Using a Real Life Example of a Company Outline the Key Components of a Customer Driven Marketing Strategy. Illustrate How These Components Are Utilised by Your Selected Company in Implementing a Customer Driven Marketing Strategy.

A customer driven marketing strategy can be effectively designed once marketing management completely understands the needs and wants of customers as well as the marketplace. Under a customer driven marketing strategy the wants of consumers are the basis for all marketing strategies. Apple Inc. is a multinational corporation based in America that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computer that utilises a customer driven marketing strategy. In a customer driven marketing strategy, there are two main components, these are:

* Who the company will serve?

The company must decide who they will serve or in other words, who their target market will be. By "dividing the market into segments of customers (market segmentation) and selecting which segments it will go after (target marketing)" (Kotler, Adam, Denize and Armstrong 2009) a company can adequately decide who they will serve. A marketing team must realise that they cannot serve every single consumer with one product and for that reason they must select a target market which will gain them the greatest profitability. A large company such as Apple Inc has shown that it can produce a number of products intended for different markets and still be competitive in each separate market. Apple has produced mp3 players (iPods), computers, laptops and mobile phones as they have seen the opportunity to sever customers in these areas.

* How the company can best serve the customers?

This is also known as choosing a value proposition. The value proposition is the "set of benefits or values it promises to deliver to consumers to satisfy needs." (Kotler, Adam, Denize and Armstrong 2009) The marketing strategy employed by Apple Inc involves emotions and the integration of their products into the consumer's everyday life. "The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity and the removal of complexity from people's lives; people-driven product design; and about being a really humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers." (Marketing Minds 2010) Apple is almost guaranteeing to make life easier for users of their products. Their focus on customer service has been recognised by the loyal customers who continue to buy their products.