Market Environment Variables

When planning a marketing strategy, managers must understand how the changing market environment may impact business opportunities. It is important that these opportunities be evaluated for fit with the firm's objectives and resources. Essentially, managers should seek out opportunities where a chance for competitive advantage exists and, if possible, where favorable trends exist in the external environment.

The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of the variables in a changing market environment by choosing different quotes from a case study and placing them in the appropriate category.

Read the case on Amazon and associate each quote with the market environment variable it represents.

Back in $1995,$ when

Amazon.com first went online, its founder Jeff Bezostaw a breakthrough opportunity in changing the retail shopping experience. Amazon's strategy took advantage of trends Bezos observed, especially a growing number of consumers shopping on the Internet. Laws back then didn't require the collection of sales tax on online sales, which offset charges for shipping and handling. Early investors were patient as Amazon lost $$3$ billion from $1995$ to $2003.$ They shared Bezos's belief that if Amazon consistently delivered value and satisfaction, customers would come back, buy more, and tell their friends. Bezos's and his investors' predictions were on target.

Amazon quickly pursued global growth, initially launching new sites in both the United Kingdom and Germany. Like the United States, these markets offered a large number of customers with access to the Internet and high incomes. Amazon is now in $14$ countries, including Australia, Canada, France, India, and China. Although most of these efforts have gone well, Amazon has struggled to gain a foothold in the important and fast$-$growing Chinese market. Amazon believes that in order to turn things around in China, it needs to better customize its marketing strategy to the local culture.

Amazon continually strives to make shopping convenient. For example, local inventory enables the Amazon's Prime Now program, which offers customers one$-$hour delivery in some markets and same$-$day delivery in others. Amazon hopes to someday use drone aircraft to deliver small packages in $30$ minutes or less. Right now, local regulations$-$rather than technology limitations$-$are holding up this plan.

In its hometown of Seattle, Amazon is testing a new grocery store concept called Amazon Go$.$ This store lets customers walk in$,$ grab what they want, and walk out$-$without having to swipe a card or stand in a checkout line. Artificial intelligence and sensors placed throughout the store track items customers place in their physical baskets, and the Amazon Go app places those same items in their virtual shopping carts. When finished shopping, a customer simply walks out and everything is charged to his or her Amazon account.