Do you often surf on Amazon only to realize that the platform shows results for literally every product you could ask for? ?
From vacuum cleaners to candle wicks; from beautiful decor items to embroidery threads; from apparel ?? and footwear to books ? and stationery; Amazon has a colossal market with as much diversity as you could think of.
But it was not always this massive. Surprised? It’s hard to imagine a time when purchasing the most trivial of items was not at our fingertips, isn’t it?
So, I suggest that we dive ? back into the roots of Amazon and discover the marketing strategies that made it a star. Let’s roll!
About Amazon
We are well aware of Amazon being a popular e-commerce giant of our time, aren’t we?
From primarily being an online bookseller, Amazon expanded extensively to include a range of products like electronics, stationery, housewares, groceries, apparel, footwear, and toys, etc. the company functions as both a direct seller and as an intermediary connecting many retailers to its mammoth-sized customer base.
Today, Amazon also offers its customers music?, movies?, online payment, and cloud computing services. Not to forget, the revolutionary Kindle e-book readers produced by Amazon altered the face of book reading as well as the book publishing industry.
QUICK FACT?- In Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list 2021, Amazon secured 2nd position.
Amazon’s History in Short
1994 Jeff Bezos built an online bookstore from scratch and named it after the South American River Amazon.
Despite skepticism from analysts, Amazon embarked on a journey of rapid growth. Soon the company expanded its offerings to include music, videos, and more. After becoming public in 1997, the company continued the diversification of its businesses.
In 2002, in the direction of this expansion, the company debuted its Amazon Web Services. It followed the launch of its Kindle e-book readers in 2007, which marked the onset of the transformation of the e-book market.
The company, with its origins going back to Wall Street, is renowned for its online retail platform, production of electronic book readers, and web services.
QUICK FACT?- Amazon was granted the title of being the Best Employer in the World by Forbes.
Marketing Strategies of Amazon
Let me take you through the marketing strategies that give Amazon its place⤵️
Social Media Marketing Techniques
Amazon effectively utilizes various social media platforms to promote its products. This helps the company in reaching out to a massive audience present on these networks.
Amazon is very active in partnering and collaborating with various influencers to promote its products and attract the audience to join the company’s e-platform.
Amazon regularly advertises its products on various social media, directing customers to relevant product pages to boost sales. The company engages and interacts with its vast consumer base on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Sale Day Promotions
Many of us must have purchased from Amazon during the Prime Day, Black Friday, or New Year sales. Did you?
Amazon heavily markets its sale days on all social media platforms along with its website. You might have come across their ads while watching a video on YouTube.
Amazon focuses on highlighting exciting discounts and offers on sale days. On regular days, it also provides lighting deals and other offers to promote sales.
Topical Promotions
Amazon takes extra care in promoting its products during special occasions. For example, Amazon may announce exciting offers on baby products, maternity wear, jewelry, perfumes, and other gift items on Mother’s Day.
Even the Back to School sale is quite popular among children and their parents. Similarly, the Easter Sale, the Fourth of July Sale, and the St. Patrick’s Day Sale bring in a lot of customers to Amazon.
QUICK FACT?- Amazon plans on recruiting 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the year 2024.
The Amazon Prime Extravaganza
Amazon Prime is not just a service offered by Amazon. It is also a major marketing tool for the company.
Prime offers not one but multiple benefits to its subscribers.
Prime offers exclusive discounts and free and fast delivery to its subscribers.
It also provides free access to a plethora of songs and movies through Prime Music and Prime Video. These platforms gained significant popularity after the lockdown phase when movies and web series began to be launched on OTT platforms.
Email Marketing
If you visit Amazon regularly, you must frequently receive several emails from Amazon, isn’t it?
Amazon is quite popular for its heavy push on email marketing. Whenever we make a purchase, Amazon sends an email of gratitude with the request to leave a product review on their website.
When we search for a particular product, Amazon sends us emails with personalized product recommendations. This is one of the ways through which Amazon enhances its interaction with its customer base.
Top Products of Amazon
I have listed the top products of Amazon here for you. Take a quick look→
Retail Goods
Amazon’s vast retail product line includes electronics, camera and photography equipment, video games, books, clothing, shoes, jewelry, beauty and personal care, home and kitchen, pet supplies, sports, and outdoor goods.
Phew! That was one long list to remember!
The company came up with AmazonFresh for groceries and Amazon Marketplace for selling used books, DVDs, and other new categories of items.
Amazon Prime
Amazon announced the creation of Amazon Prime in 2005.
Prime offers membership to its users that makes them eligible to avail of free/ discounted and fast shipping.
It also allowed members to have early access to products, especially during sales.
Prime opens up access to platforms like Prime Video and Prime Music.
Electronics
Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader in 2007, opening up access to over 2.7 million e-books available on the Kindle Store for its users.
In 2011 Amazon launched its Kindle Fire tablet. It followed the launch of Amazon Fire TV and the Fire TV Stick in 2014.
In 2014 again, Amazon also launched its voice-enabled smart speaker called Echo.
Prime Video
One of the most popular OTT platforms, Amazon Prime Video, distributes films and television series produced through Amazon Originals, Amazon Studios, and MGM Holdings.
Amazon Publishing
Amazon launched its book publishing unit in 2009, comprising 15 imprints like Amazon Encore, Amazon Crossing, TOPPLE Books, etc.
Kindle Direct Publishing
It is an Amazon e-publishing platform launched in 2007 along with the first Amazon Kindle device. The purpose of this platform was to allow authors and publishers to publish their books in the Amazon Kindle Store.
Amazon Web Services
Launched in 2002, Amazon Web Services offer services like cloud computing and online storage to individuals, companies, and governments.
Amazon Cash/ Top Up
Amazon introduced Amazon Cash in the United States and Canada and Amazon Top Up in the UK to let Amazon shoppers add money to their Amazon account by paying a participating retailer, like CVS Pharmacy or 7-Eleven, in cash at a physical retail store.
Retail Stores
Amazon opened up its first physical retail store in 2015 in Seattle; in 2018, the company also launched Amazon Go in 2020. Amazon also announced its plans to open up Amazon Fresh, which was a new type of grocery store in Los Angeles.
Amazon Home Services
Amazon launched its home services in 2015, offering professional services like plumbing, electrical, lawn services, and so on.
Amazon Marketing Mix 4P Analysis
How can I miss the 4P Analysis- so here I go ⤵
Product
Amazon has done everything from selling various retail goods, including its own Amazon basics brand, to selling services like Prime offering shipping benefits.
It has expanded its business in consumer electronics to include all popular brands along with its revolutionary products like the Kindle e-book reader and the Kindle Fire tablet.
It has also diversified its presence into digital content distribution through Amazon Video.
Moreover, Amazon is widely known for some breakthrough products and services like Alexa, Echo, Amazon Fire TV, etc.
I can’t stress the fact enough that the product mix of Amazon is insanely diverse. Amazon Publishing offers book publishing services to writers.
Amazon Web Services offer cloud computing services. Audible is an excellent audiobook reader launched by the company. And Amazon Pantry and Amazon Fresh have already hacked into numerous kitchens.
Phew! That was a task.
Place
Being an e-commerce store, Amazon primarily operates through online distribution channels. Amazon.com and Audible.com are the official websites that serve as the primary platform for customer transactions.
Interestingly, in Seattle, Amazon also operates physical bookstores under the name of Amazon Books. Customers can evaluate the products physically before purchasing them.
Temporary venues are another way through which Amazon brings in customer transactions. The annual Amazon Web Services Summit is held in different locations to connect with potential customers and encourage them to use the company’s e-commerce services.
Do you know about Amazon Go? They are a new kind of store where customers can enter, grab what they need, and leave. These stores have no lines, no staff, and no checkouts. Cool, right?
We can see that Amazon has been extremely creative in utilizing the digital space to maximize its reach and businesses. It is phenomenal, isn’t it?
Promotion
You must have observed a lot of Amazon ads and product links on various external platforms, right?
This is one of the ways that Amazon uses to enhance its product visibility and customer engagement.
Throughout the year, Amazon brings periodic discounts and special offers to persuade its customers to make purchases on the website.
Amazon also carries charity initiatives like Amazon Smile to improve its brand image and consumer perception.
The company regularly engages in direct communication with businesses offering them online services like publishing and digital content distribution.
All and all, the company combines sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing to maximize its advantages.
Price
Amazon considers its competitors while determining the pricing of its AmazonBasics products. The company offers differential pricing for the same products based on unique national market conditions, perceived value, and consumer preferences.
Consumer perception of product value is another major factor that Amazon analyses before setting its prices.
We see a combination of market-oriented pricing, price discrimination across different markets, and value-based pricing being employed by Amazon to the best of its benefit.
Amazon’s Top Campaigns
To market itself in the position Amazon is now, many significant marketing campaigns were undergone.
I have listed below the top campaigns for you to understand. ⤵️
- Give big, shop small business
Amazon encouraged its customers to purchase from woman-owned small businesses during the holiday and gifting season
- Protect and Connect
Featuring Michael B Jordan and Tessa Thompson, the cast of Creed, Amazon encourages its viewers to stay alert while using the internet. The campaign focused on the importance of using a strong password and multi-factor authentication.
- Tache| It’s on Prime
Raise your hands to show your love for Freddie Mercury!
A smart move by Amazon to promote Prime by utilizing the never-dying charm left behind by the Queen’s legendary lead vocalist.
- Rising to the Challenge
This was a campaign that showcased the strength of the entire Amazon team across the world. It presents how the company dealt with the COVID-19 crisis by supplying masks and temperature controls across the world to keep its teammates safe.
- Meet Ernesto
This campaign tells the story of Ernesto, a warehouse associate at Amazon, who dreamed of becoming a nurse. The company helped Ernesto with his tuition and training to become a medical assistant.
QUICK FACT?- Amazon runs a Career Choice program through which it aims at paying off 95% of an employee’s tuition.
- Meet Joe
Joe, a Sustainability Science Researcher at Amazon, talks about the company’s goal to become net zero carbon by 2040.
QUICK FACT?- Amazon emerged as the biggest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, having invested in a total of 127 solar and wind projects.
- #JustAsk
A campaign promoting the Amazon Echo featured Alexa, the ultimate assistant of our times, right?
- Mission Possible
This was another campaign featuring the star assistant, Alexa, making homes smarter.
Key takeaways
Amazon is a star player in the e-commerce industry.
The company has phenomenally expanded its business from books and electronics to publishing and home services.
It is an arduous task to count all the offerings of Amazon!
FAQs
How does Amazon position itself in the market?
Amazon has built an image of being customer-centric.
It caters to its customers by providing them with quite a personalized experience- be it on its shopping website, Prime Video, Prime Music, etc.
They have also focused immensely on improving their customer service. This putting customers first attitude had built a loyal customer base for the company.
Who is the target audience of Amazon?
Amazon reportedly has a massive customer base of over 200 million active users worldwide across its various platforms.
Even though Amazon focuses on keeping up with its millennial customers, the company also enjoys the interest of a large share of older generations.
Which is the biggest market of Amazon?
The United States of America was Amazon’s largest market in 2022, with net sales of around $356 bn.
It was followed by Germany with $33.6 bn and the UK with $30 bn net sales. In the fourth place, we see Japan being the biggest Asian market for Amazon.
References:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amazoncom
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“Business, marketing, and Branding – these three words describe me the best. I am the founder of Burban Branding and Media, and a self-taught marketer with 10 years of experience. My passion lies in helping startups enhance their business through marketing, Branding, leadership, and finance. I am on a mission to assist businesses in achieving their goals.”