Analysing the marketing strategy
The approach based on marketing which is implemented by the modern organizations are mainly based on their long term plans in order to operate in the industry in a profitable manner. The organizations thereby need to have an advantage over the competitors in order to operate in the highly competitive industry in an effective manner. The initial stages of the operations of organizations are thereby based on the ways by which strategic planning is conducted effectively (Aghazadeh 2015). The competitive position can thereby be received by the organizations in the industry with the proper achievement of the goals and objectives.
The report can provide a detailed analysis of marketing based approach which is applied by an organization so that it is able to operate in a country effectively. The company which has thereby been selected for the analysis is Amazon. The strategy related to marketing which is applied by the company for its successful operations in Australia is the most important part of the analysis.
Amazon.com is an online retail and ecommerce based organization which has its base in the United States. The services that are provided by the company are based effective cloud computing based methods and processes. The headquarter of Amazon is situated in Seattle, Washington. Amazon was established by Jeff Bezos in 1994, which has further started growing into the largest online retailer by assistance that is provided by the services and products offered to consumers (Amazon.com.au 2018).
The revenues and the market based capitalization of Amazon has been earned with the help of its operations all over the world. The operations of Amazon were started by its CEO as an online bookstore and the company further diversified its product line in order to fulfil the different needs of consumers. The different types of products that were thereby offered by the company include, toys, video games, jewellery, electronics and food based items. The basic products that are sold by the company which are capable of fulfilling the needs of different types of customers (Amazon.com.au 2018).
The business based processes of Amazon in the online retail based industry has been continued in an effective manner with help of diverse products and services that are offered by the company. The different websites which are thereby developed by the company according to the needs of customers have been an important part of the success that is earned in the industry. The analysis in the report is thereby related to the operations of the company in Australia (Amazon.com.au 2018). The different strategies that are implemented by the organization are considered to be an important part of the analysis which will be made in the report.
Conclusion
The two pronged based strategy has been used by Amazon at the time of its entry in the Australian market. The strategy was thereby aimed at the ways by which Amazon is able to increase its impact on the revenues and operations of the other organizations in the retail based industry. The levels of competition which have been provided by the company to physical stores all over the world are quite high (Abc.net.au 2018). The company has also aimed at the developing the operations in Australia in such a manner which can provide similar levels of competition.
The strategy based on marketing that has been implemented by Amazon Australia was quite different from that which was applied in other countries. The company has thereby offered the services and products to the worldwide customers through its website. The proper development of different physical stores is thereby an important part of the expansion based plans of the company. The differentiation based marketing strategy has been implemented by Amazon in the Australian retail based industry (Cacciolatti and Lee 2016).
The value that is given by Amazon to the customers is important for the effectiveness of the marketing based strategy. The various offerings of Amazon have been able to play a major role in developing the position of the organization in the industry. The effective marketing mix of Amazon is also considered to be a part of the strategy that has been created. The marketing mix which is developed by Amazon in Australia is as follows,
- Product – The products that are offered by the company to the customers in Australia are based on their needs and the demands. Amazon has been able to develop a huge product line which include, DVDs, gaming consoles, books and different clothing related items (Coyne and Coyne 2018).
- Place – The presence has been developed effectively all over the world and in the different parts of Australia through the website. The company has thereby developed an image in the industry which is helpful for its operations. The online operations have thereby led to development of physical stores of the company in order to serve a wider range of customers (Gummesson, Kuusela and Närvänen 2014).
- Price – Amazon has always implemented competitive pricing based techniques in order to operate in the industry effectively. The strategy related to pricing that has is used by the company in Australia has been able to play a major role in the developing a customer base. The premium group of customers are thereby offered better offers and prices (Key and Czaplewski 2017).
- Promotion – The different promotional activities that have thereby been implemented by Amazon in the industry have been effective for its operations. The major strategy based on promotions have been implemented by Amazon in Australia and other areas of its operations is search engine marketing. This strategy has proved to be quite useful for the promotional activities of the organization and the ways by which it is able to reach the consumers as well (Olson et al. 2018).
Amazon had started its operations in Melbourne where it had developed its first store. The warehouses were also built outside the city in order to fulfil the different delivery based needs of the consumers. The formation of an effective distribution strategy had thereby been able to play a major role in the ways by which Amazon operates in the industry. The company was also able to provide large amounts of employment to the people in the country (Macarthy 2018). This has been able to play a major role in development of the position of Amazon. Amazon is however still operating in its early stages in the country and the company needs to develop in an effective way in order to operate in the industry in a profitable manner. However, the levels of response provided to the company in Australia have not been successful in maintaining the levels of profitability and revenues in an effective way. The company thereby requires to implement new strategies to be successful in Australia.
References
The organization has not received effective response from the customers and the retailers based on their operations. The negative type of response has been provided by the customers with the help of various social media platforms. The selection of the products and pricing based strategies have also been criticised by the customers. The operations of the company have not been able to increase the levels of competition in the Australian retail based industry (Solomon et al. 2014). The operations of various local retailers are not affected in a huge manner by the services and products that are offered by the organization.
The changes need to be made in the promotional and advertising strategies of Amazon in order to improve levels of revenues in an effective manner. The improvement of the marketing based strategy implemented in Amazon can play a major role in developing a position of the company (Webalive.com.au 2018). Changes also need to be made in pricing based policies of the services and products which have been a major reason behind the lack of revenues. The organization will thereby provide high competition to the physical retailers with the help of development in the distribution based strategy (Song et al. 2018). Amazon needs to increase the number of warehouses so that the company is able to manage the customers and delivery based needs.
Conclusion
The discussion in the report can be concluded with the statement that Amazon was not successful in developing its position in the retail industry. The company has thereby not been able to live up to its reputation and brand image which is developed in the industry. The improvement in strategies is important for the marketing of its services and products. The different retail based companies which are already operating in the retail industry will be provided effective competition based levels by Amazon. The physical stores of Amazon will play a key role in the ways by which the company is able to provide competition in the market. The company can then maintain its reputation which has been created in the whole world with the help of proper advertising and the promotional strategies.
References
Abc.net.au 2018. Amazon unveils next phase of Australian push. [online] ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-27/amazon-rolls-out-next-phase-of-australian-launch/9489078 [Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].
Aghazadeh, H., 2015. Strategic marketing management: Achieving superior business performance through intelligent marketing strategy. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 207, pp.125-134.
Amazon.com.au 2018. Amazon.com.au: Shop online for Electronics, Apparel, Toys, Books, DVDs & more. [online] Amazon.com.au. Available at: https://www.amazon.com.au/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].
Cacciolatti, L. and Lee, S.H., 2016. Revisiting the relationship between marketing capabilities and firm performance: The moderating role of market orientation, marketing strategy and organisational power. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), pp.5597-5610.
Coyne, A. and Coyne, A. 2018. Amazon launches online store in Australia. [online] iTnews. Available at: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/amazon-launches-online-store-in-australia-479134 [Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].
Gummesson, E., Kuusela, H. and Närvänen, E., 2014. Reinventing marketing strategy by recasting supplier/customer roles. Journal of Service Management, 25(2), pp.228-240.
Key, T.M. and Czaplewski, A.J., 2017. Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated marketing communications approach. Business horizons, 60(3), pp.325-333.
Macarthy, A., 2018. 500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hints and Strategy for Business Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and More!. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Olson, E.M., Slater, S.F., Hult, G.T.M. and Olson, K.M., 2018. The application of human resource management policies within the marketing organization: The impact on business and marketing strategy implementation. Industrial Marketing Management, 69, pp.62-73.
Solomon, M.R., Dahl, D.W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J.L. and Polegato, R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London: Pearson.
Song, R., Moon, S., Chen, H.A. and Houston, M.B., 2018. When marketing strategy meets culture: the role of culture in product evaluations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46(3), pp.384-402.
Webalive.com.au 2018. Australia’s Ecommerce in 2018: How Amazon Challenges the Retail Industry. [online] WebAlive. Available at: https://www.webalive.com.au/ecommerce-australia-2018/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].