Internet Marketing Report: Amazon's Strategies and Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's internet marketing strategies. It begins with an introduction to internet marketing, outlining key concepts and benefits, and then focuses on Amazon as a case study. The report examines various digital marketing tools used by Amazon, including content marketing, social media marketing, blogging, and banner advertising. It details the marketing mix employed by Amazon, covering e-products, e-pricing, e-place, and e-promotion. Furthermore, it explores the use of tools like SEO, PPC, and social media management. The report also delves into interactive order processing and examines search engine marketing, email marketing, and public relations strategies. The document covers aspects of search engine marketing, opt-in email methods, and maintaining strong public relations. The study includes an online survey and secondary market research, concluding with a structured internet marketing plan for Amazon.

INTERNET
MARKETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1...........................................................................................................................................1
1.2...........................................................................................................................................2
1.3...........................................................................................................................................3
1.4...........................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1...........................................................................................................................................5
2.2...........................................................................................................................................6
2.3...........................................................................................................................................6
2.4...........................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
3.1...........................................................................................................................................8
3.2...........................................................................................................................................8
3.3.........................................................................................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
4.1.........................................................................................................................................10
4.2.........................................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Internet marketing is an electronic tool used to convey messages and promote products
and services to target segment of the customers (Glynn, 2013). Important elements included in
this concept are emails, search engines, social networking sites etc. Digital marketing have many
benefits such as most economical and cost effective source of promotion, also helps the
marketing team to achieve the organizational goals etc. (Doyle, 2014). The present study is
based on “Amazon” which is a well-established brand in online retail marketing. The purpose of
the report is to signify the importance of internet marketing for the organization. The study will
evaluate its role in market research. Moreover the contribution of internet marketing in customer
relationship management will be examined in the analysis. Further an online survey and
secondary market research will be carried out for Amazon and a structured plan of internet
marketing will be prepared.
TASK 1
1.1
There are various types of digital marketing measures which are implemented by the
merchants to advertise and promote their goods and services, for instance e-business, e-
commerce, internal and external types of digital trading which influence the internet marketing
and support digital trading (Bujan, 2011). Digital marketing platform used by “Amazon”
consists of e-mails, websites, mobile applications, social networks etc. The key elements of
internet marketing are explained as follows: Content marketing: The organization can manage a team from the internal staff or may
hire professionals to write articles indicating the business activities and later can publish
online them on their websites and portals. The content is likely to have more chances to
spread around through the means of internet. This is one way by which the Amazon have
boosted the traffic for its websites and also it have enhanced the promotional activities
by adopting the sated measure (Mercer, 2011). Social media marketing: By involving the social media channels such as LinkedIn,
Facebook, Twitter, blog spot etc, Amazon has made it possible to reach to its targeted
customer segment with an ease. Moreover it is cost effective and interactive element of
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internet marketing which has developed a two communication platform for the company
(Hoffman and Muller, 2009). Blogging: This is an act of posting views, comments and opinions or making any sort of
announcements in a community etc. Amazon is performing these kind of activities by
hosting own blog or by posting opinions and comments on the other websites and URLS
relating to the products and services of the organization. This has helped company in
directly connecting with society at large (Yang, 2012).
 Banner advertising: An advertisement placed or promoted through a website is known as
banner advertising. This digital marketing method is similar to traditional methods such
as advertisement in newspapers, magazines and other electronic media. Amazon use
this approach to attract both young and middle age users in the economy (Youn, 2009).
1.2
The following is the marketing mix which is used by Amazon in the promotional and
advertising operations carried out for the goods and services offered: E-products: The organization make use of online channel, where the customers have an
access over the products details and specifications. Products are displayed through
images or videos. Consumers check the suitability of the same according to their
satisfaction. Amazon has collaborated with different companies to develop a strong
online platform for multi brand products (Lusch, Vargo and O'Brien, 2007). E-price: Amazon make use of auction/biding method for setting up the price of their
products online. Moreover competitive pricing measures are adopted by the business to
deliver effective pricing measures for the business. These kind of strategies is used by the
organization to attract and influence the customers’ attention. It results in an increase in
the sale of the product online. E-place: Amazon is well known brand name in the world of virtual organization. The
corporation has employed its attention in digital platforms for marketing, selling and
brand management of its products. For the same organization has developed websites
and mobile applications which offer significant usability for online shopping of
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consumers. The company regularly make necessary up-gradations in their online portals
and applications for the better convenience of the customers (Vargo and Lusch, 2008).
 E-promotion: The Company make use of unified online promotional mechanisms and
systems to influence and seek the attention of the customers, for example search engines,
social media and email marketing. Moreover strategies such as daily deal, mega discounts
and seasonal offers are the same promotion measures to enhance profitability of the
business (Vazquez, Iglesias and Rodriguez‐del‐Bosque, 2007).
1.3
Internet marketing is much broader and complex concept as compared to traditional
marketing methods but is more effective. . As the trend has changed the methods and tools have
been also upgraded from traditional to digital marketing respectively. The increasing use of
internet has helped the Amazon in development of the following tools which are explained as
below: SEO: Search engine optimization is one of the most effective method or tool which helps
Amazon in attaining and influencing the attention of the consumers. In order to deliver
the best quality content to the consumers, the organization update the website content
and regularly enhance the usability of websites and portals which results in enhancing
competitiveness and website traffic. This will also help the organization in the increase in
the sales ratio (Vivek, Richey and Dalela, 2009). PPC: Pay per click is a modified version of search option. Through this tool the
company upload and promote the visibility of websites through posting them on the
popular search engines such as Google. Through this, advertisement are presented in-
front of the consumer when they click on the search engine (Bradley and et. al., 2012).
The company pays according to per click on the ads. Visual content tool: In this concept the content or the messages of the Amazon are
presented in an attractive manner. Images and graphics are used in the presentations to
enhance its significance. The various colour schemes, visual tools help the organization
in attracting the attention of the customers.
 Social media management: The most effective and most popular tool of internet
marketing is the social media. Company has created a strong bond and an interactive
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relationship with the consumers as this medium is from one of the most used and familiar
means. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are examples of this concept (Cova and Salle,
2008).
1.4
Interactive order processing is one of the most important system and a significant
procedure which helps the Amazon in the development of internet marketing activities. The
concept develops a strong and a multi-way relationship between the clients, the servers used and
the informative databases. The order processing for a product is explained below:
Selection of a product The step includes selection of the products
from the online portal through which the
company will be able to improve and make
developments in the options and categories
that are required for the better convenience of
the consumers (Glynn, 2012).
Checking availability After the buyer have chosen the desired
product he/she checks the availability of the
selected item. In order have a smooth and
flawless process Amazon update and properly
manage database and inventory system of the
portal regularly (Glynn, 2013).
Order Placing. As the prospective buyer is ensured about the
availability of the product, he/she move
towards placing the order. A step by step
instructions are given by the company's system
which guide the customer in placing the order
(Doyle, 2014). Amazon has enhanced this
stage by implementing a simple method of
order placing.
Payment and delivery The most important and the last step of the
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process is making the payment and delivery of
the products. Amazon have made effective
connections with some financial institutions in
order to provide maximum values to
consumers (Bujan, 2011). The company
accepts the payments by means of net banking,
credit card, debit card and cash on delivery as
well. After the payment is made it is the duty
of the organization to deliver the goods within
the mentioned duration (Vivek, Richey and
Dalela, 2009).
TASK 2
2.1
Search engine marketing is one of the most significant tool for establishing the brand
image of a product or service of the organization in a particular region or country. The
corporations use this mechanism for the enhancement of the brand name through internet tools.
The concept focuses on the aspect of website positioning to attain competitive advantage in the
economy. Amazon can adopt this mechanism to enhance the visibility of its online portals
(Mercer, 2011). Web page is a collection of all the details and information and is presented on a
single web browser (Bradley and et. al., 2012). The online portal of the organization consist of a
number of pages which are displayed in the form of search engine result pages.(SERP). Amazon
is making use of spider robot which is a mechanism used to analyse all the pages and also the
information can be updated by the same. The organization can use search engine optimization
(SEO) when the company's website is in comparison with that of the competitors. The sites are
then recognized by the users on their rankings and content relevancy. Amazon have an effective
system of checking the traffic on portals and websites. (PPC) pay per click mechanism is used to
evaluate the traffic (Hoffman and Muller, 2009). A comparison is done from the last year’s
traffic of the current year. If it has positively increased then it is good for the company and if it is
negative then the company needs to make necessary changes and revise the plans and strategies.
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2.2
A mechanism used by the organizations to send the bulk mails to the target of the
consumers is known as opt-in email method. Amazon is making use this tool in designing and
developing an effective set of news-letter and templates which consists all the detailed
information of the operational activities carried out in the organization (Yang, 2012). The
organization will be able to develop and manage strong bonds with the customers. This methods
is cost and time effective which is a big advantage for the organization.
The example of opt-in email newsletter is presented below:
Greetings,
SHOP BY 30th SEPTEMBER TO AVAIL YOUR £30 GIFT CARD.
Amazon now caters the easiest way to access wide range of products from PIN to PLANE to
your door step. In order to become a registered member on the company's portal and website
the following procedure need to be followed (Youn, 2009).
Just create an account, choose your desired product, make the payment and we will then
pick, pack and deliver the product for free – just minimum purchasing of £50 or more.
Avail numerous discount schemes and weekly offers and also bumper prizes at the end
of the month (Lusch, Vargo and O'Brien, 2007).
Enjoy shopping.
Amazon.com
2.3
The most significant and crucial concept of marketing is maintaining public relations
whether it is in traditional or online marketing (Vargo and Lusch, 2008). This will enable the
company to develop and maintain long term and strong bonds with the customers and the
targeted buyers. The best practices embraced by Amazon for the same: Online partnership affiliation: This mechanism has proved very much successful, it
involves the partnership of the organizations with the companies that have maintained a
leading position in high traffic websites. This concept is very much similar as the digital
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advertising except the hosting website has to re-pay for all the sale that has been made for
the company. The concept is proved a costly means to Amazon (Vazquez, Iglesias and
Rodriguez‐del‐Bosque, 2007). The organization boost its sales and also develop personal
relations by communicating and planning. Interactive display advertising: To gain interest of consumer's at a maximum level this
type of attractive advertising is used by the company. The interactive advertisement helps
to gain the attention of the audience and which in return results in development of
effective database of consumer demands and requirements (Cova and Salle, 2008). This
help the business in developing a significant public image for the company and also
enhances the brand identity in the market.
 Mobile commerce: Cell phone is the most widely used technology and modern tool in the
modern business environment. For this process Amazon has developed a mobile friendly
application which is easy to use and access for consumer’s demands. This has helped the
company in updating its customer’s databases on regular basis and also supporting in
availing the feedback of the clients for the same (Vivek, Richey and Dalela, 2009).
2.4
Digital media groups are the most effective source of digital presence of the majority of
people. Facebook, Twitter and linked-in are the social media which have a great influence and
the youth has got attracted in a large proportion towards the media (Glynn, 2012). Amazon has
realized scope of marketing in these sectors and also developed various means of marketing
schedule to acquire the maximum consumers. Through this the company is able to organize
many types of survey reports of the changing trends, preferences and behaviour of consumers.
Digital media makes the organization socially active by providing a chance to communicate and
interact with the people. Thus the company's representatives will carry out the same in order to
attain a good quality of knowledge and information (Bradley and et. al., 2012). The digital
mediums of communication and marketing are faster, versatile, practical and contoured. This
concept offers just as much potential to the marketers as it does to the consumers. This procedure
is more affordable than traditional offline methods for example marketing message can be
transmitted to the consumers within fractions of seconds of the cost of a TV ad or a print
campaign and potentially can reach a wider audience. One of the main benefits for Amazon in
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conducting the marketing process digitally is the ease with which the results can be traced and
monitored. Rather than conducting expensive consumer’s researches or surveys the organization
can directly view the user’s responses and feedbacks and can also measure the success ratio of
the plan.
TASK 3
3.1
Primary and secondary market researches are the effective tools and data collection is a
significant part of this concept. Secondary market research contains the records and references
from collected data in the past, news articles and journals and also reports prepared in past. This
is an effective tool for collecting information, the material collected is from company's websites,
news articles and reports. The following is the secondary research for Amazon:
Amazon is an American electronic commerce cloud computing company which is
headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Amazon has established itself as a leading brand in online
multi brand retailing and has gained a high market reputation. It supply cost effective and high
quality products while aligning to consumer needs (Lusch, Vargo and O'Brien, 2007). The
company has a plan of hiring approximately 3500 people across the UK this year. Amazon web
services has planned to set up solar farms across U.S. East.
3.2
Survey Title Consumer inclination for Amazon online
shopping (Glynn, 2013).
Objectives of the survey The motive of the survey is to know habit, tastes
and preferences of consumers for online
shopping of Amazon which helps to identify and
improve the services.
Participants Present consumers of Amazon (Doyle, 2014).
Survey methods. Online survey through Facebook
Survey Questions Personal details
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Name :
Age:
Contact details:
Occupation:
Marital status:
Why you choose Amazon for shopping
Quality products:
After sales services:
Economical goods:
Rate of the quality aspect of the company
Very Good:
Good:
Average:
Poor:
How often do you use Amazon for shopping?
Always:
Often:
Sometimes:
Never:
How do you find the online services of
Amazon?
Very Good:
Good:
Average:
Poor:
3.3
ECRM is an application which is based on internet- mechanisms and technologies such
as emails, websites, forums etc. One of the most familiar and popular digital marketing concept
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is electronic consumer marketing (Bujan, 2011). It has helped Amazon to establish an effective
relationship with the audience. The most significant uses of this concept are explained below: Brand loyalty: ECRM helps the organization to create and develop contacts with the
customers at a regular time gaps which also builds a sense of trust and loyalty between
the clients and the company. Value chain: The main motive of an organization is to provide a value for the payment
done by a consumer against a product and Amazon is effectively maintaining the same
for its audience through managing relationship and effectively addressing the company
needs (Mercer, 2011).
 Mutual relationship: Strong connections and bonds are developed by ECRM, as timely
and regular updates of consumers’ needs is considered by the organization.
TASK 4
4.1
The internet marketing plan for Amazon is explained below: Situation analysis: The current marketing trends are evaluated and impacts of the same
are observed on the organization in order to develop a marketing plan for Amazon. The
product with slow ratio in sales are considered and plans are developed accordingly
(Hoffman and Muller, 2009). Evaluation of KPI: Writing an attractive content is the most crucial task in order to attract
the consumers which will increase the sales. This increases the number of users on the
company's online portal and sites. The content should be so written that it easily gets the
attention of the users from the first view itself. SWOT analysis: This helps the company to identify their strength and weakness and
planning the strategies accordingly. A strong brand image will increase the business and a
limited area in market will be treated as weakness for the company (Yang, 2012). The
upcoming market trends if utilized in an appropriate manners can be proved as
opportunities for the organization and competitors are to be the threats through which the
corporations can tackle only by planning the strategies accordingly.
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