Integrated Marketing Communication Strategies of Amazon Inc.

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Segmentation...................................................................................................................................2
Persuasion analysis..........................................................................................................................2
Analysis of current advertisement...................................................................................................5
Current IMC practices.....................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
Integrated marketing communication is essentially the amalgamation of various marketing
strategies adopted by a firm in order to ensure effective communication with all its stakeholders
(Belch et. al., 2014). The idea behind using IMC is to optimize the message that the brand wishes
to convey. Effective marketing is critical to the success of any organization as it helps in building
the right positioning for the brand. This report throws light upon various IMC strategies adopted
by The Amazon Inc. in order to optimize its communication process.
Segmentation
For any business organization to identify and analyze its consumer set, it is imperative to
segment the market into various groups and target specific consumers from the same. Target
market of any organization refers to the set of consumers whose needs the business aims to fulfill
(Cross, Belich & Rudelius, 2015). Amazon has divided its market into the following segments.
Geographical segmentation: The first form of segmentation adopted by Amazon is
geographical. This means that the firm divides its market based on geographical segments. At
present Amazon has retail websites for US, UK, Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain,
Australia, Brazil, India, Mexico and Netherlands.
Demographic segmentation: Demographical segmentation done by amazon divides its target
market on the basis of religion, age, nationality and income (Anable et. al., 2016). Amazon
targets customers across different age groups and nationalities. Their retail store has a sundry
variety of products catering to the needs of people across lower, middle and upper income
groups. Students, working professionals and home makers are all targeted through Amazon’s
product line.
Behavioral segmentation: In terms of behavior, Amazon target customers differently. For
frequent shoppers, Amazon has offered ‘Prime account’ facility so that their products can reach
them faster. Based on previous shopping behavior, Amazon also recommends consumers certain
products that might be of interest to them.

Persuasion analysis
Persuading a potential customer can lead to increased sales for a particular brand. Therefore
organizations apply various persuasion strategies in order to convince the customer regarding the
need for the product in their lives. The aim of these persuasion tools is to guide people towards
accepting a certain belief, attitude or behavior.
There are various processes of persuasions that a brand can adopt. Amazon uses the influencer’s
process and uses seven crucial tools of persuasions. These seven tools and their utilization by
Amazon Inc. is as described below:
Reciprocation
This tool of persuasion believes in the use of favors. Amazon often gives its customer discounts,
gift vouchers and lucrative deals in order to attract them towards buying products off Amazon.
Source 1: HAnnah Spanah
Commitment and consistency
Amazon continues to offer excellent service to its customers. They deliver the products on or
before the promised date. Their process of return and refund is extremely customer centric and
works effectively in persuading customers to stick with the brand.