Marketing Essentials: Roles, Mix, and Plan for Amazon's Success

This report delves into the marketing essentials for Amazon, a leading e-commerce and cloud computing company. It begins by outlining the roles and responsibilities of the marketing function within Amazon, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer needs, tracking trends, and fostering innovation. The report then explores the inter-relationship between the marketing department and other functional areas, such as human resources, IT, research and development, and finance, highlighting the collaborative nature of achieving business objectives. Furthermore, the report analyzes Amazon's marketing mix, focusing on product, price, place, and promotion strategies. Finally, it proposes a basic marketing plan for Amazon, providing insights into how the company can further enhance its market position and achieve its goals. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Amazon's marketing approach and its impact on the company's success. This report is contributed by a student and is available on Desklib.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................4
P1. Roles and responsibilities of marketing function..................................................................4
P2. Inter relationship between marketing and other functional heads........................................6
TASK2.............................................................................................................................................8
P3. Marketing mix.......................................................................................................................8
TASK4...........................................................................................................................................11
P4. Marketing plan for Amazon................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCE ................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is one of the most important functions in the current business scenario where
the organisation produces its products and services in order to generate the sale of the products
which will lead to the profitability (SHUKLA, 2016). The concept of marketing is evolving
greately from years and makes people aware of the manner through which the work and task can
be performed effectively and efficiently. Organisation undertaken in this report is Amazon which
has started and initiated its business from 1994 and is involved in developing cloud computing
software and e commerce businesses. It serves various products and services to its customers
namely, online shopping application, prime videos, loyalty cards, Amazon TV, kindle, etc. This
report will focus on the role of marketing and the manner in which it relates to the other
functional departments of the organisation. It will also put emphasise on comparing the
marketing mix of two companies operating in the same industry. The later part of the report will
elucidate a basic marketing plan for the company.
TASK1
P1. Roles and responsibilities of marketing function.
Marketing is one of the most crucial element of business organisation which places a
greater emphasis on the operations and working of the company. The basic purpose of sustaining
in the market for every organisation is related to the fulfilment of customer needs and
requirements (Babin and Zikmund, 2015). Customers are very important because they are people
for whom the company produces different products and services. The work of marketing
department of the company is to identify and analyse the different requirements and demands of
the different group of people such that the company is able to fulfil the business objectives of an
Amazon. It also helps in communicating the value to the target customers. It involves buying and
selling of products and services at the market place. For this, the business enterprise is involved
in developing and creating new products and services on regular basis not only to satisfy their
customers but also to gain a competitive edge over the competition in the market. Thus, there are
various roles and responsibilities of marketing involved in an Amazon and they are discussed
below:
 Understanding the needs of the customers: Before developing any marketing strategy
or implementing any plan, it is the crucial responsibility of the marketing function of

Amazon to interact with the customers in order to know their requirements deeply. This
interaction by the company can be done through internal sources like organising surveys,
capturing and gathering information of the sales personnel and customer support team.
This can also be done through external channels like doing investigation and organising
various programs on social networks which will help the company in knowing the user
better and producing products such that they will converted in to the customers.
 Track trends and monitor competition: It is another important roles and
responsibilities for the marketing function where the Amazon is involved in establishing
a strict control and review the activities and trends of the competitors and develop their
policies in accordance with it to gain the competitive advantage in the market (Baker and
Magnini, 2016).
 Useful in producing innovative products: The most prominent role and responsibilities
of the marketing is regularly analyse the marketing trends and keep serving their
customers with new and innovative products which will not only satisfy their needs and
demands but will also help them in accomplishing business goals and objectives.
Customers requirements are dynamic and they require innovative products and services
on regular basis.
 Helpful in improving sales processes and customer base: The trends of the market and
role of marketer is to work in the company with full potential and efforts such that it will
help them in attaining the sales and process and developing the customer base for the
company.Marketing department of Amazon plays crucial role in developing large
customer base by effectively promote its goods and services in market and communicate
with customers.
 Managing marketing budgets: The budget is a very crucial constraint in performing any
activity of the business. Each function of the organisation is assigned with the definite set
of budgets and marketing department is also allotted the budget where the responsibility
of the marketing manager is to proper use the scarce resources of money to make best
possible use of it. Thus, market will develop and implement all the strategies such that it
can be accomplished within the set budgets.
 Marketing planning: The marketer of the Amazon will devise various plans and policies
in order to achieve the business goals and objectives. These plans are very important

because no activity can be performed without effective planning and this also ensures that
who will going to perform what work in order to attain business motives.
 Packaging and labelling: Packaging is the important factor which helps in designing the
packing of the products such that it will be safe from any kind of damage, breakage,
destruction, etc. In this, the role of market will be to facilitate handling, lifting and
convenience of good and services (Blythe and Martin, 2019). Where as labelling is
concerned with a slip of paper found on the packaging where the responsibility of the
marketer is to ensure that all the relevant and desirable information is provided on that
slip which is needed by the customers.
 Establishing brand image: The function of the marketers is accountable for establishing
a proper image of the brand in the market. It is important because this creates a positive
image of the brand in the mind of the customers which influences them to purchase the
company's offerings.
P2. Inter relationship between marketing and other functional heads.
The success of the company is not attainable from the working of marketing function
solely. This department works with several other departments of the company such that they can
fulfil the business objectives and goals in a more effective and reliable manner. No organisation
can reach to the higher level of success in term of sales and profitability only with the help of
marketing department, it needs to work closely with various other departments. Marketing is a
very broad terms which includes ample number of activities and work for which the marketing
department of the Amazon also works with other functional heads of the company. Furthermore,
the success of a business enterprise starts with the success of the team of marketing (Campbell,
Martin and Fabos, 2018). This team is a combination of people from various different functional
heads. Thus, the success is related to the accomplishment of business goals and objectives which
have a stronger relation with all other departments. Therefore, the marketing department of the
Amazon has a strong inter relationship with several other departments and it is discussed below:
 Human resources: The human resource department is one of the most essential
department in the business organisation where the company is involved in looking at the
recruitment, selection, training, development of employees, compensation, etc. Apart
from this, it is also involved in safety and security of he employees, wellness, motivation

of employees, performance, etc. Thus , the marketing department of the Amazon will
work closely with the human resource department in order to coordinate with them
regarding the kind of personnel needed in the marketing department. It will explain the
roles, responsibilities and qualifications which are required for the vacant job position in
the marketing department so that human resource department will hire and recruit the
personnel by keeping the requirements of the department and ensures them that the
selected candidate will possess the defined set of skills. Furthermore, the HR department
will identify the needs and kind of training required to the marketing department and
organises the different training sessions to develop the various learning skills of the
people within the Amazon (De Jong, Marston and Roth, 2015).
 Information technology function: Technology is the most rapidly growing aspect in the
current business world where the focus is on considering numerous elements like
websites, intranet and extranet. It includes components and materials like computer,
information systems, hardware and software materials, programming languages, etc. This
functions enables the individual in learning the importance of using technology which
have the potential to consider the knowledge which includes the factors through which it
can be obtained, processed, storage and disseminated by voice, images and graphics. This
department works tightly with the marketing department of the Amazon (Shaw, 2016).
As Amazon is fully technology enabled company, the marketing department of the
company works effectively with the IT function in solving the customer queries and
responding them very quickly. The proper customer service is required at all levels and
with the help of IT function, the company solves it very rapidly. Apart from this, for
making advertisements regarding the new products and services of the company, it works
with IT department which helps in designing the ads through various technological
equipments which helps in designing logo, colours, theme, music, editing, etc. Also, the
department will be essential for establishing and building customer relationship
management.
 Research and development department: This department is very important for the
business organisation (Lane, 2016). It is involved in generating new ideas which will help
in creating new and innovative products and services for the customer, for instance,
Amazon is involved in creating its own mobile phones with the brand name of one plus,

and it keeps on introducing new model and range of the products with different features
and specifications. For this, purpose, the research and development department of the
company will work with marketing department because to conduct the investigation
relating to the needs and requirements of the customers. Marketers will work with
investigators in order to ensure that the demands and needs of the customers are
presented appropriately.
 Finance department: It is the most important department of the business organisation
because finance is needed at each and every step of company's operations. Finance is
concerned with allocation of funds for meeting day to day business actions. This
department is indulged in assigning the budgets for different departments of the
company, forecast the future trends, analyses the revenue and profitability for the
company, etc. It will work closely with the marketing department of the Amazon, in
order to produce a budget for the different marketing activities. Apart from this, the
finance department will analyse and interpret the past performances of the marketing. It
will design the budget plan for promotion of the different products through
advertisements and other promotional channels (Malhotra, 2015). The forecasting is also
important which will be done by the finance department by considering the sales trends
and customer preferences that will help the company in interpreting that whether the
company will attain success in future course of actions or not.
TASK2
P3. Marketing mix.
Marketing mix is the combination of different set of tactics and strategies which are used
by the companies in order to communicate with the customers for determining them the value of
the brands and products in the market. It has a strong emphasis on the various areas of the
marketing plan. In includes many important decision for the businesses and it will have an
impact on the elements when proper and effective importance and preference is given to the each
elements of the marketing mix (Miller and Jentz, 2017). It is required to be reviewed and
monitored regularly for the different conditions of the market and possess the capability to make
required changes in the operations by considering the market conditions and complexities. Its

focus is on customers and ensures that proper satisfaction is provided to the customers. The
following are the different elements of the marketing mix:
 Product: A product is something which poses the structural worth and can be easily
used by the people. This is concerned with demonstrating an item or service which have
the potential to satisfy the needs and demands of the customers. A marketer is required to
define the product very appropriately including its value, features, USP, etc.
 Price: This is the value or worth which the customers gets from the sale of the products.
In real sense, this is described by the analysing the cost of product and the ability of the
customer to pay. If products are priced higher then hardly anyone will buy and if the
prices are too lower then people will perceive it as of poor quality. So therefore, it is
important for the company to devise a pricing strategy.
 Place: This is the physical location or place where the final sale of product will take
place. The customer do not come to the place of production rather the product is required
to be transferred at the place where customer will prefer to buy. Thus, it focuses on better
chain of distribution and logistics (Mueller and. et. al., 2015).
 Promotion: It is concerned with promoting the goods and services such that it will snatch
the attention of the customers. In this, the company takes and uses different promotional
tools in order to communicate with the people.
 People: They are the people who plays a greater role in delivery the services and
products of the company. In this, it also considers the customers as the people so that they
can understand the needs and requirements of the people effectively and efficiently.
 Process: The procedure is concerned with the transformation of raw materials into the
final goods and services. This conversion makes the final product which can be used by
the customers.
 Physical evidence: This is concerned with the tangible features of the products through
which the customers can easily identify the offerings of the company. It consist of brand
name, logo, design, colour, packaging, etc.
In this, the comparison of the marketing mix of two different companies will be done
(Nirschl and Steinberg, 2018). These two companies will be Amazon and eBay as both deals in
same industry and are operating at same level. The following is the marketing mix:
Marketing mix elements Amazon eBay

Product It is one of the leading e
commerce industry globally and
sells varied range of products
online. It sells products on its
official website and application
which includes range of
consumer goods, auto parts,
toys, apparels, home products,
furnishings, beauty and health
care, etc. Apart from this, it
offers gadgets like Kindle for
book readers and Amazon fir
tablets and mobile phones. It
also sells its digital services like
music, videos, e-book. Web
service like cloud storage, data
base services to the start ups,
delivery of grocery products
with the help of Amazon prime
pantry and amazon fresh.
eBay is another company which
provides an online platform for
the customer in order to buy and
sell their products. This also
offers wide range of products
and services to its customers. It
has the online official website
and mobile phone application. It
has the eBay money back
guaranteed services which helps
in taking responsibility of
shipping of the products, returns
and refunds in case of any
damage to the products. It is
rendering three crucial service to
its customers namely, market
place, ticket exchange and
classified services.
Price The pricing strategies of the
company varies as per the
different kinds of products and
offerings of offered. The
Amazon makes use of
technology in devising the prices
of its products. It has a
competitive pricing strategy and
offers lowest prices. It also
follows differential pricing
strategies because it charges
eBay offers wide range of priced
items and it charges the fee from
the customer for placing the
product and if the sale is made
then it charges another fee from
the customers. These fees are the
primary source of incomes and
this fee is not high in price (Pike,
2015).

different prices for different
location as website of each
country is different.
Place Amazon has its official website
and online application through
which it sells products and has a
strong presence in overall
market.
eBay has a global present in
around 30 countries and is easily
accessible by all the devices and
systems.
Promotion It has a strong focus on
advertising through print media,
television commercials, social
media, etc.
It also uses different promotional
tools like advertisements in
television, radio, digital
hoardings, sales promotions, etc.
Physical evidence Its biggest and most effective
evidence is its website. Its logo
and the packaging also contains
the logo (Pike, 2016).
eBay has physical stores in
certain location of the world,
that is fulfilment centres. It
official website, logo, colour,
etc.
People It has employed 2,30,800 people
who are working through out the
world.
It has employed 12,600 people
and is flexible and open minded
organisation.
Process The process is highly oriented
towards customers where
Amazon has successfully
separated its warehouses for
operational efficiency and is able
to make effective use of
technology.
It has different process like
buyer front where the buyer
places the bid for the product
and higher bidder will get the
product.

TASK4
P4. Marketing plan for Amazon.
Marketing plan is the formal documentation which describes the various procedures and
strategies that are adopted by the company in order to attain business goals and objectives
(Puddle, 2015). This plan is made for new products and in this, the new product which is
launched by an Amazon is its new service of online food delivery. For this, the new marketing
plan will be developed with the help of SOSTAC model.
SOSTAC Model
Situation analyses
Under this, the Amazon will identify and analyse the business situation for this it will
conduct the SWOT analyses. The motive behind conducting the SWOT is to identify the ability
of the firm competitiveness and develop various strategies in order to attain the financial
stability. The following is the SWOT of the Amazon:
Strength
 World's largest online retailer.
 Strong logistics.
 Strong brand portfolio and image of the
company in the market.
 Strong speed and wide range of
products at minimum cost.
Weakness
 It has the drawback that this business
can easily be copied by the other
business owner.
 Lack of physical stores presence
(Purvis, 2015).
Opportunities
 Expansion of business market in
building physical stores.
 Assisting measures to decrease
counterfeit sales.
Threat
 Competitors like Uber eats, Zomato,
deliveroo, etc.
 Increasing hacking and cybercrimes.
Objectives
Under this, the Amazon will set business mission, vision and SMART objectives of new
product of online food delivery. They are discussed below:

Mission: Amazon mission is “ To deliver the products and services at the most possible
smaller prices and provides ease of convenience”.
Vision: The vision of the company is “To reach to the wider section of the society by
covering all the needs and base of the customers”.
Business objective: The company aims “To achieve the 20 percent sale of their new
product by the end of fourth quarter of 2019”.
Strategy
Segmentation, targeting, positioning
 Segmentation- It is the activity of dividing large number of consumers or the business
markets into different potential sub groups and segments based on the common
characteristics they share. As Amazon is starting a new service of online food delivery
within UK customers are segmented on the basis of income, age group and service time
of delivery . Through this segmentation it assist the respective company to categorise
food and deliver to the customer according to their requirements and meet their
satisfaction level.
 Targeting- It is concerned to selection of potential customers to whom the Amazon
wants to sell products or provide services. Targeting is effectively done by segmenting
the customers into different groups and selective products are offered to each segments.
As the Amazon has started new service of food delivery its majorly targeting the young
generation customers . As with the increasing trend of online system young generations
will make the use of online delivery and can enjoy better services of food at home.
Moreover targeting helps the respective company to provide quicker services to the
customers so as to aid competitive advantage and enhances its brand image in the market.
 Positioning- It refers to the place that the brand occupies in the market place and in the
minds of customers and how it can be distinguished from those of the competitors. As
Amazon already enjoys a enhanced brand image in the market it will not be difficult for
the company to make extra efforts to gain a competitive position in the market. Therefore
Amazon enjoys a core brand proposition in the market and have a competitive position in
the market from those of its competitors.
Action plan