Marketing strategy and SWOT analysis of eBay

Imagine you liked something, but it is not available in your country. What will you do if you did not have access to online shopping? You will get upset, right? But stop, you do not need to get sad because eBay was created to make our lives happier and more comfortable. In 1995, Pierre Omidyar created this global e-commerce company eBay, to connect people worldwide; he wanted everyone to get their preferable product in a very convenient way. Nowadays, eBay is considered to be one of the leading global trading companies in the world. To understand the key factors that led to the success of this company, let’s look through its marketing strategy and SWOT analysis

Let’s start with the company’s Mission and Vision statements.

To begin with, eBay’s mission statement is “to provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything.”

This statement provides an overview of the company’s nature and its strategic management. eBay’s mission statement can be separated into three main parts.

• Target audience
• Involvement
• Product types

These are the main features that every mission statement of e-commerce companies should have, so in that sense, we can say that eBay has succeeded in creating it. What is more, this mission statement’s written language is accessible and easily understood, making the statement even stronger.

eBay’s vision statement is “to be the world’s favorite destination for discovering great value and unique selection.”

As you know, every vision statement shows where the company sees itself in the future. It is important to note that this statement is very clear, concise and can be used for a pretty long time as it is future-oriented. Moreover, this statement is also abstract enough to suit all relevant operations of the retail e-commerce business.

The vision statement clearly indicates that the company aims to become a future favorite leader in this competitive industry. However, to do so, it needs to deal with strong competitors such as Amazon.

Not let’s move into the positioning strategy that eBay prefers to use.

For that purpose, let’s analyze this post from their Instagram page.

Having more than 1 million followers on Instagram, eBay reminds its users that their customers can get whatever they want through this global trade company, even different types of vehicles.

eBay partners with local dealers, as it aims to help its users find a new product at any possible price and type, they want. The people who have already used eBay will agree that the company has made the research part very convenient, and due to that skill, one can find whatever they want very quickly.

As you can see, this vehicle is something that can hardly be found in stores and streets. So, it can be understood that the company seeks creativity in every aspect.

This post and its caption show that eBay wants to lighten up the world by having unique offerings. eBay tries to do anything to make people’s life happier. We can even notice it when looking at their striking, colorful, and straightforward logo.

So, it can be concluded that these messaging tactics are based on archetypal branding, especially the Jester Brand Archetype.

So, This Brand archetype’s primary purpose is to make the world a better place for people to live their life with full enjoyment. They fear being boring and overall boredom. Also, as their strategy, Jester prefers to be funny by making jokes.

What does Jester Brand Archetype stand for?

Level one: boredom
Level two: accepting life as a game
Level three: finding ways to overcome obstacles, get out of trouble
Level four: live and enjoy every moment

This archetype provides an identity for the brands:

• That help people have a good time
• That make people feel that they belong and are not alone.
• That have a pretty reasonable price
• That need to be different from the brands that are self-important

Moving on, let’s have a look at the SWOT analysis of this company.

To begin with, it is essential to note that even though SWOT analysis is a simple framework for analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization, it can help the company to understand what their state is, and how they can work on some drawbacks.

Strengths:

Leading in the market: eBay is on the market for almost 26 years and serves nearly 182 million users.

Strong International Presence: This e-commerce company has its companies in more than 30 countries; hence it can provide its offerings to a more extensive consumer base.

Wide range of products: As eBay offers a wide variety of products in many categories, it can help the company can get many shoppers, according to their interests.

Customer Relations: The company seeks to always be in touch with its customers, which creates trust.

Free shopping: Almost 71% of eBay purchases are shipped free. The company believes that it attracts more customers.

Weaknesses:

Fake Sellers: There are plenty of fake products on eBay that affect the company’s reputation. For example, some time ago, Luis Vuitton sued eBay for 61 million dollars as 90% of its products on eBay were fakes. Even though the company tries to solve this problem, there are still many fake products being sold on eBay.

Intense competition: One of the company’s strong competitors is Amazon, which serves almost 197 million. As this e-commerce world is developing very fast, the company is gaining more competitors year by year.

Technical Issues: From time to time, the company has technical problems, which affect the level of satisfaction of its customers.

Opportunities:

Investment in marketing: The brand should take a robust approach to marketing as, in that case, it will develop faster.

Expanding markets: The company can open its online marketplaces in other places. That could help them to gain more customers.

Social Media: As the number of people using various social platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, are getting higher and higher, eBay can use social media as a method of promotion of its products.

Threats:

Increased Competitors: New and old strong competitors such as Amazon, Alibaba are significant threats for eBay as they can take many customers from this company.

Government policies: Some decisions of the government, especially about taxation, can interfere with this company’s future activities.

Exchange Rates: This e-commerce company receives some part of its income from foreign operations. All profits are converted into dollars, and if the rate is low, the company can be affected.

Let’s look at the segmentation strategy of eBay

For that purpose, let’s have a look at the following advertisement of this company.

Even from the very beginning of the advertisement, the viewer gets very positive vibes. A notification to a random guy’s phone comes saying that his product (Nike Jordan Sneakers) has already been sold. The news makes this boy happier, and he starts packaging the order to send it to the owner. It is noticeable that the buyer of the product gets surprised as the shipping was speedy.

Throughout the advertisement, there are many scenes where some people are selling sneakers or others are buying the rarest drops. Whether you are the seller or the buyer, eBay encourages you to do it online, as it is faster and more convenient.

One can see various types of sneakers, starting from Nike Jordan to New Balance on eBay. So, the company wants to make clear that they have a wide range of products. It is also undeniable that the people involved in this commercial are pretty active when it comes to shopping. What is more, they give massive importance to the quality of the products.

With this on our minds, we can guess that eBay has chosen specific people in this advertisement. This is one of the marketing strategies of eBay, as, in this way, this leading e-commerce company presents its target segment-shopping lovers. If we analyze the characteristics of the commercial participants, we can guess that these people are closer to the target group known as Peacocks.

Now let’s find more facts about this target audience.

Lifestyle and Values:

The people belonging to this group are usually confident and independent. They always want to get noticed, and it is reflected in the clothes they wear, the places they go, and the people who surround them.

However, it is also important to note that Peacocks can sometimes seem self-confident because they put much effort into standing out. The representatives of this target group are organized. This is one of the remarkable characteristics that can lead them to success.

Peacocks do not accept themselves failing and will do everything to solve any problem. Money is one of the essential measurements of success for them.

Shopping preferences:

The people who present this target group try to go to places where they can find their preferable product at a lower price. Peacocks are fond of shopping as they do care about their looks a lot. The representatives of this segment are pretty loyal when it comes to brand usage. As a pattern, whenever these people find a good brand, they will stick to it for a pretty long time.

Other interesting facts:

• While these people usually tend to have lots of friends, they are pretty introverted and do not like to share their feelings with others.
• They have a traditional view on relationships as most Peacocks believe that one should have only one partner throughout his time.
• Even though the people of this target segment tend to keep some traditional values (especially family values), they are also progressive and want to move on.
• Peacocks give huge importance to watching TV, as it is one of the main ways of getting informed. One can say that these people are average TV watchers.
• These people use the Internet as a way of being in touch with their friends and relatives.
• The representatives of this target segment enjoy driving, and according to them, a car can say many things about its owner.
• One can often meet these people in restaurants, bars, and clubs.
• These people can put much effort into getting into VIP lists of clubs, bars, etc.

To sum up, eBay is a platform that provides global e-commerce for online communities. It has been around for more than two decades, and it was worth giving special attention to it. This article discussed the marketing strategies and SWOT analysis of it, which are vital factors that can lead to every company’s success. I hope you could gain some knowledge on how eBay keeps its place in this competitive industry. To read more posts like this, check out our homepage.