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A few of the Essay and Assignment tackled on Amazon.com
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| | Assignment on SWOT Analysis and Marketing strategy of Amazon.com | | | Amazon.com was started by a man named Jeffrey Bezos, former Vice President of investment banker D.E. Shaw and Company. Rebecca (2002) has stated that Bezos was looking for a good internet company to invest and got a company where the number of visitors was increasing by 2300% every month. He thought of selling books and music on the Internet, but finally narrowed down to books as there was no major online book seller in the market and the competition was much less. Rebecca (2002) mentions that in 1995, Amazon started selling books online and by the year 1998, their annual revenue reached the target of $1640 million. Their customer base increased dramatically from 180,000 in 1996 to 12 million in 160 countries by mid 1999. It was in the year 1999 that the company decided to increase its line of products. Besides books, the company at present sells toys and video games, electronics and software, electronic greeting cards, home improvement supplies, online auctions, DVD’s and an online mall called zShops.
The company’s mission is to provide the customers the best shopping experience on the Internet with the help of technology and expertise of its invaluable employees. With this mission, the company plans to move ahead in the future. Going by the reports published by the company, their sales was best ever during the holiday season of 2008. Kathie Kroll (2008) has mentioned that the peak day was December 15th, when more than 6.3 million items were ordered and 5.6 million units shipped. To any retailer, holiday sales account for 30 to 50 percent of their annual sales and during the last season, there was supposed to be less economic activity in spite of the economic recession. Let us have a SWOT analysis of the current business situation of Amazon.com.
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| | Case study analysis – Amazon in Europe | | | This report is written to analyze the operations of Amazon.com with key focus on inventory management, process improvement, operations management, and adapting to changes in the competitive environment. Apart from having a broad overview on the position of Amazon in the global market, a special focus is given to its operations in the European market. Amazon identified UK and Germany as their key primary markets in Europe and thus modified its activities accordingly to suit the needs of the local people. An attempt has been made to look at the several challenges that Amazon faced in Europe and what steps it took to overcome those challenges. Amazon’s inventory management strategies have been closely looked at with key emphasis on the role of outsourcing. Finally, the conclusion has been made that inspite of all the challenges and drawbacks, Amazon has emerged as a biggest book, music and video retailer on the Internet and thereby offering more than 4.7 million books, videos, music CD’s, DVD’s, computer games and other products. | | |
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| | Comparison of the websites of Amazon and W H Smith on the criteria of Core Identity, Extended Identity, Value Proposition and Relationship | | | Brand identity is the promise given by the company to the consumer about the value addition of the product to the consumer’s well being and life in general (Olins, 1989). Brand identity is a set of associations that the company wishes that the customer identifies with (Aaker, 1995). These associations represent as to what the brand stands for from the perspective of the customer. In other words, brand identity is the promise given by not just the company but also the members of the brand to the customer about its use in customer’s life. To create or maintain brand identity is to define core values of the brand, what the brand stands for, how the brand wishes to be perceived by the customers, what personality traits the brand represents and finally the relationship of the brand with the customer (Holt, 2004). For example, a brand such as toothpaste has a regular daily relationship with the customer. The toothpaste is so interwoven in a person’s life that it becomes an identity for the customer himself of herself. We all know that we prefer only a certain brands or brand of toothpaste to be precise, to use everyday. The brand can also be of emotional value to the customer. So the brand identity of toothpaste is the freshness of breath, taste, packaging and the health benefits of using it such as healthy gums and sparkling teeth. Brand strategists normally plan as to what the brand needs to stand for. Some of the brands might project a specific life style, health, well being benefits, while some other brands might project cost benefits and other value additions to the user’s life. Amazon UK and WH Smith are two of the largest books, CDs, electronics and other consumer items stores in the UK. Both have online as well ad brick and mortar stores. The functionality and the product catalogue of both the brands are similar. However, the brand identity planned for these two stores by their brand strategists could be different. This report analyses the web sites or online stores of both the brands to study the brand identity projected by the two companies and on how they differ in core identity, extended identity, value proposition and relationships. The paper analyses the strength and weaknesses of the two brands with the help of these criteria. The paper finally recommends this brand to improvise upon the areas that need to be improved. | | |
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| | Dissertation on theoretical aspects of segmentation and then discussing segmented market focus of Amazon | | | Market segmentation is about dividing a market into different homogeneous groups of consumers. Market segmentation makes it possible for organizations to customize the marketing mix for specific target markets rather than offer the generic marketing mix to vastly different customers, in order to satisfy customer needs. Marketing segmentation is not about having a completely different marketing mix for each of the market segments. Promotional campaigns too differ among segments as needs of each segment would be different. A market segment has to be measurable, accessible by communication channels and needs to be different in its response to marketing mix, durable and substantial enough to be profitable, A market can be segmented based on multiple actors. Business markets are segmented differently from consumer markets as the purchasing behaviors of both are different. The purpose of segmenting the market is to allow the marketing programs to focus on specific subsets of prospective buyers that are most likely to purchase the products or services. If segmentation is done in an effective way it will result in the highest possible returns for the marketing expenses. Depending on whether the company is selling its products or services to individual consumers or businesses, there would be distinct characteristics among segments in what the company considers when defining market segments. Marketing segmentation also enables brands to customize their products and services to match the needs of different consumer groups. Segmentation of the market has the advantages of being able to target and cater to customers that have similar consumption patterns. At the same time too much of segmentation might be efforts intensive and could result in loss of focus on the overall market scenario. Furthermore, too much of segmentation can result in increased costs, which may not justify the earnings from individual segments. Amazon UK is one of the most successful retail firms. It combines two channels successfully, retailing and online business. While it implements segmentation into its marketing efforts, this study reveals that the approach of Amazon UK to consumer market is over segmented. This paper recommends Amazon UK to minimize on its segmentation efforts and benefit from increased profits and reduced costs. | | |
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| | Evaluation and comparison of the websites of Amazon and W H Smith on the criteria of Core Identity, Extended Identity, Value Proposition and Relationship | | | The companies need to establish brand identity in the market if they are to sustain amid changing marketing forces for a long time. Brand identities can be thought of as promise statements by the companies and their members to consumers about the benefits of the use of their products (Schmidt & Ludlow, 2002). Brand identity is the projected value addition to the customer’s life (Balmer & Grey, 2000). Brand identity is a set of associations that the customer identifies with the product or the company (Kotler et al, 2006). In order to create brand identity the company has to define core values of the brand, its associations, perceptions by the customers about the brand, the personality traits the customer associates with the brand and relationship of the brand with the customer (Holt, 2004). For example, a jeans trousers brand may project a macho image of the wearer. The customer identifies with the brand’s ruggedness, toughness of character, and macho man image. The brand can have psychological and emotional bearing on the minds of customers too. A person wearing the particular brand of jeans may actually think and behave like a macho man. Thus the brand identity of the particular jeans brand can be that of macho image. These projections are not the results of how the products were perceived by larger sections of customers. But they are carefully thought out strategies by the brands themselves. Before launching a new product in the market the companies normally strategize and plan as to what the brand image of the product is. The branding strategy depends upon the target customers, their demography, salient features of the product, life cycle of the product etc (Stuart, 1999). Amazon UK and WH Smith are two of the largest book sellers and retail merchants of the UK. Both the companies have online as well as physical stores. Both the companies started as book selling stores and later expanded their business to retail sector. The products range showcased on their web sites are similar. The brand identities of thee two stores as planned by their brand strategists are different. The report analyses the web sites of both Amazon UK and W H Smith Plc to study the brand identity of the two companies. The report also analyses the four components of brand identity viz., core identity, extended identity, value proposition and relationships as applied to both the brands. The report makes recommendations to both W H Smith and Amazon UK to improve upon in areas that fall short of optimum performance. | | |
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| | Report on Advantages of Online shopping using several real-life examples | | | The purpose of this essay is to explain the advantages of shopping online compared to shopping offline. These advantages are considered in regard to convenience advantages, product selection, and price knowledge. It is argued that shopping online provides substantial advantages compared to traditional offline shopping. | | |
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