University of South Wales: Amazon Internal Marketing Reflection

This report provides a critical reflection on Amazon's internal marketing strategies, focusing on the outside-in marketing model and its customer-centric approach. The analysis highlights the significance of crowdsourcing, such as Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), in gathering customer insights and enhancing product and service offerings. It explores the impact of the marketing mix, including product, place, price, people, physical presence, process, and promotion, on customer satisfaction and loyalty. The report emphasizes the importance of continuous employee training and the use of social media for customer engagement. It concludes by advocating for companies to leverage digital technologies, customize products, and adopt two-way interaction to meet evolving customer needs in the future of marketing.

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Critical Reflection Of Internal Marketing At Amazon Inc
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES
STRATEGIC MARKETING
Module Leader: Zaida Perez
Module Assessment 2
Student Name: Alhagi Janneh

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Critical Reflection Of Internal Marketing At Amazon Inc
Assignment 1 on Amazon's outside in marketing model has enhanced my understanding of the
value of developing a customer-centric business in the phase of rising competition in the retail
space. Amazon has been able to effectively compete for the rivals such as eBay and
Overstock.com due to the use of a customer-focused model in which it emphasizes the need to
meet the needs of its customers. The internet has offered Amazon the opportunity to operate
beyond physical constraints. The company has leveraged technology to have a global reach and
maintain a competitive presence in the retail space. I have learnt the power of internal marketing
in promoting sales and enhance human resource management in a company. Unlike external
marketing, internal marketing focuses on restructuring the company's internal operations to
improve customer and employee experiences.
Crowdsourcing
IT-enabled crowd sourcing is the new phase of outside marketing strategies adopted by Amazon
alongside other tech giants. Handling the first assignment improved my understanding of the
effects of internal crowdsourcing in transforming organizational processes and structures. Social
crowdsourcing at Amazon guides the company's internal interactions with the employees and
external interactions with the customers. Since Amazon uses a customer-centric business model,
understanding human intelligence characterizes the company's crowdsourcing strategies
(Goodman and Paolacci, 2017, P.198). For example, Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a
crowdsourcing tool that uses the R software to analyze messy data and make it more
comprehendible. Massive data processing by MTurk enables Amazon to generate information to
better serve customers as per the expressed needs and preferences (Goodman and Paolacci, 2017,

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P.206). Therefore, crowdsourcing is the new phase of internal marketing to understand and serve
customers better.
The benefit of crowdsourcing to Amazon and other retail giants is providing instant access to
information about customer needs. Experimental and survey researchers conducted by Amazon
enable the company to collect data from its global customer base and redesign its product and
service offerings as per the local needs. Crowdsourcing is cheaper, easier and faster to conduct
(Goodman and Paolacci, 2017, P.197). Amazon has its crowdsourcing tools and therefore does
not outsource. High-quality data is obtained through crowdsourcing, unlike when using other
research tools such as physical surveys. Access to high-quality data through MTurk enables
Amazon to respond to the needs of its customers promptly. The flexibility of crowdsourcing
accelerates the scientific processes involved in data collection (Zhu et al., 2021). Before handling
assignment 1, I did not understand the influence of crowdsourcing on improved customer
satisfaction. However, I now understand the value of investing in crowdsourcing using IT
platforms to gain more significant customer insights.
Responding to customer needs through the data obtained via crowdsourcing generates customer
loyalty and positive responses. Outside in the marketing model used by Amazon has allowed the
company to treat the customers as its most important stakeholders who deserve close attention.
The company, therefore, serves customers depending on the local needs and interests. Therefore,
the geo-customization of services offered by Amazon accounts for its success in the online retail
space (Zhu et al., 2021). Recognizing customers for their role in the company's growth improves
their connectedness to it and generates loyalty. According to the self-preservation theory,
pleasing other people enables companies like Amazon to feel proud of their service offerings

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(Stephens, 2021). The use of social media to connect to customers means a seamless customer
reach and access (Timoshenko and Hauser, 2017). Therefore, crowdsourcing accounts for the
competitive advantages enjoyed by Amazon.
Customer Focus Through Outside In Marketing
The power of outside-in marketing cannot be underestimated. Handling assignment 1 has
revealed to me that the success of a business relies on its ability to leverage the opinions of its
customers. A company must treat the customers as its core drivers towards profitability. Amazon
has mastered this art and efficiently serves its large customer base found globally (Zhu et al.,
2021). Amazon understands that by restricting the internal structures, it will be able to serve the
customers prudently. In the current times, businesses still reliant on top-down marketing are
bound to lose their market presence. Top-down marketing prioritizes lowering operational costs
and expenditures to record more profits (Timoshenko and Hauser, 2017). I'm afraid I disagree
with the strategy since no company can record profits if customers are dissatisfied with its
products. The company must therefore research to understand its customers and provide
customized products and services. High operational costs are not the sole cause of low profits.
The primary tool used by Amazon to improve the efficiency of outside-in marketing is its
marketing mix. The marketing mix elements include the products, place, price, people, physical
presence, process, and promotion. In becoming competitive, companies must therefore evaluate
their marketing mix to align to the existing marketing needs. All the elements of the mix must
focus on addressing the varied needs of the customers. The element of people at Amazon
includes the employees and the customers. Amazon invests in its employees through continuous

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training and professional training initiatives (Zhu et al., 2021). The company also allows
employees to acquire stocks in the company as a personal investment. Motivated employees are
Amazon, in turn, offer better quality services to the customers.
The wide range of products offered by Amazon enables it to satisfy millions of customers across
the globe. I, therefore, understand the value of designing varied products that appeal to different
customer groups. The products offered by Amazon are broadly categorized into Whole Foods,
electronic devices, kindle publishing, media content and Amazon websites, Alexa and amazon
web services (Zhu et al., 2021). Therefore, companies must keep reinventing their market mix to
serve the customers better. The global spread of the company means it can serve all its customers
with ease. Establishing and acquiring physical stores such as Whole Foods is essential in
developing physical touch with the customers. I will therefore advocate for companies operating
online to establish physical stores to serve the varied categories of customers.
The Future Of Marketing.
Assignment 1 has revealed that marketing is evolving, and companies must brace themselves for
the coming changes. Unlike in the past, where companies relied on producing products followed
by advertisements, firms are now shifting to outside-in marketing strategies in which products
get produced and designed as per the needs of individual customers (Telpaz et al., 2015, p.515).
Technology now allows companies to have two-way communication channels. For example,
Amazon uses social media platforms to connect to its customers and get their feedback on the
service offerings (Zhu et al., 2021). As a marketer, I advocate for companies to leverage current
technologies to get feedback from their customers and improve their services. Customizing

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products and services means the company has to group the customers into varied segments and
serve them as per their needs. For instance, crowdsourcing tools promote the two-way flow of
information. Therefore, the future of marketing relies on investing in customer feedback in
redesigning products and services.
Conclusion
Assignment 1 gave me a refined understanding of the new phase of marketing with digital
technologies. Outside marketing that focuses on the customer as the key player in business
operations means companies must redesign their products and processes to meet customer needs.
I, therefore, advocate for companies to leverage marketing strategies such as customizing their
products, co-creation and using two-way interaction to meet customer needs and preferences.
Crowdsourcing promotes access to customer data. The input from the customers guides new
products development and improvement of the existing customers. Therefore, companies
intending to compete in the globalized world effectively must focus on their customers.

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References
Goodman, J. and Paolacci, G., 2017. Crowdsourcing Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer
Research, 44(1), pp.196-210.
Stephens, P., 2021. Marketing Strategies for the Future.
Telpaz, A., Webb, R. and Levy, D., 2015. Using EEG to Predict Consumers' Future
Choices. Journal of Marketing Research, 52(4), pp.511-529.
Timoshenko, A. and Hauser, J., 2017. Identifying Customer Needs from User-Generated
Content. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Zhu, X., Wu, Y., He, W. and Zhao, L., 2021. The Research of the Localization Marketing
Strategy of Amazon in Germany. Proceedings of Business and Economic Studies, 3(6).