Group Project
Amber C. Taylor
Liberty University
Module Two Paper
BUSI 520- Group 4
03 June 2018
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Group Project
Internal and External Marketing Variables of Amazon Echo
Many corporations in today’s society are constantly competing with one another to design
the newest technological advancement that customers will desire to buy. In recent years,
Amazon created a smart speaker with voice recognition features that operates to assist
individuals in their daily tasks. This device, formally known as Amazon Echo, is convenient,
easily accessible, and operational for people of all ages.
Product Description and Firm History
Amazon, first founded in 1994 and launched in the following year, originally operated as
a website solely designed to sell books. Founder, Jeff Bezos, had a far greater vision for his firm,
aspiring to create a website that would be considered “an everything store” (Hartmans, 2017).
Within the following years, Amazon quickly progressed to selling other items, such as
electronics, clothing, music, computing services, video games, and DVDs. Today, with its
headquarters located in Seattle, Washington, Amazon operates as a popular international e-
commerce company that not only sells the items listed above, but also local services such as
daily deals and groceries.
In 2014, Amazon decided to create a new smart device that would enhance the
accessibility of consumers as they performed their daily tasks. Amazon Echo, a free-hand digital
device was designed to assist the management of one’s at-home lifestyle. Powered with Alexa,
Echo’s intelligent voice-activated voice service, Amazon Echo can perform a variety of tasks,
such as turn off lights, order a pizza, and play music (Orr & Sanchez, 2018). Among the variety
of advances technology has to offer in today’s society, Amazon Echo is considered highly
favorable Amazon’s customer base.
The Traditional 4 P’s
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Group Project
Product
When purchasing Amazon Echo, customers ideally desire to own a smart speaker that is
convenient and easy to operate. Amazon Echo, a circular can-shaped device, is only 9" high, has
a diameter of 3.27", and contains a 2" tweeter and 2.5" woofer, as well as offers 360 degrees of
immerse sound (B&H Features, 2015). The enhanced technological device is delivered directly
to the customer’s front door, is designed to operate from any room in the house, and is suitable in
size to operate on the majority of surfaces.
Place
Amazon Echo is available for purchase through Amazon’s online shopping network.
Amazon directly ships to all 48 contiguous states, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
Operating at the convenience of the customer, Amazon Echo can be purchased from any device
that offers Internet access.
Price
As Amazon Echo operates as the original device, there are several other reconstructive
forms of the product, such as Echo Dot, Dot Kids, Spot, Show, and Plus, each of which generally
sell at a range of prices that differ from the original. Amazon Echo retails at $99.99 and is
distributed at a free shipping rate.
Promotion
The promotion of Echo is done in a fashion that allows the opportunity to reach as many
consumers as possible. Such promotion occurs throughout various forms of electronic and
written media, including ads, television commercials, billboards, advertisements, newspaper
articles, and all methods of social media.
The New 4 P’s
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Group Project
People
Amazon takes pride in its corporate culture, beginning with its employees whom each
play a vital role in the overall succession of the firm. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, has recently
appointed two co-CEOs of his corporation within the past two years. Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s
senior vice president of consumer business, is now appointed as the CEO of Amazon’s
Worldwide Consumer (Vanian, 2016). Andy Jassy, Amazon’s senior vice president of cloud
computing arm, now operates as the CEO of Amazon Web Services (Vanian, 2016). When
promoting the two senior divisional leaders, both of which have been employed with Amazon
since the company’s early expansion in the late 1990’s, Bezos acknowledged that Amazon was
not generating a reorganization of its firm, but simply recognizing its employee’s important roles
attributed to the corporation and its culture. Corporate leadership is rooted in Amazon’s
foundation, as each of its CEOs has been with the company in its earliest stages, and strives to
ensure that employee empowerment and customer acknowledgment are succeeded at all times.
Processes
Amazon Echo is covered in Amazon’s one-year limited warranty allowance for its
devices. Amazon warrants Echo against all defects in both materials and workmanship under
normal and ordinary use of the customer within one year of the original retailing purchase date
(Amazon: Device Support, 2018). All questions and concerns involved with Amazon Echo can
be discussed with Amazon’s customer service employees via telephone or online chat windows
available on the website. Amazon’s website also offers the answers to frequently asked questions
concerning Echo, as well as videos to help guide the user through any troubleshooting issues.
Program
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Group Project
Programs reflect “all the firm’s consumer-directed activities” (Kotler & Keller, 2012, p.
25). Amazon is a customer-centric corporation that strives on meeting the individual needs of
both its employees and customers. Amazon has several programs that donate, give back, and aid
in the lifestyles of its workers and consumers. Some examples of these highly appreciated
programs include, but are not limited to, helping the homeless through food delivery and shelter,
handing out healthy snacks to promote nutrition throughout communities, and donating eBooks
to young readers in Africa.
Performance
Although Amazon Echo was originally released in 2014, the popularity of the device did
not skyrocket until 2016 when its sales increased to 5.2 million dollars, opposed to the previous
year where sales only accounted 2.4 million dollars. The successful performance of Amazon
Echo continues to rise as the firm shows repeated enhancements to the device and its
subordinates.
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Group Project
References
Amazon: Device Support. (2018). One-year limited warranty for Amazon. Retrieved from
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201014520
B&H Features. (2015). Entertainment Close-Up. Retrieved from
http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A432539795/BIC?u=vic_liberty
&sid=BIC&xid=c292837c
Hartmans, A. (2017). 15 fascinating facts you probably didn’t know about Amazon. Retrieved
from http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-amazon-history-facts-2017-4
Kotler, P. T., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (Custom 15th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson, Inc.
Orr, D., & Sanchez, L. (2018). Alexa, did you get that? Determining the evidentiary value of
data stored by the Amazon Echo. ScienceDirect, 24. Retrieved from https://www-
sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/science/article/pii/S1742287617301809
Vanian, J. (2016). Amazon now has three CEOs. Retrieved from
http://fortune.com/2016/04/07/amazon-three-ceos-wilke-jassy-bezos/
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