Marketing Essentials Report: Amazon's Marketing Roles and Strategies

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's marketing essentials, examining key roles and responsibilities within the marketing function, such as customer satisfaction, market research, and budget management. It explores the relationship between the marketing department and other organizational units, including HR, finance, IT, and sales, highlighting the importance of interdepartmental collaboration. The report then delves into the application of the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) by Amazon and compares it with eBay, evaluating how organizations utilize these strategies to achieve their business objectives. Finally, the report touches upon the development and evaluation of a basic marketing plan, providing a well-rounded overview of Amazon's marketing practices and their impact on its success. The report uses examples to showcase marketing in practice.

MARKETING
ESSENTIALS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Evaluate key roles and responsibilities of marketing function..............................................1
P2 Analyse how roles and responsibilities of marketing is related with wider organisational
context.........................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3 Compare manner in which organisations apply marketing mix to attain business objectives
.....................................................................................................................................................5
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................9
P4 Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organisation........................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is defined as those activities which are carried out by an organisation to
promote sales of their services or products. It involves different aspects like selling, advertising
delivering products to their customers so that high revenues can be earned. It is a discipline
which include all actions that can grab the attention of consumers in a proper way (Bačík, Štefko
and Gburová, 2014). This assignment is written in context with Amazon which is a US based
Cloud computing platform and E-commerce marketplace. This company was established in 1994
and headquartered in Washington, US. This assignment will cover key roles and responsibilities
of marketing function. Beside this responsibilities and roles of marketing in context with
organisation are discussed. Marketing mix is carried out to achieve business objectives. At last, a
basic marketing plan associated with business organisations is mentioned.
TASK 1
P1 Evaluate key roles and responsibilities of marketing function
In every organisation, manager performs different responsibilities and roles which are
associated with marketing and advertisements. This department of company holds an important
place as it assists in retaining customer base of company for a long time span. Beside this,
marketing function in Amazon benefits the firm in achieving high organisational growth and
profits. This will helps the company in achieving high competitive advantage over rival
companies. There are different roles and responsibilities of marketing function in Amazon, some
of these are explained below: Customer satisfaction: It is one of the main role of marketing function which assists in
retaining the customer base of company for a longer time period. It is the responsibility of
marketing department in Amazon to ensure that customers are highly satisfied with the
services and products of company (Brassington and Pettitt, 2013). Marketing team in
Amazon engage consumers with the help of digital media, feedbacks and surveys and try
to identify the loopholes in their services or products. This helps the marketing manager
of company to acknowledge the issues and problems of customers so that they can be
resolved. By this, company can sustain a strong presence in marketplace and offer
services or products as per customer demands. If Amazon will not pay attention towards
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the satisfaction of customers then people will shift their preference towards products from
other online platforms and company will face low sales and profitability. Market research: Marketing function in Amazon also performs the role of market
research to ensure that products and services which are offered to customers are modern
and trendy. Market research will benefits the company in changing those policies and
services which do not add value to the company and customers. Marketing team in
Amazon performed this role to acknowledge the needs and preference of different
customers. This will helps the company in offering those products and services to
customers which are actually needed by them. If company will not perform market
research, they will not bother to carry-out modifications in their services and products,
due to this sales of company can reduce which will results in reduced market shares and
revenues of company (Khan and Adil, 2013).
 Managing marketing budget: It is another role of marketing department in which
marketing manager of a company prepares budget so that all activities and operations of
marketing can be carried out properly. The marketing department in Amazon track down
the changes in market and prepare budget in accordance with requirements. If marketing
budget of the company will not be managed in a proper manner, then it will became
difficult for manager to perform market research and advertise about their products. Due
to this, brand awarenesses of company will decrease and it will reduce the profitability
and sales of company in a considerable manner.
Roles and responsibilities of marketing in market environment Developing marketing strategies: It is the responsibility of marketing department in
Amazon to formulate different marketing strategies so that high advantage over rivals can
be gained. This will help the company in sustaining a strong presence in highly
competitive marketing environment. These strategies will help the company to carry out
their promotions and advertisements in a proper manner. By this, sales and revenues of
company will increase considerably and company will became able to attain expected
results (Lipsman and et. al., 2012). If manager of company will not prepare marketing
strategies, work will be performed in an unorganized manner due to which loss of
revenues will take place.
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 Brand equity: Marketing unit in Amazon has a role to maintain high brand equity so that
good profits can be attained in competitive market environment. It is maintained by
targeting a particular section and offering them those services and products which are
highly needed by them. In this way needs of people in different targeted sections can be
fulfilled. Marketing team in Amazon can enhance brand equity of company by using
promotional tools such as social media networking, advertisements through TV,
magazines, newspapers etc. It will benefits in sustaining a positive image of company
that results in increased profitability.
Value and importance of marketing roles and responsibilities:
Marketing roles and responsibilities plays a vital role in building strong reputation of
company. If reputation of Amazon will be good, they will be able to sustain high sales and
revenues. Due to this, customer retention & loyalty will increase and overall productivity of
organization also enhances. Marketing roles such as marketing research, customer satisfaction
etc. benefits in acknowledging needs, taste, demands and preferences of customers due to which
company can target them properly. In case of Amazon, marketing function plays a crucial role
and without its contribution, company can not grab attention of customers to attain higher sales
and profitability (Mueller and et. al., 2015).
P2 Analyse how roles and responsibilities of marketing is related with wider organisational
context
Marketing department in Amazon works in a coordinated manner with other departments
of organisation so that works of company can be performed in a systematic manner. It will helps
the company in accomplishing work within given timelines due to which customers, investors
and stakeholders of company will be more satisfied. It will allow the firm to gain competitive
advantage over rivals. In context with Amazon, interrelation of marketing department with other
functional units are carried out: Marketing and Human Resource department: HR department in Amazon is responsible
for recruiting young and talented workforce so that all the work can be performed in a
systematic manner. Whereas the role of marketing team is to advertise and acknowledge
people about the vacant job positions and the qualifications to apply for those jobs. HR
and marketing department of company work in a coordinated way to hire talented
employees for company that can work confidently even in complex situations. HR
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manager provides job description to the marketing manager for advertisements on
newspaper, job portals, social media etc. and the workforce hired by HR team is given to
market department so that all business operations related with marketing can be
performed efficiently (Pike, 2015). Marketing and Finance department: Finance department in Amazon offers require funds
to other departments of company so that all activities and functions can be performed in
an effective manner. This department also allot funds to marketing department so that
attention of customers can be grabbed properly. Whereas the marketing department in
Amazon helps finance department in identifying ways by which maximum funds to
manage business can be obtained. If these two department will not work in coordinated
manner then finance department will have shortage of capital due to which business
activities of marketing department will get hindered. Marketing and IT department: Information technology department of a company is
responsible for maintaining IT equipments and machines of a company. All the aspects
related with technology like implementing, modifying, replacing or updating technology
at workplace is carried out by this department. This benefits marketing department in
maintaining a strong contact with customers. In case of marketing department, team
members are responsible to perform a market research by which latest trends related with
market and technology can be acknowledged and implemented by Amazon. This will
allow the company to offer services to customers in a proper manner due to which their
satisfaction level will increase (Simkin and Dibb, 2013). It will enhance the profitability
and productivity of company in a desired manner. If these departments will not work in a
close and coordinated manner then company will lack in technological advancement
which can results in loss of profitability.
 Marketing and sales department: The sales department of an organisation is responsible
for selling of products and services. Marketing department in Amazon generates leads for
the company with the help of different activities like promotion, advertisement and
market research. Marketing department gathers information and helps other department
in acknowledging the behaviour and preferences of customers. Marketing department
performs advertisements and promotion due to which sales in Amazon increases. Sales
department take advantage of activities performed by marketing department at target
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potential customers. As sales team is already acknowledged about the isseus of
customers, they carry out improvement in their sales strategies due to which company
became able to achieve high sales and profitability. If sales and marketing department
will not work together, company will not get to know about demands of customers and
mismanagement of work will takes place within organisation (Blythe and Martin, 2019) .
TASK 2
P3 Compare manner in which organisations apply marketing mix to attain business objectives
Marketing mix is an essential tool which includes different marketing tactics so that sales
of products or services offered by company can be raised. Marketing mix helps in grabbing the
attention of customers which benefits in earning high revenues. To proper proper marketing,
different aspects such as place, price, promotion, products plays a vital role. Marketing mix is a
basic tactics that is adopted by organisations before initiating a new business (Joshi, 2012) . This
tool will benefits Amazon in acknowledging their customers about their services due to which
they will be able to attain their business goals in a desired manner. By conducting marketing
mix, manager of Amazon will be able to identify the demands and needs of their customers in a
proper manner. To measure their performance within marketplace, Amazon is comparing
marketing mix with eBay.
Basis Amazon eBay
Product Amazon is an e-commerce organsation
that uses connection to internet from
different gadgets like tablets, laptop,
phones, pc etc. This allow the
customers to buy products form
Amazon in an easier way. Company
has a huge product base which
includes Kindle, DVDs, gaming
consoles, books, mobile phones,
jewellery, gardening equipments,
This organisation is an online platform
for individuals to purchase and sell goods
around globe without any difficulties.
Company offers immediate and unique
selling programs to its customers. It
offers a market for sales of service or
goods. Different products that are
available on eBay are computers,
appliances, Decor, collectibles,
furnishings and other daily use items.
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clothes for men, children and women.
Company is the highest book seller
around globe. Kindle is also a product
of Amazon that allow readers to read
book digitally. In 2014 company
expand its product base and entered
phone market by introducing Fire
phone. Company allow sellers around
globe to sold their products on the
Amazon platform. Some of the
services offered by Amazon are Alexa,
Amazon devices, AWS, kindle
publishing, prime video, Amazon
prime, Fashion, Amazon music, whole
Food etc.
Beside this, company offers Bill Me
Later service that offer a secure payment
method for buying over web. Rent.com is
a subsidiary of eBay which is a rental site
that has outperformed their competitors
which went with listing fees, cost per leas
revenue models etc. beside this.
Shopping.com, Skype, StubHub and
Half.com are another services offered by
companies to their customers (Lipsman,
Mudd and Bruich, 2012).
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price Main concern of Amazon is customer's
convenience due to which company
prefers to offer affordable products. In
comparison with other online
platforms, Amazon have less profits
but their sales are high. Company offer
products at competitive pricing and
uses cost leadership pricing strategy in
which products are given to customers
in less rates. Beside this, company use
premium pricing strategy due to which
company gains competitive advantage
by targeting high class customer base.
Other than this, company uses product
pricing strategy and geographical
pricing strategies.
Company uses cost leadership pricing
strategy in which company charges less
price for their products or services in
comparison with rival competitors.
Organisation uses fixed price format that
allows the sellers and buyers to close
transactions at those prices which are set
by seller. They also use Auction style
format in which seller chooses a
minimum price for the opening bids.
Different seller use various pricing
strategies such as Economic pricing,
psychological pricing, promotional
pricing, penetration pricing etc. Shipping
cost of company is not standardised
which is acts as a loss for company.
Place Amazon is a global firm which have a
large fulfilment and distribution
network. Beside their global presence,
company serves its customer base
through warehouses that are also
known as fulfilment centres. At
present company has around 175
fulfilment centres. In starting,
company did not have any physical
stores and company only relies on
online sales but in 2015, company shift
their preference towards physical sales
by opening half dozen book stores and
convenience stores without cashiers.
Company also have alternative stores
As company is related with E-commerce
and works on an online platform, service
of company can be used at any place
around globe if customers have an access
to internet and PayPal or some other
payment methods that are allowed by
eBay. People from more than 190
countries purchases from Ebay where
eBay app and www.Ebay.com are the
main sale channels for the company.
People form any place can buy products
from eBay without any complexities.
Company have no physical stores and all
the services and products are available
only at online platform. Due to delivery
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where people can came and buy their
products. Prime free same day and
prime free one day services are
available in about 8000 town and
cities.
preference, item description, format of
listing, products and services offered by
company are easily accessible to
customers.
promotion To promote their products and
services, company uses different
promotional strategies such as sales
promotion, advertising, direct
marketing, public relations etc. Beside
this, company also promote online
payment gateways so that customers
can trust them and more online
transactions can be carried out. Main
promotional strategy of company is to
treat them as shopping mall in pockets
of customers (Mihart, 2012).
eBay uses different media to advertise
and promote itself due to which company
create a strong brand awareness in front
of customers. Organisation uses media
such as Print, TV, online ads, billboards
etc. to advertise about their services or
products. Company also changed their
logo in 2012 to match the preferences
and thoughts of customers. Company
promotes itself as auction style buying,
one stop website for quirky items etc.
Process Company is a leader in E-commerce
and web services due to which it has a
strong process oriented business. For
operational efficiency, company has
strategically divided its fulfilment
centres and warehouses. Beside this,
company use advanced technology to
support daily activities. Beside this,
association with twitter allow people
to add products in carts without
switching to original application.
Organisation posses different processes
for customer and business services so
that customers can be ensured with
quality online shopping experience. From
buyer front, company has a auction
format where bids for products are
conducted and buyer with highest bid
gets the product. From seller's side, seller
uploads the image of product along with
required description so that product can
be sold in best price.
People Company offers great importance to
their customer base. It does not matter
At present company has employed
around 12,5000 people. As company
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at which level or position, people are
working in Amazon, they are given
benefits due to which they are satisfied
with company. Some of these benefits
are financial, assistance and health
programs. At present more than
2,30,000 employees are working for
Amazon.
posses multichannel inventory, it
employs its staff members in logistics of
goods. People working in eBay get jobs
in 12 different categories. Due to this,
eBay is a flexible organisation and
perform measures to satisfy their
customers (Fırat, 2013).
Physical
evidence
Biggest physical evidence of company
is its website and mobile application.
Fulfilment centres and warehouses of
Amazon are another physical
evidences. Other than that financial
reports of company also acts as a
physical evidence.
This organisation came into existence in
1995 and till then eBay has performed
very well being a pioneer in commerce.
Company posses physical stores in some
locations named as eBay fulfilment
centre that aims to store, ship, receive
and return products. Boxes, packaging,
website of eBay also acts as a physical
evidence for company.
TASK 3
P4 Produce and evaluate a basic marketing plan for an organisation
Marketing plan is prepared by an organization so that creative thinking can be
implemented in real terms. It aid the organization to get an rough idea about the plan framed in
the market (Khanand, Adil, 2013). This particular plan is beneficial for Amazon because it
assist in de terming the pre-determined course of action in the competitive market place. The
marketing plan of Amazon is explained as follows:
Overview of the company
Amazon is a American multinational technology company situated in Seattle.
Organisation was established by Jeff Bezos in the year 1994. The CEO of the company is Jeff
Bezos and deals in subsidiaries like, whole food market, Zappos, audible etc. It is the largest
internet business by revenue . Organization is fulfilling the needs of the customers on continuous
basis due to which huge profits can be maximized in the global village. Amazon has taken the
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decision to launch voice navigation in the UK market (Papasolomou and Melanthiou, 2012) . It
is designed for high class people who can set up this innovative product in their car. It is
innovated especially for high class customers who look for comfort while travelling from one
place to another. The marketing plan for this innovative product is described as follows:
SMART objectives:
Specific: Business associates are focusing to raise their profits by 30% and market share
by 15% by launching this gadgets in the competitive market place.
Measurable: In this case firm has measure the growth performance by calculating last
year performance with the current year performance in the cut throat competitive world.
Assignable: As Amazon is coming up with creative product which is voice navigation in
the UK market. Business associates requires 70 more staff members for developing this
particular gadget at a large scale in order to meet the emerging needs of the customers.
Moreover, leadership is adopted in the working premises.
Realistic: Business associates is focusing on market share along with sales ratio and
profitability so that company can sustain in the competitive world for time duration (Baker and
Magnini, 2016).
Timely bound: 8 month time period is the estimated time designed by business concern
to achieve success in the market.
Situation:
SWOT Analysis on New product:
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
 This product has a unique feature like
voice recognition which is a
competitive edge of the company.
 This provide benefits the brand
reputation of Amazon.
 This product makes life and travelling
easier by providing voice recognition
device.
 There is no past data of this product so
it involves huge risk.
 This product will not work without
access of internet.
 The product is applied on specific cars
it doesn't go with size of area. The
particular brand will possess this
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