Understanding and shaping consumer behavior

Consumer Behaviour 2
Executive summary
Apple Inc is one of the largest and greatest multinational corporations in the technology industry
that has influenced generations since its establishment.MacBook Pro is one of Apple Inc’s
Macintosh lines of quality products that the paper will discuss.By illustrating its specs, the paper
will show why the product line has been at the top of the game in the laptop market. Colleges
students are the target market for the product. The paper will depict the various benefits that
college students can acquire from using Macbook pro in their educational activity and social life.
The paper will also illustrate the benefits of Pushing the MacBook pro into this market which
can present opportunities for growth and development. The probability of achieving a life span
of consumer loyalty is high as consumers in this segment are set to transition their life into the
professional world which would still be vital for Apple. The various Cultural and interpersonal
influences on college students' consumer market will be depicted in the paper by analyzing the
various literature reviews an applying them to the product. Recommendations will be given
through the use of the marketing Ps which is essential in increasing sales revenue and
maintaining consumer loyalty

Consumer Behaviour 3
Table of Contents
Apple Inc. Consumer behavior: Market segmentation MacBook...................................................4
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Apple Inc’s MacBook pro......................................................................................................4
1.3 Consumer target: college students.........................................................................................5
2.0 Cultural and interpersonal influences: College students consumer market...............................6
2.1 Peer pressure consumerism....................................................................................................6
2.2 Social status or financial background....................................................................................7
2.3 Social media Influencers........................................................................................................8
2.4 Appeal to emerging trends.....................................................................................................9
2.5 level of diversity and uniformity within a culture................................................................10
2.6 Institutional perceptions and requirements..........................................................................10
3.0 Recommendation.....................................................................................................................11
3.1 Price.....................................................................................................................................11
3.2Promotion..............................................................................................................................12
3.3Place......................................................................................................................................12
3.4People....................................................................................................................................12
4.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................13
5.0 References................................................................................................................................14

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Apple Inc. Consumer behavior: Market segmentation MacBook
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Apple Inc. Company background
Apple Inc.is currently among the most revolutionary companies in our generation it is considered
to be a trendsetter, especially in the technology sector where it has contributed to the
advancement of technology through research and innovation. Apple Inc. multinational
corporation that was established in 1976 and incorporated a year later. It was initially referred to
as Apple Computer Inc for 30years due to the fact that computers were the first products they
rolled into the market as a fully-fledged company. However, the growing competition from rivals
such as Dell created the need for diversification of products in the consumer electronics market
that resulted in the change to Apple Inc, 2007 (Heracleous and Papachroni, 2016). Apple Inc.
maximized product diversification that led to the introduction of various products such as
MacBook, iPhone, and iPods that resulted in the growth and development in the market.
Apple.Inc’s current headquarters are in Cupertino, California, the United States of America and
its has of 137,000 employees globally., Apple becomes the first company to be valued at 1trillion
dollars last Novembers in 2018, however, it reclaimed the trillion-dollar mark at the beginning of
the fourth quarter where it's valued at 1.01 trillion dollars
1.2 Apple Inc’s MacBook pro
The Apple MacBook Pro is a portable computer in the Macintosh line that was launched in 2006
by Steve Jobs who was the CEO of Apple Inc. The product was developed in order to replace the
PowerBook G4 and initialize that Apple-Intel transition. The size in inches that the product
offers is 15 and 13 inches and recently 16 inches. Additionally, the mac book pro has gone

Consumer Behaviour 5
several changes and updates, where stronger and fasters processers have been installed to ensure
the user experience, is much better than ever before the latest edition of MacBook pro offers a
Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, AMD Radeon 5300M GPU and 512GB SSD which can be
revamped with additional prices (Andre et al, 2019). However, despite the specs of the new
model, previous versions are still fast on offers and effective user experience. MacBook Pro is
positioned at the high end of the MacBook family tree and has continued to be the best laptop
line for more than a decade. Its incorporation of the continued personalization of Apple Inc’s
IOS has continued to increase its market share in the laptop market.
1.3 Consumer target: college students
College students ( aged 18-24) consumer market is among the largest markets that Apple Inc. can
focus on. Pushing the MacBook pro into this market can present opportunities for growth and
development (Gbadamosi et al 2017). The probability of achieving a life span of consumer

Consumer Behaviour 6
loyalty is high as consumers in this segment are set to transition their life into the professional
world which would still be vital for Apple.Inc.College students can use the Macbook pro to take
notes, video editing, class presentation and conduct research online (Islim, and Sevim Cirak
2017). The specs and the user interface offers these user capabilities at an effective rate than its
rivals. Additionally, there are complimentary services that come with the product such as Itunes
and Apple + for listening to music and watching films online respectively (Ivory and Christman
2019). Nevertheless, this consumer market is quite to know to ride on trends that influence their
consumer behavior. Apple Inc can focus on this behavior and tailor its products and service in
order to grow and develop in the long run.
2.0 Cultural and interpersonal influences: College students consumer market
2.1 Peer pressure consumerism
Peer pressure is the mone of the most influential cultural and interpersonal influences when it
comes to consumer behavior. It can be defined as a strong influence that is either direct or
indirect exerted on individual observers or a peer group.it influences encourages a change in
behavior, values attitude in order to conform as what is referred to as socially acceptable
behavior. The presumption of peer pressure as mandatory as the living age its self has made it
become the experience hallmark in the youth. Additionally, peer conformity can be viewed
through a perception of taste style, ideology, values, and appearance. Therefore, the youth are
highly susceptible to peer pressure which leads to theme developing behavior or patterns that are
predictable with peer expectation. Such a vulnerability becomes a point of advantage for
businesses and brands as they can study the youth market and tailor their products to comply
with the rising peer expectations. Moreover, they can also manipulate the market and push the

Consumer Behaviour 7
consumers towards purchasing products and remaining loyal in the market(Gbadamosi et al
2017).
College students are mostly aged 18-24 and are within the youth bracket, therefore they still
experience indirect or direct influence from the peer groups that influence their consumer
behavior in the long run. Peer groups in this context can be classmates, dormmates or various
affiliations withing the education boundaries in school. A good example is when students in a
class deem Macbook pro to be an efficient laptop brand in carrying out the educational activities
such as learning, developing projects to be efficient, consumer behavior of that class will shift
towards the purchase of the Macbook pro. Additionally, through promotional activities, Apple
can portray adverts of college students using Macbook pro for their education activities and are
happy about it. This will also create peer influences that will motivate consumer behavior
towards purchasing the Macbook pro.
2.2 Social status or financial background
Organizations mostly segment their markets and identify the various segments that have a
relation to the three social classes that are the upper class, middle class and lower class
respectively. These three classes vary in the financial background and size of the disposable
income. The upper class prefers high-end products that match their status and offers features
suitable for their classes. The other class is the middle class, they have a smaller financial
background and their disposable income is slightly low compared to the upper class. However
they have the ability to purchase high-end products and low priced product, they have the ability
to switch to a high-quality price product to a low priced quality product with ease. The final class
is the lower class which only relates to products through price rather than the quality, they have
the lowest disposable income and are not financially stable. These classes are heavily researched

Consumer Behaviour 8
by organizations or brands before rolling out products into the market in order to ensure the
success of the product. In case a product issue arises in the market organizations can find a way
to tailor the product to satisfy other classes and achieve the initial goal and objectives that lead
to growth and development, in the long run, (Flynn Goldsmith and Pollitte, 2016)
A college student comes from different financial backgrounds and social classes. It would be
easier for college students who come from well off families to purchases the MacBook pro for
their studies. Several challenges may be met in the other social classes., but this does not limit
the sales of the Apple product. Various strategies can be deployed on how colleges students from
a low financial background can acquire products such as the use of affordable Installments,
Funding and endorsement or through the use of scholarships. Such strategies are set to have an
impactful branding on such consumers who may tend to remain loyal after they transition to the
business world
2.3 Social media Influencers
The advancement of technology over the last two deceased has spearheaded the growth and
development of social media. The growth of social media is so vast that its adoption and
incorporation into our daily lives and every organization is astonishing. Businesses that don to
have a social media platform rarely succeed in today's volatile markets, additionally consumer
reach has made more effective than ever before. However social media influencer is
exponentially becoming the driving force for marketing products and services by representing
brands to their audiences and giving opinions and recommendations(Lim et al2017).The attitude
of the influencer is highly influential to consumers when they are making decisions; it affects
their consumer behavior in the long run. This is due to the fact influencers have built a strong
trustworthy relationship with the audiences and the generation of quality content tends to

Consumer Behaviour 9
illustrate or mirror the expertise on the particular field. Therefore organizations find it effective
to use influencers to represent their brands to the various segments in the industry which increase
brand awareness and revenue in sales
Colleges students spend a significant amount of time on social media platforms on a daily basis
and a significant percentage tend to share the same social media influencers. Through the
identification of vital social media influencers whose audience accommodates the college
students' target market. Endorsing the social media influencers will have a significant impact on
the consumer behavior of the student, they will illustrate the benefits of having the MacBook pro
and give positive recommendation and opines that will push the target consumer to purchase the
product. Additionally, it will also be helpful in achieving and maintaining consumer loyalty.
2.4 Appeal to emerging trends
Emerging trends are also critical cultural and interpersonal includes on a consumer's behavior. a
trend can also be rereferred to as an emerging pattern that lasts over a specific period of time, it
is what that matters at the current moment. Trends are perceived by the youth as fashionable or
cool. Riding with trends can tend to be beneficial to organizations and brands as they can create
awareness and increase sales revenue over time. Technology advancement in communication
technologies tends to increase the spread of these trends globally. However, organizations can
also formulate their own trend by advertising their products in famous fills that can resonate with
their target market. This influences greatly their consumer behavior of the target market
influencing purchase of the product and increasing consumer loyalty and achievement
contributing to growth and development(Crane, Kawashima and Kawasaki, 2016).
Apple Inc can ride on the various emerging trends that resonate with the college students or
appeals to everyone as a whole. applying promotion strategies to the trend in order to create

Consumer Behaviour 10
awareness of the Macbook pro can be essential in influencing the consumer behavior of the
college students consumer market. However, Apple Inc has experience in developing trends with
the iPhone smartphone family by carrying out adverts in popular Tv shows and music videos.
Such advertisements provided to be fruit to the iPhone markets as it accumulated 50% of the
smartphone market for many years. The same case can apply to The Macbook pro by targeting
popular Tv shows, films and music videos that college students tend to relat with. This
influences their consumer behavior and motivates them to purchase the product in the long run
2.5 level of diversity and uniformity within a culture.
Another factor that affects consumer behavior is the level of uniformity and diversity within a
culture. Diversified culture tends to open to a variety of attitude and persona behaviors,
moreover, it does not offer restriction to various products and services that can create a conflict
of interest with its culture. In contrast to this, there are collective cultures that are not open to
products and services that create a conflict of interest, they insist on uniformity A good example
can be illustrated through research conducted in china and japan where people tend to consumer
products and avail services that everyone else is consuming which illustrate a collective culture.
On the other hand in the United Kingdom and Unites States people are more inclined to make
their own individual decisions bases on personal preferences and tastes illustration a diversified
culture (Pieterse, 2019)
Although colleges students may have different cultural backgrounds, Cultural differences do not
have a significant influence on technological advancement and its adoptions as it perceived to be
a universal sector. However, it is essential for Apple Inc to respect the different cultures within
the countries it is targeting college students. A simple mishap can lead to a negative attitude of
its consumers that will lead to loses and damage to the reputation. This means that Macbook pro

Consumer Behaviour 11
may not succeed in the target market. Nonetheless, conducting activities that constitute cultural
respect may lead to a positive consumer influence.
2.6 Institutional perceptions and requirements
The perception of institutions, cooperations and organizations is another factor that tends to
influence consumer behavior. institutions or organizations perceive the use of various products
and services to be essential to relevant will have a butterfly effect on the member of the
organization. Some institutions or organizations may insist on their members using the product
and services they deem fit. Members of such organizations may tend to have a positive attitude
towards the product deem fit by the organization or institution Chow, 2015). This may result in a
shift of consumer behavior to the organization's preferred brand in the long run. Additionally,
members of the organization may tend to recommend the product to their friend and family
which results in the increase of sales revenue, growth and development of the organization's
preferred brand.
There are institutions that prefer using Apple-branded products to other rivals of Apple in the
product segments. Such institutions are essential to the growth and development of the firm in
the long run. Moreover, Apple can develop a target market in colleges and Universities through
organizational branding in order to influence consumer behavior towards purchasing Macbook
pro. Through striking a deal with college learning institution on purchasing the MacBook Pro at
a discounted price for the students will increase the consumer behavior towards the increase in
the purchase of the product (Chow, 2015)

Consumer Behaviour 12
3.0 Recommendation
3.1 Price
It is no secret that all Apple Inc products are meant for the high-end market, moreover, their
high-quality cost production is transferred to the consumer hence the costly prices. However,
considering that the target market, college students may have challenges in purchasing the
product as they do not have salaries or disposable incomes to purchases the Macbook pro.
Although a segment in the target market may have families with stable financial backgrounds,
other students may not be so lucky. Therefore it would bee effective if Apple gives relation
discounts and support to college students which may lead to an increase in purchase units that
may lead to profit which will contribute to the growth and development of the firm.
3.2Promotion
Apple Inc. is well known for its effective promotion strategies that have made it a trendsetter in
the technology Industry. applying promotion strategies will be essential in creating awareness of
the Macbook pro and illustrating its benefits to college students while they are carrying out their
educational activities. This can be essential in influencing the consumer behavior of the college
student's consumer market. Additionally, it can lead to increased consumer loyalty to the brand
which can be passed to the business world as the student graduate at the end of their course work
and get employed (Singh, 2019)
3.3Place
Distribution channels for the Macbook pro are essential to the target market. Apple Inc should
set shop close to a learning institution where they can purchase their products and get customer

Consumer Behaviour 13
support increase of any challenges as they continue to use the product. This will increase sales
and consumer loyalty to the product in the long run
3.4People
Consumer taste and preference tend to change from time to time especially with the increase in
volatility of the market. Therefore it is essential for Apple Ince to focus on the need and
preferences of the college students as they tend to be different from another consumer segment
that Apple products are focused on. This will increase a sense of belonging with the target
market that will lead to an increase in sales. Consumer loyalty may also continue with the
students into the business world after they graduate from their course work and get employed
4.0 Conclusion
Apple Inc has been a trendsetter in the technology industry for many years since its
establishment by steve job’ due to the production of high-quality products.MacBook Pro is one
of the quality products that the paper has discussed by illustrating its specs which shows why the
product line has been at the top of the game in the laptop market. Colleges students are the target
market for the product. The paper has explained the various benefits that college students can
acquire from sung Macbook pro in their educational activity and social life. The paper has also
illustrated the benefits of Pushing the MacBook pro into this market can present opportunities
for growth and development. The probability of achieving a life span of consumer loyalty is high
as consumers in this segment are set to transition their life into the professional world which

Consumer Behaviour 14
would still be vital for Apple. The various Cultural and interpersonal influences: College
students' consumer market has been depicted in the paper by analyzing the various literature
reviews an applying them to the product. finally, recommendations through the use of the
marketing Ps have been illustrated which is essential in increasing sales revenue and maintaining
consumer loyalty

Consumer Behaviour 15
5.0 References
Andre, B.K., Coster, D.J., De Iuliis, D., Howarth, R.P., Ive, J.P., Jobs, S.P., Kerr, D.R.,
Nishibori, S., Rohrbach, M.D., Satzger, D.B. and Seid, C.Q., 2019. Computing device. U.S.
Patent Application 29/622,909.
Chow, P., 2015. Teacher’s Attitudes towards Technology in The Classroom.
Crane, D., Kawashima, N. and Kawasaki, K.I., 2016. Culture and globalization theoretical
models and emerging trends. In Global culture (pp. 11-36). Routledge.
Flynn, L.R., Goldsmith, R.E. and Pollitte, W., 2016. Materialism, status consumption, and
market involved consumers. Psychology & Marketing, 33(9), pp.761-776.
Gbadamosi, A., Fletcher, K.A., Emmanuel-Stephen, C. and Olutola, I.C., 2017. Consumerism
and consumer protection: A focus on young consumers. In Young Consumer Behaviour (pp. 391-
413). Routledge.
Heracleous, L. and Papachroni, A., 2016. Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc.
SAGE Publications Ltd.
Islim, O.F. and Sevim Cirak, N., 2017. Technology and college students: What faculty members
think about the use of technology in higher education. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational
Technology, 5(2), pp.34-50.
Ivory, G. and Christman, D. eds., 2019. Leading with technologies: Improving performance for
educators. Rowman & LIttlefield.

Consumer Behaviour 16
Lim, X.J., Radzol, A.M., Cheah, J. and Wong, M.W., 2017. The impact of social media
influencers on purchase intention and the mediation effect of customer attitude. Asian Journal of
Business Research, 7(2), pp.19-36.
Pieterse, J.N., 2019. Globalization and culture: Global mélange. Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers.
Singh, A.P., 2019. DYNAMICS OF PERSUASION IN ADVERTISING: AN ANALYSIS OF
APPLE COMMERCIALS (Doctoral dissertation).