Essay On  compare And Contrast How Two Companies Of Your Choice Attract New Customers

Introduction

As the markets become global and competition gets stiffer, companies are faced with challenges of stagnant turnovers. In the backdrop of technological advancements and globalisation, firms adopt various techniques to stay ahead of competition and attract customers. However, the path chosen by firms to attract customers differs a great deal. The objective of this paper is to compare and contrast two companies in their strategy to attract new customers.
The paper is divided into three sections. The first section of the paper briefly describes the two firms and the rationale behind selecting them. The second section discusses the approach of the two companies to attract customers. The third section of the paper compares and contrasts the ways in which the two companies attract new customer. The fourth section concludes the paper.

A Brief Description about the Chosen Companies

The two companies selected for this paper are Apple and Samsung. Both the companies operate in the electronic goods industry and compete with each other. Apple Inc. is a company based in the United States and operates world over. It primarily sells electronics goods like mobiles, laptops, personal computers and related software across the globe. Samsung has its base in South Korea and offers range of products under the brand name Samsung. The discussions in this paper will be confined to Samsung Electronics that sells electronics goods like mobile phone, semiconductors, hard disks and tablet personal computers.
There are two rationales behind selecting Apple and Samsung. First, though both the firms operate in the same industry, their approach to attract customers is very different. Second, they are well established international and reputed brands in their segment of operation.

A Comparison of How the Two Companies Attract New Customers

This section of the paper describes the strategies adopted by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics in attracting new customers. The entire discussion in this paper is with respect to the smartphone mobile segment of both the companies.

Apple Inc.’s Strategy to Attract New Customers

Apple Inc. operates in a niche segment and aims to offers its customers with products that have style, creativity and quality. Rather than targeting the mass, the company targets a premium segment of customer that believes in elegance, simplicity and ingenuity in the products they purchase. By narrowing down their target segment, the company is able to save itself from aimless hammering and pushing the products to prospective buyers. The company is also able to gain brand loyalty by serving a select category of customers. To offer a mix of ingenuity, simplicity and elegance in their products, the company involves in aggressive innovation and research to meet customer’s expectation. The firm also gains new customer’s attraction by offering them the newest technology in the market. The premium image of the brand is maintained by restricting usage of related games and applications to Apple users alone. The apple stores exhibit the exclusive image of the product.

Samsung Electronics Strategy to Attract New Customers

Samsung adopts pricing strategy, product range and technology to attract new customers. The company has its presence in both the low-end as well as high-end customers. While high-end products are built to provide latest technology experience to customers, low-end products are aimed at offering smartphone experience along with affordability. The marketing strategy of Samsung is, thus, targeted to the mass of the industry. The mobile platform, android, used by Samsung is also very user friendly and less restrictive.

Comparison and Contrast of Apple and Samsung in Attracting New Customers

This section of the paper draws similarity and differences in the way Apple and Samsung attempt to attract customers.
There are three main similarities in the way the two firms market themselves. First, both the firms are known for the latest technology experience their phones provide. The high-end products of both the companies are the best in the market and aspiration for the prospective customers. Second, both these companies have focussed on building a strong brand. The two brands, Apple and Samsung, show the highest brand retention in the mobile phone category, which is an indication of their success. Third, both these companies have been successfully able to provide user-friendly smartphones to customers.
There are four main differences in the way Apple and Samsung attract customers. First, while Apple focuses on the exclusivity of its brand, Samsung products have made presence in almost all the price-points. Samsung has mobile phones in the lower as well higher end segments. This enables the company to be the preferred switcher’s selection. This means that Samsung is successfully changing the buying behaviour of non-customers in its favour. Second, the platform offered by Apple is more restrictive than the one used by Samsung. While Apple maintains the quality and safety image of it products by building in restrictions in the use of its software, Samsung uses the most user-friendly platform of android. This platform provides users with lot of flexibility in terms of downloading applications, playing games, sharing data and customisation. Third, Apple is able to retain its customer better than Samsung. The product offered by Apple is made in such a way as to offer maximum customer satisfaction. Given that age of a smartphone is up to three years only, this feature provides benefit to Apple in terms of repurchase behaviour of customers. Fourth, Samsung competes on volume business and Apple competes on value business. Samsung operates on thin margins to attract customers. The distribution system of Samsung is also extensive so as to take care of its large customer base. Apple offers higher value products, so the customer base is rather small as compared to Samsung.

Summary

Samsung has been able to attract customers till now with its permeability in all segments and affordable smartphone offering. However, mobile phone, especially smartphone, market is rather dynamic. The premium image of Apple products is helping the brand sail through the market dynamism. Samsung, on the other hand, is facing tough competition in the entry level segment, where new competitors are entering the market given its lucrativeness. These new entrants are offering similar features of Samsung at a lower price. This is hitting Samsung hard. Samsung is losing its leadership position now and Apple is taking over the place at various places.
The exclusivity, ingenuity and class do matter in the mobile phone segment, with special reference to smartphones. Pricing strategy is also important in this segment. However, as the market is very dynamic, it is important for manufactures to adapt themselves to the changing macro-environment. Apple is now also getting into lower-end segment to broaden its customer base. Samsung also needs to reposition itself leveraging its technology offering to attract more customers.