Week 6 Assignment

Executive Summary
This report is a global marketing plan for Amazon. The plan consists of an environmental
analysis of Amazon on a global scale to identify economic, trade, social and cultural, political,
legal, regulatory, and political factors that affect its operations. Global organizations understand
the need for leveraging big data to gain helpful insight. In this regard, the report also includes a
segment of how Amazon will use information systems, market research, and big data to better
understand regions. Also included in the plan are the strategies for segmentation, targeting,
positioning for the Rwandese market. The plan has detailed market entry strategies, including
export selling and sourcing activities. Other strategies have been discussed and provide a
competitive advantage for competing against the industry forces. The four Ps of utility, product,
place, price, and promotion, have also been elaborated in this summary. Amazon’s corporate
social responsibility has been discussed in detail, including strategies for social responsiveness.

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Introduction
To expand into the African region, Amazon has considered venturing into the Rwanda market.
The organization focuses on delivering its products and services in e-commerce, digital
streaming, and artificial intelligence. Through continuous investment in the brand, Amazon has
become one of the world’s most valuable corporations. To sustain its global position, Amazon
needs to continue its expansion. This paper aims to evaluate specific strategies that Amazon can
use to expand into Rwanda.
Market research, information systems, and big data
In a significantly technological world, Amazon understands the need for considering market
research as an essential source of competitive advantage when venturing into a new market.
Market research will help Amazon anticipate and prepare for risks. Venturing into Rwanda
requires risk analysis. In mitigating and reducing risks, Amazon will rely on market research.
Such research will also guide marketing activities such as segmentation, positioning, and
targeting. Amazon has an existing research and development department of Amazon Science,
which will combine modern technology with its rich history in global operations to develop
actionable and accurately researched information. The existing information systems will manage
the information from the research. Amazon’s information systems run on decentralized
infrastructure that is not affected by downtime (Varia & Matthew 2014). This ensures that core
processes continue uninterrupted. Amazon’s information systems have been secured using
world-class cyber security systems to ensure no intrusion by unintended personnel, thereby
enhancing its integrity. By guaranteeing efficiency and integrity, Amazon’s information systems
will effectively handle customer and business needs in Rwanda. Amazon can bank on its
information systems to guarantee customers seamless transactions and operations.

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Amazon uses big data and cloud technology to streamline operations to meet customer
expectations and fulfill business requirements (Garcia & Wang, 2013). Amazon has world-class
data processing software that will enable it to plan and execute business activities such as
staffing, supply chain management, transaction processing, and customer interactions. Through
big data processing technology, Amazon will observe patterns in customer attitudes and
preferences towards its processes and products. Amazon collects data through its existing
technology and avenues such as its website and Alexa voice recordings. The corporation does
not share its data with third parties and commits to ensure that all the data is collected ethically
and is used only to improve and enhance the customer experience for the Rwandan market.
Further to that commitment, Amazon ensures that customers control the data collected. For
example, the Alexa assistant technology allows customers to delete data records such as
recordings.
Amazon segmentation, positioning, and targeting
Corporate leadership at Amazon understands the need to segment the market into
variables that ensure that the organization continues being a global leader and that corporate
strategies for expansion are achieved. Amazon will use psychographic market segmentation to
target the psychological elements of the Rwandese customers. Psychographic market
segmentation will be aided by research through auditing online footprint analysis (Tarabasz
2022).
Amazon also uses demographic market segmentation. Since the Rwandese market is new
to Amazon, the corporation will use market research and the data from customer interactions in
all platforms to ensure that they map out market demographics to predict product demand in each
demographic group. The country has a large population of 19 and 39 years. Amazon will target

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individuals in this age group for the initial marketing activities. The decision to target this age
group is further supported by the fact that this age group presents the highest number of internet
users in Rwanda. Rwanda has good internet connectivity that has many major towns connected
to the 4G internet. Amazon will fulfill its marketing activities through social media, the Amazon
app, and its website.
Export selling and sourcing activities
Amazon plans to set up an Amazon store in Rwanda to ease operations of exports and
distribution. This is a common strategy that Amazon uses worldwide, which ensures that the
corporation is able to deliver products to its customers whenever they are needed. This theory is
further supported by the fact that Rwanda can act as a hub for further penetration into the greater
Eastern Africa region, which has huge potential for new markets. Rwanda superb infrastructure,
such as a national air courier RwandAir, will be instrumental in air freight.
Rwanda is a landlocked country, meaning that the country lacks a coastline where cargo ships
can dock. However, the organization is confident that an alternative route such as through the
port of Dar es salaam. The port of Kenya is also considered due to its more advanced cargo
handling capability, but the country is further from Rwanda than Tanzania, and it also has an
unfavorable tax regime.
Amazon will source its e-commerce products directly from suppliers. This is an area that the
corporation is highly experienced in.
Competitive advantage to compete against the industry five forces
Technology

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The project for expanding into Rwanda has been backed by technological Amazon’s modern
technology. The technology has enabled the company to streamline operations and develop
competitive pricing models. The technology will aid in research and development, marketing
strategies, supply chain management, customer relations, and leveraging big data. Research and
development have created competitive advantage for Amazon previously (Watanabe et al.,
2020). The existing technology provides further competitive advantage through seamless
handling of transactions such as order processing and customer payment.
Experience and infrastructure
The corporation has a large pool of experience in global operations. The staff and corporate
management are appropriately skilled to utilize their skills to ensure the achievement of
Amazon’s corporate and regional goals. Amazon’s existing infrastructure will ensure efficiency
in the distribution of products. Previous investment in Amazon has enabled it to have an
elaborate distribution network. Therefore, Amazon can leverage that experience and
infrastructure to develop time and place utility and turn it into a competitive advantage.

Deep pockets.
The organization has been a profit-making organization through leveraging data and business
innovation (Rikap 2020). Therefore, it has accumulated financial reserves that will be
instrumental in the expansion into Rwanda. The initial outlay will require Amazon to set aside
finances for capital expenditure in property, technological infrastructure, recruitment and
staffing, licensing, and working capital. The financial reserves will also help amazon actualize its

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pricing strategy. Amazon will use a market penetration pricing strategy to set low prices of
products, attract a customer base and build market share.
Brand investment
Amazon has brand equity from continuous investment in the brand, such as through the activities
in marketing (Green & Keegan 2019). The marketing and branding activities have made Amazon
a globally recognized household name. Through the different available channels of advertising,
Amazon has continued to develop and add value to its brand, and this value will provide Amazon
with a valuable competitive advantage.
Pricing
As earlier mentioned, Amazon will use the price penetration strategy to venture into the
Rwandese market. Amazon’s corporate management is confident of the success that can be
achieved in Rwanda with the use of this strategy.
Product strategy
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs will guide the product strategy for Amazon. Rwanda is a third-
world country though world bank projections predicted that the country might be a second-world
country by 2050. The Maslow hierarchy of needs explains human motivation (McLeod 2007).
For Amazon, expansion into Rwanda means it will focus on strategies for psychological needs
first. Amazon will emphasize products that solve food, water, clothing, and shelter needs. Such
products include farming inputs and technology, data and information technology (IT) solutions,
water recycling systems, clothes and fashion, food storage, and processing technology for home
and industrial capacity.

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Place
Amazon will ensure that its products reach Rwandan customers at the most convenient place.
Establishing a physical store and the investment in supply chain infrastructure will enable
Amazon to guarantee place utility for its customers in Rwanda.
Promotion strategy
Amazon has an existing marketing platform. For entry into Rwanda, additional efforts to
reinforce the existing ones will be made. For example, the organization will announce its
presence by launching a physical Amazon store. This will be covered in local Rwandan media.
Additional coverage will be done on Amazon’s social media pages, and a link will be provided
for YouTube coverage. This will enable the launch to have greater reach. Amazon also plans to
give discounts for products to those who download the Amazon app and transact in Rwanda.
CSR and social responsiveness
Social and cultural responsiveness
Social responsiveness will be required to overcome cultural barriers. Rwanda is predominantly
inhabited by Hutu and Tutsi who speak Kinyarwanda. However, since France colonized the
country, French is a common language and is used to conduct official business. English is also
used to conduct official business. Amazon will use both languages to overcome language barriers
and ensure that the marketing messages reach the intended target and understand and decode the
message. Amazon will prioritize hiring locals in the organizational structure. This will help in
social and cultural responsiveness.

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Amazon’s CSR is presently structured around gender equality and minority communities.
Amazon will continue with these activities in Rwanda as a primary strategy. The commitment of
Amazon to its gender equality CSR strategy will be seen in the hiring. Secondary strategies for
Amazon in Rwanda include the eradication of poverty. The country is committed to becoming a
second-world country, and Amazon can help accelerate this process through corporate social
responsibility.
Amazon can engage in environmental conservation. Rwanda is a tropical country with many
rainforests. CSR activities will revolve around the preservation of the forest and the promotion of
tourism. Rwanda already has a tourism campaign dubbed Visit Rwanda, seeking to transform
Rwanda into Africa’s leading tourism destination. Amazon can be part of this campaign.
In conclusion, Amazon’s expansion into Rwanda has all the hallmarks of a success story. The
country is ripe and ready for an investment of Amazon’s size. The country’s economic standing
presents an ideal market for Amazon to target. Amazon has a competitive advantage in
technology, brand investment, experience and infrastructure, and financial reserves, making it a
strong competitor globally. The organization is confident that the competitive advantage and
market penetration strategy will bring transformative success in its global expansion campaign.

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References

Garcia, T., & Wang, T. (2013). Analysis of Big Data Technologies and Method – Query Large
Web Public RDF Datasets on Amazon Cloud Using Hadoop and Open Source Parsers.
2013 IEEE Seventh International Conference on Semantic Computing.
https://doi.org/10.1109/icsc.2013.49
McLeod, S. (2007). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply psychology, 1(1-18).
https://canadacollege.edu/dreamers/docs/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs.pdf
Rikap, C. (2020). Amazon: A story of accumulation through intellectual rentiership and
predation. Competition & Change, 102452942093241.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1024529420932418
Tarabasz, A. (2022). Be Like Amazon. Cases on Digital Strategies and Management Issues in
Modern Organizations, 23–50. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1630-0.ch002
Varia, J., & Mathew, S. (2014). Overview of amazon web services. Amazon Web Services, 105.
http://cabibbo.dia.uniroma3.it/asw-2014-2015/altrui/AWS_Overview.pdf
Watanabe, C., Tou, Y., & Neittaanmäki, P. (2020). Institutional systems inducing R&D in
Amazon- the role of an investor surplus toward stakeholder capitalization. Technology in
Society, 63, 101290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101290