Market Segmentation and Targeting
Problem Statement
Regular TV programming devices do not have an application to allow viewers to
catch up with missed shows. Unlike these standard TV devices, Amazon New TV devices
come with preloaded applications such as Netflix and Hulu that allow viewers to catch up on
missed shows (Hadgkiss et al., 2019).
Target Market
The target market for Amazon New Fire TV devices are customers that need a more
entertaining TV experience. Another target audience is those who do not have access to cable
television or choose not to purchase it. Amazon New Fire TV devices target customers who
have access to the internet (Garner, 2018). The devices need Wi-Fi to stream their favorite
TV shows and sports such as AMC, HGTV, EPSN, and FOX.
Marketing Segments
Amazon's target customers can be broken down into three segments based on the
content they desire.
Movie Buffs
This segment is made up of customers who love all types of movies, new and old.
They may be interested in streaming from the Amazon Prime library or a third-party service
such as Crackle or Netflix (Ambler et al., 2004).
Prime-Time TV Viewers
In this segment, customers will want to know how to watch the most recent shows
that aired, or they may even want to stream live TV at a lower cost than what is offered
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through satellite or cable companies. These customers may be more interested in using their
Fire TV Stick to access Hulu, Sling, or Netflix (Ambler et al., 2004).
Music Lovers
Customers who fall into this segment will be intrigued to know they can use their Fire
TV Stick to listen to their favorite tunes right in their living rooms. Amazon lets users upload
their music libraries to the Amazon Cloud to stream anywhere, anytime, and a diverse free
music library for Prime users (Ambler et al., 2004).
This marketing plan focuses on the Prime-Time TV viewers market segment. In this
segment, viewers need to subscribe to access streaming services. Viewers stream using
applications such as Netflix, Hulu, and Sling. They use payment services such as PayPal,
debit, and credit cards. With these subscriptions, Amazon will increase its revenue, therefore,
providing growth and profit opportunities.
Mission, Objectives, and Goals
Amazon's mission statement is "We strive to offer our customers with the lowest
possible prices, the best selection available and the best possible convenience" (Gregory,
2017). Its vision statement is "To be a customer-centric company, where people can find
anything they want to buy online" (Gregory, 2017). Both the vision and mission statements
are customer-focused, which tells their employees and consumers that customer satisfaction
is their top priority.
Amazon's strategic objective is "to build competitive e-commerce advantage through
continuous improvement of information technology infrastructure and to establish new online
retail websites that correspond to new countries added to the company's global market reach"
(Smithson, 2017). Amazon's goal is to improve its information technology infrastructure and
be innovative in developing new global online retail platforms.
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Marketing Information and Research
Research Question
Do the video-streaming set-top boxes satisfy customer expectations?
Information Needed
The number of people who prefer an entertaining TV experience and streaming their
favorite TV shows they missed over the week.
Research Recommendations
To collect the information needed to solve the research question, I used the research's
primary method. To find out the number of people who miss their favorite TV shows and
stream them, I will use a survey. I will use websites such as Yelp and Trip Advisor to conduct
the survey. I recommend this research method because it is useful and gives people a choice
to voice their opinion.
Identifying the Customer and Problem
The primary decision maker in Amazon New Fire TV devices' target segment is the
Prime-Time TV viewers. The Prime-Time TV viewers want to watch the most recent TV
shows aired or the TV shows they missed. They stream the shows using Netflix, Sling, or
Hulu. Prime-Time TV viewers make their purchasing decisions depending on the recent TV
shows that have been aired. Amazon New Fire TV devices will enable Prime-Time TV
viewers to stream the recently aired TV shows that they missed watching.
Factors Affecting Customer Decisions
B2B/organizational buying considerations
Amazon company has standard prices for their New Fire TV series. Besides, the
company ensures it adheres to the needs of all its customers. It has frameworks to ensure all
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customers are satisfied. Amazon offers free shipping for the products and has a return policy
if the customers were not happy.
Geographic characteristics:
Amazon New Fire TV devices target people from urban areas who access electricity
and the internet.
Personal and demographic characteristics:
People with higher incomes tend to buy Amazon New Fire TV devices than those
with lower incomes. Besides, New Fire TV devices' consumers are majorly between the age
of eighteen to thirty-five years old.
Reaching the Customer
The use of social media is powerful for a business to reach customers and prospects.
Customers interact with Amazon brands through social media (Kapferer, 2012). Amazon
advertises its products on all channels, specifically Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
Another way of reaching Amazon reaches its customers is by talking directly to them.
Amazon can speak to its target customers directly by creating customer specific-message.
Customer-specific messages ensure that the targeted customers receive the message.
Therefore, customers can relate the message to their needs, resulting in an increasing
purchase.
Positioning and Differentiation
Amazon New Fire TV devices are recognized for their high quality and customized
profiles that provide customers with content recommendations. Devices are also known for
connecting and controlling several smart devices, including the Ring Surveillance camera and
the Alexa Explorer hub (Wong, 2011).
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Amazon New Fire TV devices features make them different from their competitors.
For instance, the Amazon New Fire TV stick has a prime program that offers customers
unlimited movie streaming. Besides, the device has more features than its competitors
including a voice remote and TV control stick (Wong, 2011).
Competitive Advantage
Free shipping to customers
Amazon provides free shipping the customers who purchase above a hundred dollars.
With the free shipping, the company will attract more customers, thus increasing its sales
volume (Shaughnessy, 2012).
Return policy
Amazon has a return policy within 30 days to gain their customer trust (Shaughnessy,
2012).
Pricing
Amazon gives a low price for its New Fire TV devices. For instance, the New Fire TV
stick's price is $ 39.99, which is relatively cheap compared to Apple TV, which costs $199.
Therefore, Amazon attracts more customers to buy from them compared to their competitors
(Shaughnessy, 2012).
Market Niche and Positioning Strategy
Amazon New Fire TV series' market niche is customers between the ages of eighteen
and thirty-five years old who enjoy binge-watching their favorite television shows and
movies. These individuals are familiar with streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu.
However, they are still looking for more options, such as download and stream media from
other devices such as cell phones or computers (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Product positioning
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is the strategy for conveying what makes a company's product better or different from those a
competitor offers. The product positioning strategy I recommend for this marketing plan is
brand differentiation. Through brand differentiation, Amazon will promote distinct benefits
and characteristics of their New Fire TV devices.
Positioning Statement
To customers who want a more entertaining TV experience, the Amazon New Fire
TV series is the only TV device that offers its customers unlimited movie streaming and
shipping because Amazon focuses on customer value and satisfaction.
Repositioning Considerations
The positioning strategy that I recommend for the Amazon New Fire TV series is
based on the value that the product can offer its customers. Therefore, Amazon should
consider consumers' desires, needs, and problems and choose the value that best solves
customers' problems (Mullins et al., 2012).
Brand Description
The brand that Amazon is building is the New Fire TV stick. Customers believe it is
the best among the streaming TV devices. According to Wells et al. (2017), with the Fire TV
stick, users can add various TV channels to their TV. Moreover, with the TV stick, a user
can include a host of streaming services such as HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime
Video. As for its product specification, the Fire Stick is accompanied by a remote control
that features an in-built microphone that supports voice control.
Brand Promise
The brand promise is to exceed customers' expectations for a high quality, high-value
experience at relatively low prices. Amazon should improve its brand promise to a product
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that satisfies all the customer needs and desires (Kapferer, 2012). When all consumer's needs
are met, sales volume will be increasing thereby increasing profits.
Brand Voice and Personality
Amazon New Fire TV device is of high quality and offers customers value for their
money. Amazon New Fire TV device is not a cable TV.
Brand Positioning and Strategy
Amazon should start shooting tv shows and movies in its studio, as streaming services
have risen in popularity over the past few years. Since Amazon Originals are only available
to Prime Members that use the Fire TV devices, this strategy brings additional value to the
Fire TV Stick (Dou et al., 2010). Therefore, Amazon can distinguish its New Fire TV devices
from the products of its competitors.
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References
Segmentation and Targeting
Ambler, T., Kokkinaki, F., & Puntoni, S. (2004). Assessing Marketing Performance: Reasons
for Metrics Selection. Journal of Marketing Management, 20(3,4), 475-498
Hadgkiss, M., Morris, S., & Paget, S. (2019). Sifting through the ashes: Amazon Fire TV
stick acquisition and analysis. Digital investigation, 28, 112-118.
Garner, B. A. (2018). Amazon in the global market. Journal of Marketing and
Management, 9(2), 63-73.
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Mission, Objectives, and Goals
Gregory, L. (2017, February). Amazon.com inc.'s vision statement & mission statement (an
analysis). Panmore Institute. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/amazon-com-inc-
vision-statement-mission-statement-analysis
Smithson, N. (2017, February). Amazon.com inc.'s generic strategy, intensive growth
strategies. Panmore Institute. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/amazon-com-inc-
generic-strategy-intensive-growth-strategies
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Arnett, J., Goldfinch, B., & Chinta, R. (2018). Multi-dimensional nature of innovation at
Amazon. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 15(1), 1-13.
Dou, W., Lim, K. H., Su, C., Zhou, N., & Cui, N. (2010). Brand positioning strategy using
search engine marketing. MIS quarterly, 261-279.
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thinking. Kogan page publishers.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2012). A framework for marketing management (5th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Mullins, J., Walker, O. C., & Boyd Jr, H. W. (2012). Marketing management: A strategic
decision-making approach. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Shaughnessy, H. (2012, April 29). Why Amazon Succeeds. In Forbes. Retrieved February 6,
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Wells, J. R., Danskin, G., & Ellsworth, G. (2018). Amazon. com, 2018. Harvard Business
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Wong, K. K. (2011). Crm in Action: Maximizing Value Through Market Segmentation,
Product Differentiation & Customer Retention. iUniverse.