Table of Contents
Introduction
Alibaba is a brand that is known around the world, and that has so far established itself and left formidable footprints in not just e-commerce but for other services like logistics, marketing services and payments among very many others. This has led to Alibaba building a customer base that is estimated to go beyond two billion and is said to have expanded into other places around the world. Thus this paper will look at the king marketing strategy Alibaba has, and this will be done by looking at its marketing strategy plan.
Market Segmentation
A giant like Alibaba has developed a clear strategy in its quest of knowing the market base it wants. And as such it has developed a system where it uses demographic and psychographic segmentation in order to segment the markets (Tan et al., 2009). This they do after studying the actual purchase behavior and not what people had instead expressed experience in but what they did. The segmentation, therefore, endeavours to target each customer on an individual basis and as such allowing the company to term those who would have been potential visitors to long-term customers at Alibaba.
Competitive strategy plan
Its marketing strategy plan has also gone ahead to include a diversification of its business line. This has been done by making the presence in cloud computing, entertainment, payment services as well as payment data (Wood, 2007). This marketing plan has not only made sure that it has edged out of competition but has ensured that it remains ahead. Its plan has also been strengthened by the fact that it operates in a country that has a population of 1.4 billion. And that has always meant it has to tend to close to 1.4 billion needs and with this strategy has ensured its place and secured its position as one of the fastest growing companies in this field of service.
Another plan that has ensured its place in the world of commerce is the fact that it has developed a technologically advanced and an infrastructure that has been hailed as not just efficient but also quite robust. It has ensured seamless and effortless access to the goods where someone can communicate and sell the products to any person anywhere in the world. This plan has boosted not just its presence but its efficiency as well. It has also come up with a plan that ensures it has a good alliance with different companies who have then gone ahead to give positive recommendations that have increased the level of awareness between it and the customers and because of this approach, Alibaba is ahead of key competitors like Amazon and Walmart.
Targeting Strategy
Alibaba has evolved a targeting strategy with the knowledge that most of its shoppers are not only young but tech-savvy (Vervest et al., 2005). In other words, they are the new age clients that mark the generation Y and Z who their time, the convenience of not only buying but also selling as well as maintaining their stylish lifestyle matters more to them than anything. This strategy has worked for it especially in China where it virtually is the king of e-commerce and has successfully penetrated other markets, especially in the developed world even though it has struggled to gain ground in some places as a preferred e-commerce (Wei, 2014). It’s important to note that Alibaba had weathered competition and stayed ahead of competitors like Amazon and Walmart but then Amazon and Walmart has been continuously a preferred in other places like the United States and Canada.
Alibaba and Amazon Comparison
Being two giants in the world of e-commerce, it would be prudent to compare the marketing strategy plans for Amazon perhaps and take note of what would be possible differences and similarities and take note of things that possibly make them high as they are.
Looking at their plan when it comes to the targeting of its customers, it’s important to note that both have used similar strategies of psychographic and demographic to segment its markets (Chaffey, 2013). It means that they have both used the actual purchasing tendencies of the customers. And this has worked for both of these e-commerce giants in that they have managed to get a trail of loyal customers who at one point appeared to have been just visitors.
Both have also targeted people who from all social classes who like shopping and specific taste of their products but then have no time to go to shopping outlets to go and get those products by themselves (Chaffey et al., 2009). Therefore they have both taken to a plan of massive technology development that has enabled both of these brands to smoothly and seamlessly get in touch with their customers. This has led to both of these companies having an efficient system of communication and understanding of feedback from its customers. And have therefore successfully gotten a huge following from their loyal customers.
Unlike Alibaba which has intensively diversified its presence into several mega markets, Amazon has not indicated anywhere of such plans. Amazon has however gotten into extensive technology provisions that allow them to offer high value at a meagre cost much like Alibaba (Tanet al., 2015). This plan has allowed Amazon to achieve a status of economies of scale and it has done this through a program that will enable them to do extensive product offerings that are inclusive of electronics, toys and even games. The offerings have therefore allowed Amazon to keep their prices quite low while at the same time passing the benefits of this low rates right down to the customers (Huan et al., 2008). The customer-centric approach that is given by both Amazon and Alibaba which means that they have both taken their time and resources to evaluate the customer buying behavior and how it’s based when it comes to preference buying and this has helped in ensuring that both have stood firm even in the face of fierce competition.
The plans that have been stated have ensured that as much as Alibaba is a giant in places like China and has gained it has not gained track in places like Europe the same way Amazon has and the same can be said about Amazon in China which cannot come even close to what Alibaba has achieved.
Conclusion
To conclude Alibaba marketing strategy plan has enabled its dominance in China in that it has become one of the most customer-oriented brands in the recent years. It has also proven to be very competitive in its plan in that its branding has diversified into other technological business allowing it to be a household name that is known through and through. It, however, has faced very stiff competition even though it has stood tall and this partly due to the fact the level of following it has established in regions like China.
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