Marketing Essentials: Roles, Strategies, and Marketing Plan for Amazon

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of marketing essentials, focusing on the e-commerce giant, Amazon. It begins by outlining the various roles and responsibilities of a marketing department, including customer satisfaction, market research, and brand equity. The report then explores how the marketing department interrelates with other organizational departments, such as HR, finance, and IT, to ensure consistent business operations. A significant portion of the report compares the marketing mix (7Ps) of Amazon and eBay, highlighting their approaches to product, price, place, and promotion. Finally, the report concludes with the development of a basic marketing plan tailored for Amazon, summarizing key strategies and recommendations for the company's continued success. The report covers B2B and B2C marketing contexts for Amazon.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1: Different roles and responsibilities performed by Marketing department............................3
P2: Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to wider organizational context...................5
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
P3: Comparison of marketing mix of two different companies of same sector..........................6
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P4: Development of a basic marketing plan...............................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the method through which the business companies promotes their brand
image and products in marketplace. Marketing is basically done for attracting large number of
customers at the marketplace in order to improve the sales of the company. Marketing function is
very essential for firms in order to build better relations with their customers. Taken firm for this
assessment is Amazon which is an e commerce platform providing a wide range of products and
services to the customers throughout world. The company is included in the Big 4 technological
firms. This report will discuss the various roles and responsibilities of the marketing function in
marketing environment along with interrelation of marketing department with different
departments of organisation. This report will further cover tactics applied by the chosen company
by using 7P's of marketing mix along with the development of basic marketing plan for the taken
company.
LO 1
P1: Different roles and responsibilities performed by Marketing department
Marketing department in each and every organisations performs various roles and
responsibilities related with marketing and promotions. This department is very essential for
companies in enhancing their customer base as this department attracts and retain the customers
by ensuring their satisfaction from the services and products of the organisation. The marketing
department of Amazon also plays some roles and responsibilities for improving the
organisational growth and success through which firm can sustain at the market place for a long
period of time (Pike, 2015). The marketing department of Amazon maintains and develops
strong relations with its customers for ensuring their satisfaction and good experience from
shopping at Amazon. Some of roles and responsibilities which are performed by the marketing
department of Amazon are discussed below:
Customer satisfaction: It is the major role of marketing department in which they are
responsible for ensuring the customers satisfaction from the products and services provided by
the organisations. The market department of Amazon is also performing this role in an effective
manner by engaging with the customers through feedbacks and social media accounts of
company. Through this, they determines issues of their customers so that these can be resolved

for ensuring their satisfaction and good experience. The marketing department of Amazon also
take suggestions from the employees while launching any products or services.
Market research: It is essential for the marketing manager of Amazon to identify the
actual perception and needs of its targeted customers which can be possible through conducting
market research. For this, an appropriate budget is required to prepare in which allocation of
funds to each research activity are made. This will help the management of Amazon to update
their existing strategies and plans for the purpose of achieving growth and succes of an
organisation (Simkin and Dibb, 2013).
Managing marketing budget: Marketing department performs several roles and
responsibilities related to marketing of products and services offer by an organisation. For this,
the marketing manager need to adopt an effective marketing tools and techniques such as TV
Advt., hiring celebrities, conducting campaigns etc. which requires huge amount of funds to
invest. Thus, it is important for manager to prepare a suitable budget after analysing the financial
position of company.
Marketing division of Amazon execute different roles in marketing environment which
are briefly discussed as under:
Developing marketing strategies: Marketing department of Amazon is held responsible
to influence the buying behaviour of targeted customers in favour of company through framing
an effective marketing strategies and plans. This will be possible through analysing the actual
interest and perception of customers towards existing marketing plans of company and
accordingly update them in order to retain loyal and attract new customers.
Brand equity: The efforts and contribution made by the marketing department can be
clearly seen on the brand equity and image of an organisation. Every organisation such as
Amazon requires to attain strong brand image which can be possible through advertising the
products and services using various influencing promotional tools etc. social media marketing,
TV Advertisement etc. It makes positive impact on the brand identity and profitability of an
organisation.

Role of marketing in B2B in context of Amazon.
In this type of marketing, the focus is upon the product and its features and there is no
emotion is include while purchasing. The role of marketing is to influence business to purchase
and communicate the features of product to them. The message which is highly effective to
communicate is related to the unique selling feature of the product and how it saves time, money
and resources. Amazon do not praises personally for B2B as the manufacturer comes their own
self and provide insurance against selling of goods and handle shipping of products.
Role of marketing in B2C in context of Amazon.
In this type of marketing the focus is upon consumer and providing them good quality of
product and the buying decision is related to the emotion. The role of marketing is to obtain
information regarding which distribution channel is convenient for consumers. Amazon do not
pursue buyers directly as buyer unknowingly purchase from a single seller or may be business
entity. Amazon uses various channel to communicate with consumer and promote its brands.
P2: Roles and responsibilities of marketing relate to wider organizational context
Marketing department of Amazon is working closely with other organisational
department so as to ensure consistency in the business operations as well as in their working.
This is beneficial in performing departmental work with the required efficiency and
performance. The interrelation of marketing department with other organisational departments
are as follows:
Marketing and Human Resource department: Human resource department of Amazon
is responsible for hiring young and fresh candidates which are possessed with required skills and
capabilities. Whereas marketing department of the Amazon is responsible for advertising the
vacant position for attracting pool of candidates. The marketing and human resource department
of Amazon are working together for achieving the shared organisational goals. HR department
provides the job description to marketing department for advertising it on different job portals
and other social media channels for attracting the candidates. The HR department also provides
the skilled workers to marketing department who are capable of performing their work
effectively (Blythe and Martin, 2019).
Marketing and Finance department: Finance department of Amazon provides the
necessary funds to the other organisational department so that they can carry out their function

effectively. The finance department also provides required funds to marketing department for
performing marketing activities effectively for attracting the customers. Whereas marketing
department assist finance department in determining ways through which maximum funds can be
managed for performing the business operations and functions effectively. The coordination
among these two department is very essential in collecting required amount of money for
performing operations and marketing activities in an effective manner.
Marketing and IT department: IT department in an organisation is responsible for
managing and implementing the IT equipments and machines. The IT department of Amazon is
responsible for managing IT inventory and for implementing updated technology and
equipments at the workplace (Joshi, 2012). Whereas marketing department of the Amazon is
responsible for conducting market research through which they determines latest trends in
technology which can be implemented at work place for improving performance of employees of
Amazon. The marketing department also provides the information regarding latest equipments
and software to the IT department so that the it would implement them at company for enhancing
its the productivity and performance in market.
LO 2
P3: Comparison of marketing mix of two different companies of same sector
Marketing mix is the process by which an organisation implement different technique or
method to attract and influence customer to purchase its products. This task compare marketing
mix of Amazon and E-bay which govern that how company execute 7's P for their products
(Lipsman and et. al., 2012).
Basis Amazon E-bay
Product Amazon is the leader of E-
commerce industry. They start
their business with online book
seller. Soon management
predict different opportunity in
online market. So they
increase their portfolio and
E-bay is the giant online player
that is operating its business.
Company start their business
as E-business and soon start to
offer different products with
online platform to consumer.
E-bay main focus on

offer various products to
customer which cover all
aspect such as target market,
size for all types of customers.
electronics, home appliances
etc. Moreover E-bay is known
as electronics market which
work on online platform.
Price Amazon decide the price of
their products on seasonal
basis. As they operate their
business on online platform
which determine that to sustain
in industry it is essential to
beat competitive pricing. The
cost leadership is the major
strategy that is implement by
Amazon to decide the price for
their products. It signify that
they frequently decide low
price for its products until they
beat their competitors.
With the decision of price for
its products. An organisation
generate faith in customers.
For E-bay management decide
their price by providing brief
analysis of its products it
include product availability in
market, feature and benefits
about product and then decide
then show their best price to
sell its products.
Place The nature of Amazon work is
E-commerce which determine
that they hold operations
through online platform.
Along with this company is
also focuses on physical stores
specifically for books market
only it govern that company
develop cost effective way to
sell their products (Mihart,
2012).
The creation of E-bay business
is designed as online platform.
So in this case company has to
invest less to develop their
infrastructure. In present
scenario optimum use of
resources help company to
deliver products and perform
their operations with effective
use of place.

Promotion Amazon is well known online
company that is selling
different products through
online platform. For influence
large numbers of customer
company implement
aggressive marketing to
promote their products.
Company major focus to
promote its products through
creative advertisement and
other is SEO which determine
company does not leave a way
to target their customers.
E-bay is known by all
company has popularity
among all world. But in
competitive market it is
interact with customer which
determine promotion is
necessary for company to sell
its products. So E-bay
execution promotion technique
such as blog, website, print
media etc. which attract
customer to sell its products. It
help company to sell their
products easily in market.
People The term people refer to the
workforce that work with the
organisation which help to
accomplish company goal and
targets. The top management
of company provide benefits to
its customer without
discriminate their level and
department. It signify that
company motivate their
employees so they perform
their task effectively.
Management of E-bay develop
healthy relations with its
stakeholder. Their are large
number of employee's work so
HR department of E-bay
formulate policy that help its
employees to save their rights
and they provide effective
services to its customer which
help organisation to achieve
their targets (Fırat, 2013).
Process Amazon is the leader in web
services and E-business. For
this company developed strong
E-bay is delivering their
products among overall world.
So in this case E-bay

oriented process that help to
delegate their work
strategically between different
departments.
developed systematic and
sequential ways by which they
perform their activity
efficiently.
Physical evidence Amazon has made its presence
among all world through its
website. As company operate
E-business so they develop
different application and
website through which they
approach to different
customers. For case of
Amazon, they create their
website user friendly with
effective design which govern
strong presence of their
business in E- marketing.
The word E-bay represent
buying of essential products
through online platform. In
this E stand for electronic
while bay stand for purchase
factor. In context of E-bay
they provide financial reports
to provide information of
company and to evaluate their
position in market.
LO 3
P4: Development of a basic marketing plan
Marketing plan is the essential requirement of the marketing department through which
they can execute their marketing activities accordingly for a product or service. This plan is very
beneficial for the Amazon in determining the course of action which should be taken for
ensuring the success of the new products or services provided by the company to the customers.
Marketing plan acts like a blueprint for executing the marketing activities. The marketing plan
for the Amazon is as follows:
Overview of the company
Amazon Inc. is America based multinational technology business firm having
headquarter Seattle, Washington. The company is providing various products and services

associated with e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence.
Amazon is one of the top 4 technology giant firm along with the Google, Apple and Facebook.
Amazon was established by Jeff Bezos in the year 1994 at Bellevue, Washington. The company
was established as an online books retailer but later the company expanded to other products
such as electronics, software, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewellery. IN the
year 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart in terms of market capitalisation (Khan and Adil,
2013). The company is employing more than 647,500 employees throughout the business
operations in all over the world. Amazon has decided to launch a new product which is wireless
music headphones named as Rockerz which will be developed for catering the need and demand
of their customers who prefer the music over headphones. This product is focused on the youth
who prefer to listen the music in headphones. The marketing plan for this gadget is given below:
Marketing plan is the essential requirement of the marketing department through which
they can execute their marketing activities accordingly for a product or service. This plan is very
beneficial for the Amazon in determining the course of action which should be taken for
ensuring the success of the new products or services provided by the company to the customers.
Marketing plan acts like a blueprint for executing the marketing activities. The marketing plan
for the Amazon is as follows:
Overview of the company
Amazon Inc. is America based multinational technology business firm having
headquarter Seattle, Washington. The company is providing various products and services
associated with e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and artificial intelligence.
Amazon is one of the top 4 technology giant firm along with the Google, Apple and Facebook.
Amazon was established by Jeff Bezos in the year 1994 at Bellevue, Washington. The company
was established as an online books retailer but later the company expanded to other products
such as electronics, software, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewellery
(Papasolomou and Melanthiou, 2012). IN the year 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart in terms of
market capitalisation. The company is employing more than 647,500 employees throughout the
business operations in all over the world. Amazon has decided to launch a new product which is
wireless music headphones named as Rockerz which will be developed for catering the need and
demand of their customers who prefer the music over headphones. This product is focused on the

youth who prefer to listen the music in headphones. The marketing plan for this gadget is given
below:
Situation
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis is used by the business firms or individuals in order to determine their
internal strengths and weakness as well as external opportunities and threats in the market.
Through this, organisations and individuals can take appropriate measures for improving the
weak areas and for eliminating the threats. SWOT analysis for the Amazon is as follows:
Strengths
 Amazon is a global firm having huge customer base due to which company enjoys the
top of the mind recall from the customers which is not easy for the competitors firms.
 Th company is having superior logistics and distribution systems for providing their
products to the customers in an effective manner which has resulted in Amazon deriving
competitive advantage over its rivals. Amazon is leveraging the IT technology due to which it is ahead of the competitors as the
company is investing huge amount of money in the innovation and R&D so that they can
stand high then their competitors (Baker and Magnini, 2016).
Weakness
 The business model of online retail store is imitable due to which any firm can enter in
this sector. There are various players in the market which exist in online retailing such as
Barnes & Noble, eBay, Netflix, Hulu, and Oyster etc.
 The company has recently introduced the free delivery due to which the profit margin of
the company is reducing in several countries such as India. The company was involved in Tax avoiding due to which it was heavily criticised by the
public and even from the US president Donald Trump throughout social media channels.
Opportunities
 Company has the opportunity to grow in developing countries such as China, India etc.
 Amazon has opportunity to grow if they take suitable measures for handling the
counterfeit sales which are reducing the brand image of the company.

 The company can acquire other small e commerce platforms so that more market share
and position can be captured through which company can sustain in the market.
Threats
 The company was involved in a number of incidents such as selling the book “The
Pedophile’s Guide to Love & Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct, employees ill
treatment etc. which has reduced the brand image of the company in recent years.
 The cases of increased cyber crime are coming daily due to which company can face
threats from the hackers which can affect the network security system of the company.
 Competitors such as Walmart and eBay are giving tough competition to the company due
to which company can face threats (Muralidharan and Raval, 2017).
PESTLE Analysis:
 Political Factors- Amazon is required to analyse the political factors which are
government policy, price stability etc to establish its new product which is a wireless
Bluetooth named Rockerz, As it is require to have a favourable government policy and
stability in market and so on then it will result in growth of product.
 Economic factor- Amazon need to study the economic factor which are economic
growth, interest rate, inflation and disposable income of the country where Amazon is
planning to launch their new product as the rate of economic growth is required to be
high which will result in high sale of product.
 Social Factor- Amazon identifies the sociocultural change or trend on the company. The
macro environmental factors in the trend are considered. The attitude and belief of the
population is a factor is required to be consider while launching new product of Amazon.
 Technological Factors- Amazon is affected by technology advancement. The rapid
obsolescence of technology is a threat for company which mean the stability of
technology is an important factor. The rate of cybercrime in the country is an another
factor as amazon operates their work through access of internet.
 Environmental Factor- Amazon analyses the ecological factors although amazon is an
online business but its operations are influenced by the natural environment. The macro
environment of country is required to be favourable for selling the new product. The