Amazon.com. An e-commerce force in Europe

Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVE

1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS

2 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

2.1 DEFINITION OF E-COMMERCE

2.2 THE ONLINE MARKETPLACE

2.2.1 CURRENT STATUS

3 THE PATH TO CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

3.1 THE MARKETING MIX

3.1.1 THE 4 PS

3.1.2 THE 4 CS

3.2 CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

3.3 THE SEVEN PILLARS OF CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

3.4 ECONOMIC MOTIVATION OF PERSONALIZATION

3.4.1 DIRECT SWITCHING COSTS

3.4.2 OPPORTUNITY COSTS

3.4.3 SUNK COSTS

4 AMAZON

4.1 THE FOUNDING OF AMAZON AND RISE OF THE INTERNET

4.2 AMAZON’S CULTURE AND BUSINESS STRATEGY

4.3 CURRENT STATUS OF AMAZON

4.4 CUSTOMER LOYALTY

4.4.1 MEASURABLE EFFECTIVENESS

4.4.2 AMAZON PRIME

4.4.3 AMAZON APPS

4.4.4 TARGETED ADVERTISING

4.4.5 SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

4.5 AMAZON WEB SERVICES

5 THE MCR-BM CONCEPT

5.1 INTRODUCTION TO CRM

5.2 MANAGEMENT OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP IN BUSINESS MEDIA (MCR-BM)

5.2.1 CUSTOMER INTERACTION

5.2.2 ADDED VALUE FOR THE CUSTOMER

5.2.3 CUSTOMER PROFILING

5.2.4 TRUST

5.2.5 VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

5.2.6 PROCESSES

5.2.7 CONTROLLING

6 ANALYZING AMAZON’S ‘CUSTOMER CENTRIC’ EFFORTS

7 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ASSESSMENT

8 CONCLUSION

Thesis Objectives and Key Focus Areas

The primary objective of this thesis is to critically evaluate Amazon.com, Inc.'s ambition to become the world's most customer-centric company by analyzing its business practices, strategic frameworks, and loyalty initiatives against established marketing theories and the Management of Customer Relationship in Business Media (MCR-BM) model.

• Theoretical examination of traditional marketing mix concepts versus modern customer-centric approaches.
• Evaluation of Amazon’s corporate strategy and culture regarding customer obsession.
• Analysis of specific customer loyalty drivers like Amazon Prime, Subscribe & Save, and personalized services.
• Application of the MCR-BM framework to assess Amazon's practical implementation of customer relationship management.

Excerpt from the Thesis

Summary of Chapters

1 Introduction: Introduces the author’s motivation and the research objective to evaluate Amazon’s customer-centric mission.

2 Electronic Commerce: Defines e-commerce and provides an overview of the current digital market landscape.

3 The Path to Customer Centricity: Discusses historical marketing theory, the transition from the 4 Ps to 4 Cs model, and the core pillars of customer centricity.

4 Amazon: Examines Amazon's history, corporate culture, business strategy, and specific loyalty mechanisms like Prime and targeted advertising.

5 The MCR-BM Concept: Introduces the Management of Customer Relationship in Business Media (MCR-BM) framework and its seven building blocks.

6 Analyzing Amazon’s ‘Customer Centric’ Efforts: Applies the theoretical frameworks to Amazon’s actual practices.

7 Critical Analysis of the Assessment: Discusses the limitations of the evaluation based on data availability and the qualitative nature of the analysis.

8 Conclusion: Summarizes findings and confirms Amazon's strong alignment with customer-centric principles.

Keywords

Amazon, Jeff Bezos, customer centricity, CRM, MCR-BM, e-commerce, marketing mix, 4 Ps, 4 Cs, personalization, customization, consumer behavior, market strategy, digital economy, customer loyalty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the core focus of this research?

The thesis examines how Amazon.com, Inc. operationalizes its mission to be Earth's most customer-centric company through various technological and service-based strategies.

What are the primary thematic fields addressed?

The work covers e-commerce evolution, marketing mix theories (4 Ps vs. 4 Cs), customer loyalty programs, and the application of CRM frameworks within digital business models.

What is the main research objective?

The goal is to objectify Amazon's subjective claim of being "customer-centric" by comparing their strategies against established academic frameworks like the MCR-BM model.

Which scientific methodology is utilized?

The author uses a literature-based qualitative analysis, comparing existing academic marketing theories with empirical data and observations of Amazon's operational business practices.

What is discussed in the main body of the text?

The main body bridges the gap between historical marketing theory (4 Ps/Cs) and modern CRM tools, followed by a detailed case study of Amazon's services like Prime, FBA, and targeted advertising.

Which keywords characterize this thesis?

Key terms include customer centricity, MCR-BM, e-commerce, Amazon, personalization, and marketing mix.

How does Amazon utilize its 'Subscribe & Save' program?

It acts as a recurring delivery service that incentivizes customer retention through discounts, thereby increasing both customer convenience and long-term relationship commitment.

What role does the MCR-BM model play in the analysis?

It serves as a sophisticated CRM framework used to evaluate how companies manage relationships with customers in the digital economy, specifically identifying seven building blocks relevant to Amazon.