Marketing and Digital Communications

This article discusses Amazon Prime's strategic decision to target young mothers and college students, their adopter categories, and other audiences that can benefit Amazon Prime to gain market share enjoyed by Netflix.

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Marketing and Digital Communications
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Question 1: Is Amazon Prime making a sound strategic decision through targeting young
mothers and college students?
According to Lotz (2017), the advancement of technology has taken over the business
industry in the global market thus leading not only to stiff competition but also the desire of the
business providers to remain relevant in the business environment. At the same time, the target
market is a major factor that determines the success for any organization. Targeting the college
students in the new product segmentation is an essentials step for the Amazon Prime. Bradley
(2018) denotes that technology has increased the use of devices such as smartphones that are
commonly used by young generation including the college students. This market is characterized
by a disproportionately large and commonly accepted affinity for any technological development
in any sphere. Taking time to watch videos is also a common aspect and leisure activity among
college students, an aspect that makes Amazon Prime product perfect for the college students. In
a systematic review, Verhoeven and Johnson (2017) denote that internet has become an integral
part of education system and students take time to do their academic research through the
internet. The use of internet in academic institutions hence makes it easy for Amazon Prime to
offer the service at no extra cost since there is stable internet to stream the videos both for
entertainment and academic purposes. The same study denotes that the market segment have
high affinity for internet-based shopping as well as media delivery platforms related to
technology as compared to other age groups or age segments.
For new mothers, some excitement gives them the desire to gather new items they will
need for their newborns in the first months of delivery or so. In a systematic study, ///// denotes
that it is often confusing for new mothers on choosing the right item needed for their children
while they save cost at the same time. As a result, the videos guides them in remaining practical

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about what is necessary in the first few weeks with focus on diapering, feeding, clothing,
bathing, and may be travelling. At the same time, Amazon Prime is putting emphasis on stay-at-
home, convenience, or on-demand customers with the aim of attempting to acquire purchasing
power on the basis of economic convenience. Therefore, it is the right target market for the
Amazon Prime as it is a constant market as new babies are born almost on a daily basis.
Question 2: What adopter categories with respect to consumer behavior do young mothers
and college students fall in to?
Adapter category is the classification of the consumers based on their ability or degree of
readiness in trying a new product. Rogers in his book denotes that not everyone has similar
motivation in trying to adopt a new business idea or product, an aspect hat classifies the aspect
into five categories. These include;
 Early adopters: these are defines as opinion leaders and are similar to innovators in
adopting new ideas. However, they are often concerned with the coolness factor while
maintaining their reputation in being ahead of the curve when it comes to new ideas.
 Innovators: This category is made up the groups of people that adopt something just
because it is new, as aspect that proves they love exploring just for the sake but with no
specific ambitions. They are ready to take risks even if the risks will lead to failure.
 Laggards: These are classification or the category of people that are slow to adopt new
ideas. Villinger (2017) points out that that they are often resistant to change and only take
action when they are forced to as others have taken the change.

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 Late majority and early majority: this category is made up of critical masses that ensure
adoption. The early majority tend to look for practical benefits and productivity other
than reputation and coolness. On the other hand, the late majority expects a lot of support
and help before they take a step of commitment.
Figure 1: Classification of the adopter categories
According to the above classification, college students and first time mothers fall under
different categories. For instance, Villinger (2017) denotes that college students are both
innovators and early adopters when it comes to technological adoption. They are always ready to
be updated with any new technological advancement, an aspect that makes this population a
target market for many industries. At the same time, many academic institutions are adopting the
use of videos during lecture lessons, an aspect that forces them to adapt to technological
innovations in that area even if they did not have the interest. On the other hand, first time
mothers can be classified as early adopters since they focus on the practical benefits and the
productivity rather than the reputation. At the same time, most women and ladies have the

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interest of holding their babies at one point of life, an aspect that promotes them to adopt
technology when it comes to issues that reflect in the same aspect. Therefore, Amazon Prime is
relevant in its market segmentation and is a good competitor to Netflix. It is in a position to out-
compete the company in case it adopts effective business strategies that can increase its market
adoption in the video industry.
Question Three: Other audiences that can be of more benefit to capture in helping Amazon
Prime to gain market share enjoyed by Netflix
It is making assumption about the audience members when focusing on the specific Netflix
shows and products in relation to their broader online behavior. Rayna and Striukova (2016)
denote that engaging with the right consumers at the right place and time and with the right
products is essential. As a result, Netflix has adopted strategic options towards building out rich
demographic profiles, checking the content of the competitors and other service providers, and
personalizing their products (Jackson, 2017). These strategies have seen the organization expand
its market share in addition to offering a unique product in the market. The resulting impact is
developing a customer base that is effective and stable. Therefore, for Amazon Prime to be
effective, there is need to not only to focus on the quality of service provision but also increase
its customer base. The target customers that can Amazon can focus on include;
 Researchers and consultancy firms
 Investors- can still use the service in demonstrations of the areas of their interest in
investments
 Technology solution providers

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 System integrators- use videos to provide evidence for their investigation results
 Advance level students- are still as relevant as college students depending on the
profession
 Housewives- they need videos to entertain children
 Professionals- many professionals use videos and live streaming services to advance their
service provision such as lecturers who use videos for demonstrations, doctors in live
operation processes, etc.
Question 4: Explain who this audience would consist of and the adopter categories that
Amazon Prime should target
According to Bradley (2018), it is essential for every business to have a clear
understanding of customer segments that are of importance to the success of the business. It is
also essential to know what is critical for the customers so as to remain relevant to the service
provision. In other words, Amazon Prime needs to do a market survey on the listed customer
segments to understand their very points of needs in terms of their services.
Category of Audience Who the audience consist of Adapter categories
Researchers and consultancy
firms
Students, professionals, and
consultants
Innovators and early adopters
Investors Foreign companies Innovators
Professionals Teachers, lecturers, doctors,
engineers,
Early majority
Housewives The non-employed mothers Laggards

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and house maids
Advance level students Students in advance level of
studies
Early adopters
Technology solution providers IT service providers like
companies and organizations,
cloud computing providers,
etc.
Innovators
System integrators CIDs, forensic scientists Early majorities
Question Five: Reasons against and for Amazon Prime to change its marketing strategy to
capture these users
In a systematic study, Bradley (2018) denotes that every business needs to have a rough
idea of their target audience, an aspect that is often complicated in complex since customers and
consumer behaviors are continuously changing. The study denotes that every business
organization should focus on accurately labeling their target audience. It is because the business
environment is characterized by constant aspect of change on retention factors, attention spans,
and snack preferences. At the same time, many popular services and brands are gaining loyal
followers that later develop into huge and dependable markets and target audience. For this
reason, Netflix is no longer a verb but a noun that describes very specific group of customers that
appeal to their business and products. As a result, there is a need for Amazon Prime to change
their business and market strategy with the aim of capturing their users.

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Reasons for the market strategy
 Adopting a new market strategy will help the company to remain relevant to the
edges of the business environment arising from competition. Both Amazon Prime
and Netflix are competing not only for the market share but also for the attention
of the customers. A new market strategy complements and reflects wider financial
goals of the business, an aspect that will help Amazon to understand specific areas
of focus.
 New market plans help the organization to open roots for more customers
 It is an essential road map for the whole business in developing and establishing
an effective strategy while protecting the reputation of the business.
Reasons against the market strategy
 Every market strategy involves a strategic plan that will encompass the sales,
promotion, financial goals, and the marketing concept (Verhoeven & Johnson, 2017).
Therefore, every marketing plan can only be successful when there is a strategic plan
for its execution. However, changing a strategic plan for the whole business is often
expensive, an aspect that will call for more expenses for Amazon to adopt new
market plans.
 A loose market structure leads to poor success on the target products and getting the
right demographics
 It calls for restructuring of many aspects of the business including the management
and the employees, an aspect that is time wasting and expensive.
References

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Bradley, J. (2018). The importance of Promotional and Marketing Strategies. Retrieved from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-promotional-marketing-strategies-
57205.html
Jackson, J. (2017). The secrets of Netflix’s success. New Statesman, 146(5390), 19.
Lotz, A. (2017). The unique strategy Netflix deployed to reach 90 million worldwide
subscribers. Retrieved From http://theconversation.com/the-unique-strategy-netflix-
deployed-to-reach-90-million-worldwide-subscribers-74885
Rayna, T., & Striukova, L. (2016). 360° Business Model Innovation: Toward an Integrated View
of Business Model Innovation. Research Technology Management, 59(3), 21-28.
doi:10.1080/08956308.2016.1161401
Verhoeven, B., & Johnson, L. W. (2017). Business Model Innovation Portfolio Strategy for
Growth Under Product-Market Configurations. Journal Of Business Models, 5(1), 35-50.
Villinger, M. (2017). Challenging mental models: A novel method to facilitate the
implementation of new business models in a corporate environment. University Of St.
Gallen, Business Dissertations, I-256.