The potential market is consumers with purchasing power and expressed interest in a specific type of product or service. For Apple’s TV, the potential market is people who often watch movies at home, such as families with children, solvent businesspeople who own apartments in the metropolitan area, and media enthusiasts. However, a detailed market analysis will help identify a potential segment more thoroughly. It is necessary to assess the estimated scale of future economic activity. The wideness of the market can be across the country, a particular region, a specific industry, or a particular group of consumers.
The available market is the total number of all potential consumers who can afford to purchase a particular product on the market and who will be interested in buying a product. By analyzing the volume of an open market, it is possible to plan marketing companies in more detail, calculate in advance how much of the product to manufacture and how to advertise it. The range of the available market is considered unstable and periodically changes. For Apple TV, the available market is the people who own other Apple products and desire the same experience from their TV. High-income families looking to buy television are also within the borders of this market.
A target market is a group of consumers or businesses that are more likely to be interested in the company’s products or services. For this reason, it would be most appropriate to focus marketing work precisely on that target market. Marketing aimed at potential buyers is the only successful way to get sales, and its alternative is to sell to everyone – the most expensive and inefficient method. Apple should target families who prefer to use other Apple devices, such as iPhone, MacBook, and iMac. The TV can be promoted to this segment by emphasizing the synchronization capabilities and ability to share content across all devices. Users that are not willing to continue with their Netflix subscriptions after Disney originals were taken off serve as another target market – they can be attracted by the ability to watch Disney originals for free for a set period of time.
The high price, however, can be an obstacle to the majority of consumers. Also, current market leaders in the TV industry, such as Sony, and LG, have taken their products to the most advanced levels in terms of color quality, thinness, and design. It is questionable whether Apple will be able to provide the same quality for the same price.