Apple has combined strategies for selecting and segmenting target markets. Once again, I must say that Apple does not necessarily follow or fall into conventional business wisdom. This does not mean either that they take some cowboy approach to their marketing strategies – Apple uses conventional, proven to work strategies, unconventionally perhaps. While Apple is unique in many senses, they are not immune or ignorant to the "rules" of the market.
Apple uses strategies for segmenting markets such as demographic segmentation in the placement of their retail stores. There are 47 stores in California (the most in any state or any other one place) and while there are 14 in New York 4 of those are in the small island of Manhattan, making them the most concentrated. Here they are definitely focusing on a certain market. Apple has used a concentrated targeting strategy that has helped them position themselves as a niche and quality product. A limited product mix and small product lines have also worked to their benefit, which many might say goes against convention. And now this "niche" brand appeals to the masses. The most successful and most applied segmentation strategy has been psychographic segmentation, which appeals to our personalities, attitudes, motives, and lifestyles. Apple has aimed at being a "lifestyle brand" and this lifestyle appeals to Tweens to Boomers, low-income to high-income individuals, and all shape, race, and size.
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