Executive Summary The report is a marketing strategy plan of Amazon, one of the top online retailing brands acknowledged by many people around the world. Amazon.com obsessed with the inspiring vision statement to be “Earth’s most customercentric company while the mission of Amazon which consistent with the vision statement, “To leverage leverage technology and the e!pertise of our invaluable employees to provide our customer with the best shopping e!perience on the "nternet "nternet## $%ladim $%ladimir, ir, &'('). *uccess *uccessful fully ly positio positioning ning as a +local +local $+o global global Act Act local) local) e commerce giant, Amazon has become a reliable company where one can purchase anything and get it shipped to any distant locations. +oing beyond the * market, Amazon currently has its subsidiaries in different countries such as Europe, Australia, -razil, apan, /hina, and "ndia. /urrently, Amazon is chasing the chance of fostering its business in /hina because it has invested a huge amount of money in this market. -esides, the company is also aware of the potential development of entering the new market in %ietnam due to its rapid growth of economy and "nternet users in *outheast Asia area. As a result, the report will offer an ob0ective evaluation of both opportunities, thus focus on the one appropriated with Amazon’s */A, strengths and capabilities. According to the previous marketing audit, Amazon has applied successfully two integrated generi genericc strat strategi egies es inclu includin ding g innov innovati ation on and relat relation ionshi ship p strat strateg egies ies over over two two decade decades. s. 1otwithstanding, the firm currently perceives the more essential of relationship generic strategy over time while developing its brand to increase the recognition of customers toward Amazon, Amazon, thus brand brand strategy strategy eventually eventually becomes becomes a strong strong feature feature as well. well. To entering entering %ietnam market, the company should use the combo branding-channel generic
strate strategie gies s with with the major major brand branding ing strate strategy gy.. The fundam fundament ental al of the branding strategy is the spread of branding in every facet of the company including its advertising (Cravens et al, 2000. !eanwhile, the nature of channel"relationship strategy concentrates on the control of distribution channels li#e suppliers and customers as the essence of the company$s mar#eting strategy. strategy. %tanding at the number one in the &% mar#et as the leader of the online
domination in the combo branding-channel strategies because the company needs to position in the minds of targeted customers as the leader of innovation of product as well as e!cellent customer service. 2urthermore, Amazon can establish relationships with its stakeholders through channel strategy to obtain an advantage cost in delivering and trading goods, thus Amazon customers can buy lowprice and high3uality products. Even high appreciated in several attributes including customer services, innovation, and branding, the company still have to improve features comprising reliability, price and ordering, packing 4 delivering process to catch up with local entrants. The company has ade3uate inherent capacities including good leadership, strong +
investment, and mar#eting resources to utilie the combo brandingchannel strategies for developing in the %ietnamese market. 5egarding to 6romotion in the marketing mi! of the pro0ect, the company can take advantage of social media in stimulating its brand. Amazon should generate new mobile purchase app as well as a website that fit with locally targeted market and the 3uality of network system. "n addition, using 7anbo $Amazon brand mascot) could be a creative way to strengthen brand image and brand personality of the firm. 8hen it comes to 6lace9distribution, Amazon can use new shipping method to compete with its competitors and to ensure the 3uality of delivery in rural areas as well as big cities. To assist this ob0ective, the company can apply alliance strategy to cooperate with suppliers and delivery companies, thus both sides can achieve a winwin situation. Among broad product line provided to %ietnamese customers, Amazon should focus on new :indle version for children and young customers with special features. ;eanwhile, the firm may offer different online payment methods with strong benefits to gradually affect the habit of customers in using /<7 payment in online shopping.
t should be ac#nowledged that implementation part is e/ually essential to strategy formulation as both have inuences on the successful of a company. t should be ac#nowledged that many companies even have really a good mar#eting plan but fail in apply the plan in a real situation. 's a result, the implementation process of 'maon will have four stages including emphasiing the essence and objectives, allocation of resources, management the process, monitor and #eeping everything on trac#.
employee value
proposition associated with the company
culture.
Therefore, the company can allow all sta#eholders engage in the project plan from the early stage and wor# more eciently. 3hilst, 'maon employees will have chances to be creative and more empowered in challenging wor#ing environment, which permeates the company culture.
Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 1. Opportunities times two 1 2. Justification
1
3. Holistic an sna!e positionin"
2
#. SC$ an value proposition
#
%. Capabilities
%
&. 'ar!etin" 'ix
&
(. )our sta"es of implementation
*
+. Two special features of implementation 11 *. ,uality of inte"ration t-rou"-out t-e strate"y 11 eferences
12
1.
Opportunities times two 2.
2irst of all, Amazon might e!pand current market share in /hina by utilizing two lowcost and channel generic strategies with the ma0or channel strategy. According to 2araz $&'(=), Amazon /hina is recently likely to offer airdelivery services through 6rimeAir for saving costs, simultaneously leveraging its presence in the countryside that lacks proper infrastructure. To gain more profits in the intense competitive ecommerce market of /hina, Amazon could implement alliance management strategy to develop a logistic business which also assists Amazon in e!porting goods to the * as well as distributing goods from * factories $2araz, &'(=).
>. *econdly, Amazon can enter a new internationally market with its current products in %ietnam where has a high potential for growth of -&/ E/ommerce and the fastest increasing
middle
and
affluent
class
in
the
*outh
East
Asia
area
$Companiesand!ar#ets.com, 20*5. "nstead of offering the broad categories of all products at the same time, it will be better for Amazon to focus on its core product first such as books, ebooks, :indle and technology stuff with new methods of order and shipping that suitable to local cultural and development situation. This opportunity could be practically implemented by using brandingchannel generic strategy $the dominant branding strategy) with a new mobile purchase platform. ?.
5.
Justifcation 6. Chinese mar#et is considered as one of the lucrative mar#ets for all companies from 3estern countries including 'maon, yet the highly intense competition many times stops 'maon in the increase of mar#et share.
'libaba7s Tmall and 8.com occupy the large mar#et share of China ecommerce, at 9: percentage and 20 percentage respectively, while 'maon just holds a mere mar#et share of
*.* proportion in the 1rst
/uarter of 20*9 (3ang, 20*9. ;ven though, 'maon has recently started advertising itself more aggressively in China through launching a store in
Tmall to sell more foreign electronics, pursuing the chance to become a huge player is in cross-border e-commerce. @. !eanwhile, %ietnam is one of Asia countries offering favourable conditions in policy, transparency and financial sector regulation for international ecommerce companies, encouraging those companies to bring its highlydemanded products and ecommerce ecosystem to the country $
. 9.
10. Holistic and snake positioning ((. According to Amazon’s mission statement, the essence of Amazon is market orientation which all the customers’ needs and wants are the starting point for Amazon to generate value, underlining customer obsession rather than competitor focus $rde et al, &'(>). Amazon.com is wellknown all over the world as the leader in innovation of product as well as e!cellent customer service. "n particular, Amazon has invested a huge part of its budget on developing the website where customers could easily access, leaving feedbacks and reviews for products. nderstanding the need of reading unlimited books, Amazon is the first company in the world releasing :indle a great ebook device. 8hilst, Amazon has strengthened the current relationship with its partners to achieve an advantage cost in delivering and trading goods, thus Amazon shoppers can purchase products with the best 3uality but the lower price at the same time. (&. *tanding at the number one in the *, yet Amazon will be a challenger in %ietnam market because it comes later. According to The Economist $&'(B), Cazada online retailer from +ermany has developed in si! *outheast Asian countries since it established in &'(&, largely undisputed by online retailing giants such as Alibaba and Amazon. Another famous name in -&/ ecommerce in %ietnam is Tiki D a domestic company which initially focus on selling books and ebooks. According to 7" ;arketing $&'(B), Cazada and Tiki are respectively the first and the second ecommerce company gaining high customer satisfaction of products and service in %ietnam. Even the competition between online retailers in %ietnamese market recently is not so aggressively, things could totally change after few years. Therefore, this is an urgent moment for Amazon to take a chance of entering %ietnamese ecommerce market before other international ecommerce companies recognize the opportunity. (>. "n the case of %ietnam, a brandingchannel combo generic strategy could be the most rational approach for Amazon to pursue with the ma0or branding strategy. To support this generic strategies, Amazon might use a follower strategy like leapfrogging the leader market with utmost product technology, product 3uality and customer service $3al#er et al, 200= . -eside, alliance strategy can also help Amazon e!pand its products in the new market as well as strengthen channel9relationship strategy.
(?.
Snake diagram or !ma"on# $iki and %a"ada *0 = : > 6 9 5 4 2 * 0
'maon
Ti#i
?aada
(B. The diagram above reveals that Amazon is rank highest for customer service, innovation and branding attributes. Amazon has built strongly customer relationship through customer service and invested on technology to leverage their inhouse products for meeting customers’ e!pectation. ;eanwhile, %ietnamese people could recognize Amazon through the logo “from A to # and lovely 7anbo $Amazon bo! robot) as brand mascots. Fowever, those attribute that Amazon does not achieve high score include reliability, price, and ordering, packing 4 delivering process. 7ue to late entering into %ietnamese market, it will take time for Amazon to catch up with two competitors and gain attention from customers. -esides, the diagram also shows three remaining attributes of Amazon including variety, trust, and price.
(=.
1&. S'! and value proposition *:.
@irst of all, the customer relationship is the most prior sustainable
competitive advantage of 'maon which has made its reputation in the world. Compared with two rivals considered as clones of 'maon, the company could maintain and even constantly improve the eAcellent customer services in every country having its branch. n particular, the company has diBerent customer channel comprising telephone, e-mail, and chat to address all in/uiries and complaints immediately. 'maon also oBers a convenient interface to customers for registering their complaint and leaving feedbac# on products and pac#ing. (G. %econdly, the company continuingly stimulate itself to be innovative
through creating a new design of
20.
@inally, branding strategy is now becoming another competitive
advantage of 'maon over two decades successfully wor#ing in the ecommerce industry. ;ven reaching a high level of awareness, 'maon just has a limited ad budget. nstead of trying to buy love, it obtains from the customer-centric orientation and the word-of-mouth it generates. The brand was built up through smart inventiveness li#e its @rustration-@ree Dac#aging created as the replacement for old non-environment friendly plastic models (!urphy, 20*0. 'ccording to 8eB eos, 'maon made the brand promise of ta#ing care of their customer for starters and delivers on those promises ('pparel, 2006.
2*.
To gain trust and consistently retain eAisting customers over the world,
'maon has several long-term strategies li#e 'maon Drime E annual subscription saving schemes for loyal customers and personalied page which
trac#s
previous
purchase
behaviour
and
applying
modern
technology to suggest recommendations $Fi#hil, 20**. 3ith a huge networ# of ful1lment centres across the world, 'maon could provide customers with wide range of products and fast /uality delivery service (Tre1s, 20*9. "n short, the value proposition of Amazon in %ietnam is “Amazon is the e commerce company that provides the best selective products with saving B'H shipping fee and convenient services for %ietnamese families and young customers#.
22.
(). 'apa*ilities 25.
@irst of all, the C;G 8eB eos having a good leadership style inspires
talented wor#force and maintains the strength of customer-centric, together they create the uni/ue culture of endurance and eAcellence. t is true that wor#ing in 'maon is not easy as each employee has to push themselves as far as they can to achieve high eApectation of customers. However, it could partly eAplain why the organiation has maintained eciency operation through H+ management and staB development environment. 25.
%econdly, 'maon has #ept invested in + department to handle with
a mass amount of data retrieved from its webpage, eventually supporting 'maon strength of
'ccording to 'maon.jobs
(20*6,
Creative service
teams
concentrate on Iresponding to the uni/ue needs of each business, its customers and the products it sellsJ.
26.
@inally, the company attains great mar#eting resource to assist its
brand e/uity. n particular, customer-li#ing capability based on tactic #nowledge and interpersonal s#ills of 'maon staB is inherently dicult for rivals to copy (Hooley et al, 2009. nterpersonal s#ills of 'maon staB could see through the way they use email mar#eting or friendly answer customers$ feedbac#s for leveraging customer eAperience. @urthermore, the reputation and credibility of the company among its sta#eholders li#e distributors and suppliers also strongly facilitate its brand e/uity. 2>.
(+. ,arketing ,ix (-.
romotion
40.
Amazon’s brand personality will be developed as friendly and helpful while the brand
image will be timely delivery and remaining 3uality of products in all areas. 2irst of all, along with building its website in %ietnamese, Amazon should utilize Amazon mobile app that is easytouse and has a modern interface to reach %ietnamese families and young customers. %econdly, Amazon should realize the importance of popular social networks in %ietnam such as 2acebook and "nstargram to reach wider targeted customer. 2or e!ample, when introducing new
Ireal customer eAperiencesJ campaign in @aceboo# which attracts more people tal#ing about the brand. @inally, 'maon can use its famous brand mascot (anbo to create limited gifts for luc#y customers sharing, writing comments about 'maon in @aceboo#. Adorable friendly anbo can appear in big events related to boo#s and technology devices that 'maon will be the sponsor, resulting in an increase in brand awareness of the company. 'maon also can do mobile mar#eting strongly associated with online social media through creating a mobile game app for children and young customers, using hashtag Kestelivery and anbo as the main character. t is a fact that no online retailing companies did gaming
mar#eting in )ietnam before, thus the new game app could receive positive feedbac#s and help 'maon teach new behaviours and drive brand loyalty.
4*.
)(.
lace/ istri*ution
44.
'pproAimately two-thirds of online retailing websites in )ietnam
including ?aada and Ti#i have received many complaints from buyers regarding to delivery times and customer services (L%tats, 20*9. Therefore, 'maon as a follower can ta#e advantage of the pioneer$s mista#e by improving )ietnamese online shopping eAperience (3al#er et al, 200=. @irstly, the company may apply new shipping method such as 4hour delivery in metropolitan areas and 2-day delivery in rural areas. !eanwhile, 'maon can collaborate with most reliable partners li#e H? or )iettelDost to ensure timely delivery process. %econdly, 'maon )ietnam can initially co-operate with 'maon China to deliver goods from
nearest ful1lment centres in China to )ietnam while building two big ful1lment centres in Hanoi and Ho Chi !inh cities. 'fter that, the system of ful1lment and customer services centres need to ensure the /uality of delivering and products in rural areas maintained the same as big metropolitans. @inally, the company can also use alliance strategy with resellers and suppliers to develop their products and service oBering, for eAample,
35.
roduct
>=. Among those, books9ebooks, :indles ereaders will be developed as core products in the new market. 2irst of all, Amazon can conduct some researches before designing a new version of :indle to make sure that it will fit with local cultural. The change in design can emphasize on special features such as accessible to :indle program without 8ifi, supporting. *econdly, the targeted market of :indle in %ietnam will be young customers and families, thus designs of an eyeprotect screen for children and enduring protected case could be put into consideration. To compete with Tiki also offering ebooks, Amazon can invest in technology to make sure that audiences can access and purchase items faster than Tiki currently do.
>@. rice >. L%tats (20*9 emphasie that cash on delivery (CG is by far the major
payment method, yet online payment or card payment is better now because of high urbanization rate, youth population and increasing income. Amazon should initially offer /<7 payment methods but gradually drive customers to use online payment methods through showing them its clear benefits. The company may cooperate with big local banks to compete with Tiki and Cazada, discounting >'H for customers using online payment method. 2urthermore, Amazon can provide saving B'H shipping fee program for loyal customers or free shipping for them on big discount occasions while maintaining the 3uality of its website, which Cazada obviously cannot do currently. >G.
0. 2our stages o implementation ?(. "n the first stage, Amazon has to concentrate on the biggest goal to achieve the second place in the online retailing market after one year entering %ietnam, gaining appro!imately &BH of total market share and profit of IB million. Cikewise, the essence of the company is to offer customer selective high3uality products with fast delivery and better customer services. The company helps customers recognize their needs, thus creates urgency and increases the prospect that %ietnamese customers will buy Amazon’s products. Therefore, the firm has several priorities including doing research market and new products, building up fulfilment
centres, recruiting 4 training local employees, 3uickly establishing relationships with key stakeholders, improving the mobile platform and website in the new market. ?&. "n the following stage, the company needs to promptly allocate ade3uate and sufficient resources to enable the marketing strategy plan to work efficiently. The main advantages of %ietnamese market for all foreign companies are cheap abundant workforce and help from the government with great strides in policy. Fowever, %ietnamese workers need to be trained and intensely pushed through different challenges to keep up with the competition and offer better service for customers. 2urthermore, Amazon in the * could send senior managers to help build the team. Another necessary resource will be "T support through cooperating with technological e!perts of Amazon apan and Amazon *A to come up with ideas of new :indle, mobile purchase platform 4 website and 7anbo game app. 5ecruiting young talents from local technological universities could be put into consideration as they are 3uite creative and know targeted market’s needs. -ased on the importance of different departments, the company will spend ma0or its budget on 547 department and F5 department. ?>. "n the third stage, Amazon %ietnam will focus on how to manage the implementation of marketing plan through assigning tasks for each department with e!plicit responsibilities and timeline.
??.
3antt '4art 2or ,anaging Stage 'nalye current mar#et and main rivals %tart survey targeted customers +esearch for new product +ecruiting Training local staB ;stablish relationship with sta#eholders Menerate website mobile apps +unning new campaign @eedbac# from customers %taB climate survey 0
2
5
6
:
*0
H+ department
+ department
D+ department
!ar#eting %ales department
*2
*5
*6
*:
?B. The company needs to identify all possible internal and e!ternal stakeholders who can assist the company in effectively putting the marketing strategy plan into action. "t will be better if Amazon allows key stakeholders involve early in the pro0ect through communication to be aware of their e!pectation, thus devise corporate ob0ectives and goals. 2or e!ample, Amazon’s customers can en0oy innovative products with better services while Amazon will bring more 0ob opportunities for local people, eventually stimulating economic growth and technology development of the community. Cikewise, Amazon employees in %ietnam will have chances to work in challenging environment and, thus enrich their career e!perience. -esides, the company culture and sense of team spirit should spread to every staff to encourage them to be creative when working in selfmanaging teams.
56.
"n the final stage, the company ought to come up with :6" measures and information
systems due to the prere3uisite of monitoring the progress and keeping everything on track. "n particular, longterm financial metrics will include pro1t and costs analysis
associated with particular mar#eting activitiesN eApense and budget comparison (Ted, 20*9. Gther non-1nancial
?@.
+. $wo special eatures o implementation 5=.
%pecial attributes that are bene1cial for 'maon compared to
competitors will comprise a sense of urgency in every stage of the implementation process and the employee value proposition associated with the company culture. @irstly, members in all departments #now about 'maon priority of customer-centric as well as the detailed plan from the beginning. @urthermore, the managers will fre/uently communicate with sta#eholders both good and bad news, thus 1A the problems together. njecting a spirit of urgency into the team could help 'maon increase operation eciency as people will ma#e decisions /uic#ly and moving ideas along. %econdly, 'maon provides staB with a good standard of ;)D including rewards, opportunity, health insurance and career development to attract new employees and #eep old ones. n 'maon, all ideas and feedbac#s from employees are ta#en into account to improve the current situation.
90.
51. uality o integration t4roug4out t4e strategy 92. The mar#eting strategy plan is generated based on the in-depth understanding of the current mar#et in )ietnam. The local people are loo#ing for high-/uality products and better services which 'maon with its inherent %C' could de1nitely provide, thus the opportunity to enter )ietnamese mar#et is /uite signi1cant. 's a result, the mar#eting miA that aligned with 'maon$s capabilities is created, based on targeted customers$ perspective and what two rivals are currently doing. @inally, the implementation process is build up to ensure that everything is under control.
94. 95.
