Introducing E-MARKPLAN: A practical methodology to plan e-marketing activities

Although e-marketing is highly prevalent, no template currently exists for managers who wish to use the Internet/Web and related information technologies to market their products and services. This paper provides managers with a comprehensive, actionable, and practical methodology (E-MARKPLAN) to plan, enact, and analyze e-marketing activities. Five case studies are used to illustrate the diversity of e-marketing actions. E-MARKPLAN consists of five parts: goals, actors (i.e., those who take e-marketing actions), spaces (i.e., theaters of engagement), actions, and outcomes. The E-MARKPLAN methodology is versatile, and is not limited to companies which have e-commerce operations.     

Integrated marketing as management of holistic consumer experience

In a bid to combine the two major perspectives (strategic communications and strategic brand management) of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), this article proposes a Holistic Consumer Experience Management framework. According to the framework, the key mission of IMC is to effectively manage the mediated impression of and the direct encounter with the brand, so that synergism ensues among all the interrelated elements of IMC, including research and development, manufacturing, price formulation, channel arrangement, consumer service management, marketing message construction, and communication program execution. As such, IMC is capable of enhancing the holistic consumer experience and creating a holistic brand value structure, which can unite the consumer's sensory, emotional, social, and intellectual experiences in a new and positive way.     

Impression Management Tactics and Performance Ratings: A Moderated-Mediation Framework

Purpose: The objective of this study is to contribute to the sales management literature by analyzing whether self-monitoring dimensions (the ability to adjust the presentation of one’s self and the sensitivity to the expressive behaviors of others) play a moderating role in the use of impression management—supervisor liking—performance rating nomological network.

Methodology/approach: Empirical analysis is based on dyadic data from 122 industrial salespeople and their sales managers in 9 different industries. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the psychometric proprieties of the measurement scales, and conditional process analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Research implications: The results obtained indicate that the use of supervisor-focused impression management tactics is an indirect antecedent of a salesperson’s performance rating through sales manager liking, but not the self-focused tactics. Results also show that a self-monitoring dimension i.e., the ability to adjust the presentation of one’s self, moderates the “impression management—supervisor liking—performance rating” chain. These results provide an increased understanding of the processes involved in sales managers—salespeople’s interactions.

Practical implications: The main implication for salespeople is that the use of impression management tactics to influence performance ratings only is effective when they use supervisor-focused tactics because attempts to influence via self-focused tactics will not have any effect. The most important implication for sales managers’ is that not all impression management tactics are successfully executed and that the identification of combinations of impression management tactics and the levels of salespeople’s self-monitoring can positively influence performance appraisals by generating evaluative biases. Given that evaluative biases can produce inequitable behaviors by sales managers in the task assignments and support provided to the salespeople, it is important that sales managers are aware of when they can occur (i.e., when salespeople with a moderate ability to adjust their self-presentation use supervisor-focused tactics).

Originality/value/contribution of the article: This article contributes to the existing knowledge by two important means. First, this study proposes a model and presents an empirical test of constructs that mediate (i.e., supervisor liking) and moderate (i.e., self-monitoring dimensions) the “use of impression management tactics—sales manager liking—performance appraisal” relation. This model responds to calls for studies that analyze how impression management tactics are related to performance appraisal and when the relation between the use of these tactics and performance rating occurs. Two, this study uses data from both salespeople and their sales managers, which minimizes any risk of common method variance bias.     

构建关系型营销渠道:一个渠道知识共生网络

在传统的交易营销理念指导下所形成的交易型营销渠道因现代营销环境的改变和关系营销理念的广泛应用,其地位和作用日益受到挑战和限制。因此,在这样的背景下,改革交易型营销渠道,建立以关系营销理念为指导的关系型营销渠道成为企业界和理论界共同关注的一个重要课题。本文首先综述了西方营销渠道关系理论的研究内容,然后在交易型营销渠道与关系型营销渠道比较的基础上提出了一个构建关系型营销渠道的渠道知识共生网络。     

论顾客价值的理解与创造

在关系营销中对于顾客价值的研究始终是一个重点和热点问题,实际上企业与顾客之间的关系本质是一种追求各自利益与满足的价值交换关系,顾客看中的是企业提供的优异的价值,企业让渡给顾客的价值对保留顾客起着极为重要的影响,只有不断为顾客提供比竞争者更多的价值,才能成功地创造出让客户留下来的理由,才能从发展与客户的长期关系中获得更多的利润,因此创造并交付优异的顾客价值就成为企业成功的关键     

营销创新:低价竞争向非价格竞争转变的基本途径

中国企业参与国际竞争日益激烈,顾客价格敏感度下降,价格竞争空间越来越小。中国企业应走出常规思维定势,改变长期一贯的低价营销行为,通过营销创新逐步增强企业的自主创新能力,实现从低价竞争向非价格竞争的转变。     

现代营销理论中的“场力观”发展研究

根据物理学中的“场”和“力”的概念为基础 ,提出了管理理论发展中的“场力现” ,进一步引申出系统的营销“场力观”理论 ,界定了营销场、营销势和营销力等基本概念 ,并对企业营销场与营销力的构建路径进行了详细的探讨 ,最后以对营销“场力观”的研究过程进行了总结。     

商业企业营销道德中的问题与对策

在我国社会主义市场经济初级阶段,加强商业营销道德与文化建设是企业主动适应经济全球化和市场国际化的需要。加强商业企业营销道德建设,不仅要分析、解决商业营销活动中伦理失范问题,还必须挖掘其存在原因,构建适应市场经济的商业道德观念,加强法律法规建设,强化企业的社会责任,促进企业与外部环境的和谐发展。     

一对一:新世纪市场营销发展的新趋势

当今市场营销范式正从大众营销向一对一营销转变。和大众营销相比,一对一营销注重顾客份额而不是市场份额,细分顾客到个体的程度而不是群体的程度,与顾客对话与协作而不是“我说你听,我做你买”,将产品传递给顾客而不是将顾客推向产品。实施一对一营销要创建顾客管理机构,识别顾客的需求和价值,整合顾客数据库,进行批量定制生产。     

Brand Loyalty Versus Store Loyalty: Consumers’ Role in Determining Dependence Structure of Supplier–Retailer Dyads

Purpose: This article aims to integrate consumers into a channel dependence framework and explores the influence of consumers’ brand loyalty and store loyalty on the dependence structure within the supplier–retailer relationship. It also examines effects of the dependence structure on perceived conflict.

Methodology/approach: The authors test the proposed triadic relationship model among department store, supplier, and consumer by collecting matched data from both retailers and consumers in a Chinese retailing channel of sports and leisure apparel. Polynomial regression in conjunction with a response surface analysis (RSA) approach is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings: The results indicate that consumers’ brand loyalty positively affects retailer’s dependence on supplier, while consumers’ store loyalty positively affects supplier’s dependence on retailer. In addition, the retailer’s dependence is higher when consumers’ brand loyalty is higher than store loyalty; the supplier’s dependence is higher when consumers’ store loyalty is higher than brand loyalty; and the retailer’s dependence increases with the increase of both consumers’ brand and store loyalty when consumers’ brand and store loyalty are equal. Moreover, supplier’s dependence has a negative linear effect on retailer’s perceived conflict, whereas retailer’s dependence has an inverted U-shape effect on perceived conflict. A retailer would perceive more conflict when the retailer is relatively more dependent on the supplier; but the symmetrical interdependence has no significant effect on retailer perceived conflict.

Research implications: Researchers are encouraged to explore channel behaviors from a network perspective. Consumers, in particular, should be included in research frameworks related to channel dependence and behaviors. Suggestions for further research on the effects of dependence on the conflict are also proposed.

Originality/value/contribution: This study goes beyond the dyadic paradigm by integrating consumers into the framework of the channel dependence structure. It develops and tests a mechanism of consumers’ brand and store loyalty influencing dependence structure within a supplier–retailer dyad. It also enriches the literature of channel conflict by exploring the effects of retailer and supplier unilateral dependence on retailer perceived conflict with RSA methods.

Practical implications: The article provides several insightful implications for managers in understanding and managing interdependence structure in business-to-business marketing, especially in supplier–retailer relationships.