BUS 620 Managerial Marketing -Amazon and Consumer Marketing Alonda Martin

Running Head: How Amazon Captured Consumer DesiresAmazon and Consumer MarketingAlonda MartinBUS 620 Managerial MarketingInstructor SusanDate: May 16, 20162Amazon and Consumer MarketingThe History of AmazonThe company Amazon.com, Inc, has redefined the traditional thought of retailing byoffering innovative delivery services, customer loyalty programs and focusing on their customersneeds. Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, WA and began in 1995 as an online bookstore andquickly broadening their reach to electronics such as DVD players, streaming and video gamesto name a few. Amazon’s continued review of streamlining their fulfillment orders, loyaltyprograms, additional regional warehouses, faster delivery services has set them apart from itstraditional competitors. Amazon steadily owns its namesake by being exotic and different whenit comes to servicing and knowing their customers.Capturing Consumer DesiresAmazon.com,Inc. has redefined the way consumers purchase goods by understandingwas is appealing to customers and designed their company behind meeting consumer needs.When most people think of shopping they think of going to a mall or a department store such asWal-Mart to walk around with a shopping cart, going down each aisle and search for those goodsfor which you desire. With technology advancements, such as Internet, smartphones, andcomputers today’s consumer is accustomed to fast service and information with just a click of abutton or a touch of the screen. Amazon has been able to continue to reach new heights becausethey have a pulse on recognizing that their customer is and innovating performance to addressthose needs. In the article by McCorvey, he interviewed Kevin Sterneckert a VP at Gartner whostated, “If you don’t innovate and address whom your customers are, you become irrelevant”(McCorvey, 2015).3Amazon’s continuance to reevaluate their packing process from the time a customerchecks out and investments in Kiva robots have served invaluable to the company. Speed hasbeen the company’s best ally. Not only are they stating they are the fastest they’re proving it.With local regional warehouses across the state the online retailer can process orders and getthem delivered quicker to customers. The regional facilities have allowed Amazon to offer moreproducts such as groceries in urban markets. In places like Los Angeles and Seattle, AmazonFresh were customers can order groceries to cook a meal by the time they’re ending theirworkday has been a convenience for those with busy lives. Currently, Amazon has 89warehouses globally with plans to increase that number to better service customers in everymarket. With more regional warehouses, Amazon will soon expand Amazon Fresh, their nextday and early morning delivery of fresh grocery, in 20 additional markets.Not only has speed been beneficial to Amazon but also the customer loyalty programAmazon Prime has allowed the company to continue its retail dominance. Loyalty programs canenhance prestige by rewarding customers for an achievement (e.g., reaching a purchasethreshold) or offering them exclusivity in the form of selective access to benefits available onlyto customers who provide high margins (Beck, Henderson and Palmatier 2011). Amazon Prime,the company’s $79 per year, second-day delivery program, has free shipping on 15 million itemsaccess to 40,000 streaming instant video games and 300,000 free books on Kindle Owner’sLending Library is the ultimate loyalty program (McCorvey, 2015). If the customer is a frequentof Amazon, the yearly fee is a bargain. Customer’s who take advantage of the Amazon Primeusually spends upwards of $1224 yearly.Subscribe and Save feature is another added bonus at Amazon for its customers. Thisfeature allows customers schedule regular replenishments on essentials like toilet paper and4deodorant [CITATION McC l 1033 ]. Loyal buyers represent a reliable stream of revenue thatwas established from the initial investment of marketing investment (Finch, 2012). Thisconvenient service is just another way Amazon has been able to continue to understand theircustomer’s needs and provide the service for their benefit. With most traditional retailers, anemployee would call to notify the customer of a popular item that may need replenishment fromtheir customer relationship management.Same –Day DeliveryAmazon’s quest for retail domination has also thought about same day delivery for customers tocontinue its dominance by offering same day delivery. This type of service is very appealing tocustomer because it provides instant product gratification. When Amazon decided to shift itsstrategy and build more warehouses across the country it was a step in the right direction toprovide same day delivery service. Cutting its delivery time one day shorter than its current lowcost two-day delivery offered through its Prime programs should bring it closer in line withtraditional retail’s current advantage of customer immediate gratification [ CITATION Teh14 l1033 ]. With same day delivery options, Amazon may cause increased competition for UPS andUSPS.ConclusionsAmazon has a built a successful marketing strategy that is centered on the consumer andtechnology. The company’s drive to continue to improve their response time in the warehousehas proved to benefit the company and its customers. Because Amazon decided to think outsidethe box and adjust to today’s global market it is able to continuously expand and compete with5traditional retailers. Amazon continues to keep customer wants and fast paced lifestyle at theforefront by offering goods and services to meet those desires.ReferencesBeck, J. H. (2011). Review of the theoretical underpinnings of loyalty programs. Journal ofConsumer Psychology , 21 (3), 256-276.Finch, J. (2012). Marketing Management. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.McCorvey, J. (2015, August 5). Fast Company. Retrieved May 12, 2016, fromwww.fastcompany.com/3014817/amazon-jeff-bezosTehrani, S. (2014, Summer). Welcome to the Amazon:Leading Online Retail from Local taxAvoidance into Your Backyard. The Tax Lawyer , 875-908.