markets you are already selling in, to open up more markets. Aren't you just making the demand vs supply problem bigger?

There are a number of competing concerns here. For one, competition in the tablet space is heating up. Apple needs to get a presence in all the geographic markets it wants to play in quickly, or else it might find itself at a disadvantage. The global reach of the initial hype is fading quickly and so any further awareness will have to be built with local advertising spend.

In the US, market share is established, demand is strong. A healthy (not critical) scarcity helps, but certainly, not having the product available today may cause some lost sales. However, the strength of the Apple brand is key here. Apple knows those sales are mainly just deferred, not lost. This is where all their efforts in building the brand and the iPad product hype pays off. It gives them operational flexibility to deal with challenges such as this. A company with a poorer brand awareness, in a similar situation, would have to do exactly what you suggest. Focus on one market.

 

[AppleKash]

These days it seems like Apple cannot make enough of anything.. including simple bumpers...