Portfolio Activity – Unit 1

# 1 – An analysis of Amazon.com Mission Statement

A mission statement reflects the essence of existence of a company, while at the same time

supporting its vision and serves to communicate its direction and purpose to employees, and

other stakeholders (SHRM, 2022).

When Amazon.com was launched in 1995, it was with the mission “to be Earth’s most

customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want

to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.” (Gennaro

Cuofano, 2022).

Containing the word “customer” three times, it can be said that the mission statement of

Amazon.com is market oriented. The first part, where its mission is to be “earth’s most

customer-centric company” reflects the vast extent to which it is ready to go to meet its

customers’ needs, ensuring their satisfaction. Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon.com has

perfected the company’s growth strategy, also known as the “flywheel” strategy. (Catie

Grasso, 2020) describes the Amazon flywheel model as being centered around price value.

The lower and more competitive the prices are, the more appealing the products are to

prospective customers, propelling more third-party sellers and brands to want to sell on the

marketplace. “If there’s one reason we have done better than our peers in the Internet space

over the last six years, it is because we have been focused like a laser on customer

experience, and that really does matter, I think, in any business. It certainly matters online,

where word-of-mouth is so very, very powerful.” – Jeff Bezos (Podean, 2020)

The mission statement also offers a strong sense of being product-oriented as it describes the

company’s limitless product possibilities since its customers can “find and discover anything
to buy”, that too at the “lowest possible prices” which are key words in securing a deal in a

product-oriented market.

Considering that Amazon.com was launched in 1995, there is one word in its mission

statement that makes it futuristic; and that is “online”. Back in the early 1990’s, most

common households did not own a personal computer and the access to internet was very

limited, inexistent even in some parts of the world. Still, Amazon.com had set its mission to

reach out to its customers all around the world through a yet to be discovered virtual world.

From a universal perspective, it can be said that Amazon’s mission statement does englobe

the major aspects of an ideal mission statement, whereby it clearly focusses on its target

market, while also exposing its marketing mix as support.

[411 Words]

References:

(SHRM, 2022) - https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/

isthereadifferencebetweenacompany%E2%80%99smission,visionandvaluestatements.aspx

(Gennaro Cuofano, 2022) - https://fourweekmba.com/amazon-vision-statement-mission-

statement/

(Catie Grasso, 2020) - https://feedvisor.com/resources/amazon-trends/amazon-flywheel-

explained/

(Podean, 2020) - https://www.podean.com/amazon-explained-the-flywheel/

# 2 – Strategic Planning of Wal-Mart

Strategic planning is a long-term process that helps an organization allocate its resources

to take advantage of different opportunities. Changes in external and internal environments

are to be analyzed by the firm so as to exploit these inputs within the planning and adjusting

process (Principles of Marketing, 2015).

The history of Walmart, an American discount department store chain, was founded in 1962

by businessman Sam Walton, with a single store in Bentonville, expanding outside Arkansas

by 1968 and throughout the rest of the Southern United States by the 1980s, ultimately

operating a store in every state of the United States, plus its first stores in Canada, by 1995

(Vance H. Trimble, 1990). Wal-Mart currently employs over 2,300,000 people across the

world (2022).

Wal-Mart’s mission statement “We deliver low prices, every day.” was mostly focused on its

marketing mix while providing low prices to its customers daily. The new mission statement

“to save people money so they can live better.” on the other hand, emphasizes on the caring

aspect of Wal-Mart towards its customers.

Since the time that the organization was launched, there have been numerous changes within

its external and internal operating environments and one prime factor is the financial crisis

impacting onto consumers in general. With the new mission statement, Wal-Mart ensures that

this aspect is carefully taken care of as people will be able to “save money” and “live better”

during these tough times, thus satisfying their needs while maintaining an exquisite shopping

experience.

The strategy of Wal-Mart consisted of assisting its customers in purchasing their products for

the cheapest possible prices, while also enabling them to save money for extra spending onto

other diversified products and services of the company. A relevant example would be the

accompanying customer services provided by Wal-Mart, such as auto care, health services,
financial services, and several others (Wal-Mart, 2022). The company had engaged itself into

expanding its product range so as to meet and exceed its customer’s expectations through its

strategic planning while reviewing its mission statement and this tilt enabled the firm to

remain a step ahead of its competitors within the retail world.

[354 Words]

References:

(Principles of Marketing, 2015) University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing -

https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.1901 (Original work published 2010)

(Vance H. Trimble, 1990) Vance H. Trimble, Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America’s

Richest Man, pp.46-64 (Dutton, 1990)

(Wal-Mart, 2022) - https://mission-statement.com/walmart/

# 3 – Self Reflection on Unit 1

“How do I differentiate between a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement?”

As I was going through several articles, I would often come across mission statements and

vision statements and initially I was unable to really make out the actual difference from the

two. But as I read further, I reached to the understanding that the vision statement would

describe the future as to where the company wished to reach.

“What is Apollo?”

Also while doing to written assignment on marketing mix, I was able to discover quite a lot

of information regarding the product I had chosen to analyze – Apollo instant noodles and

funnily said, I have been consuming this product for years and years without actually

knowing any of its history. I have realized the importance of the 4Ps – Product, Price, Place

and Promotion and how focusing efforts at a strategic element can make the whole difference

to make a product successful to the point of being recognized as a national superbrand within

the country.

What has surprised me is the immeasurable possibilities of achieving success through the

application of the appropriate marketing strategy. I consider this unit as an introduction to

Marketing and being from an engineering background I am already having the feeling that it

is such a powerful tool if rightly applied onto the right product at the right time within the

right market.