Company: Shopify
- External Environment of your company and business
- positioning of our product to Generation Z consumers
- Strategic Recommendation: Marketing our product to Gen Z
Shopify
Shopify Inc. is a Canada-based multinational online business. The e-commerce firm has its headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, but with proprietary e-commerce platforms and online stores globally. The company has online retail suites with numerous services to customers, such as payment, marketing, and shipping. Shopify’s customer engagement tools are strengths since it improves customer experience and provides what they are seeking. The company has a strong portfolio of innovative products that meet customer needs, making it one of the strongest online brands in the market today.
External Environment
Since Shopify is an online platform that different retailers use to market their products, the target customer segments are diverse. The ideal customer is the one likely to buy the target retailer’s products. Customers seek products from the platform due to the diversity of products and the convenience that they offer. Making the product available to the right audience is the most significant benefit of Shopify (Ballard 27). Customers can visit the platform and select any product their want, and it is delivered to their convenient location.
Shopify has numerous local and international competitors at different levels, small and large, that affect its market share. Some of the leading Shopify competitors for small businesses is wix, Squarespace, and Volusion (Carter). The companies provide similar platforms like Shopify, affecting its market share. BigCommerce and Magento are the main competitors with the company for big businesses.
Positioning of our product to Generation Z Consumers
One of the most critical consumer groups for Shopify is Generation Z consumers. The most effective way to market to this segment is to understand how their needs differ from the previous generations. The generation wants products centered on their needs, and that will address them specifically (Fromm and Read 3). They are seeking innovative products and conveniently delivered to them. They want brands that help them build their story and create security due to the innate comfort with the virtual environment. To make a competitive advantage, Shopify should focus on the needs of this generation and market to them effectively using online platforms. They should promise and add value to this unique customer segment.
Strategy Recommendation
Besides understanding the generation and its needs, Shopify should create targeted strategies to meet the needs of these customers to create more income and become more competitive. One of the strategies is creating engaging content instead of advertisements. The generation wants to engage with content and make their decisions based on the information (Fromm and Read 3). Another strategy is to get them involved in the content generation process through social campaigns and interact directly with the brand. They enjoy influencers and viral marketing, making them an essential part of the marketing process. Gen z is seeking innovation and creativity in marketing (Wilson 48). Therefore, the company should not be afraid to try innovative tools and new technologies to improve the consumer experience.
Conclusion
Shopify is one of the leading online platforms in the global market. The company provides retailers with a means to reach their customers, including the gen z consumers. Considering the role of this consumer segment, the company should understand their needs to develop targeted strategies to appeal to them and increase their competitiveness. Shopify will have a competitive advantage by improving their market to the generation and also by marketing them the way they desire.
Works Cited
Ballard, Gavin. The Definitive Guide to Shopify Themes: Master the Design Skills to Build World-Class Ecommerce Sites. Apress, 2017.
Carter, Rebekah, The Top Shopify Competitors to Consider in 2021, 2021. Available at https://ecommerce-platforms.com/ecommerce-resources/shopify-competitors
Fromm, Jeff, and Angie Read. Marketing to Gen Z: The rules for reaching this vast–and very different–generation of influencers. Amacom, 2018.
Wilson, Bradley. “Book Review: Marketing to Gen Z: The Rules for Reaching This Vast and Very Different Generation of Influencers.” (2019): 228-230.