Reflections on the future of marketing

Restraints upon business institutions can be expected to grow more stringent in the latter part of the twentieth century and thereafter. Shortages of raw materials, pollution, and changes in salient societal attitudes are likely to force public policymakers to demand increased corporate attention to consumer welfare. The author examines what the role of the marketing function may be in this kind of milieu. Although significant changes in marketing practices, and shifts of emphases among the various marketing activities are anticipated, the author concludes that marketing will remain an essential force in an economy where the service sector will dominate.     

Social responsibility an alternate strategy of marketing

The emphasis of marketing over the years has continuously shifted to meet the changes in the environment. The most recent emphasis of marketing seems to be on social responsibility. Although academicians and practitioners alike have been advocating implementation of social responsibility in marketing planning only a few scattered cases in which social responsibility has been put into practice are available to this date. The author, in discussing the social responsibility of marketing, examines its present status and suggests that marketers should not view the demand of social responsibility as a liability to them, but rather see it as a useful strategy to improve one's competitive condition and image in the market place.     

Can you standardize international marketing strategy?

The intent of this paper is to examine the possibilities for standardization of marketing elements within a multinational marketing strategy. A majority view among international marketers is that each national is unique, and thus each must be treated as a separate and independent operation. This “localized” strategy view is examined first. A growing number of international marketers however, are finding that by standardizing various elements oftheir marketing strategy across national borders, cost savings and/or increased revenues to be realized can yield greater profits. The second, and major, part of the paper examines the opportunities for and potential benefits of standardization of product, packaging, advertisting, and pricing.     

Older consumers’ orientations toward age-based marketing stimuli

The increasing size of the aged population is becoming important to marketers interested in developing marketing programs, policymakers interested in the effects of marketing activities on the well-being of older adults, and researchers who wish to understand this segment as consumers. This research presents theoretical foundations useful in understanding older adults as consumers and, based on these foundations, a model is developed and tested to help learn about antecedents and processes that affect the way older adults respond to marketing offerings targeted at them. where he is also a member of the Gerontology program faculty. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. An internationally recognized authority on marketing to older adults, Dr. Moschis is the author of several books and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and papers. He has been a consultant to leading agencies throughout the country and abroad, a frequent speaker at business forums, and a contributor to various consumer and trade publications. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Georgia State University. His current research interests are in the areas of consumer behavior and research methodology. He has published several papers in various proceedings and the Journal of Direct Marketing. She received her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Georgia State University. Her major research interests are in the areas of consumer behavior of the elderly and consumer socialization. She has published several articles and papers in various journals and proceedings.     

Marketing thought in American Decorative Arts

The field of American Decorative Arts, in an effort to place objects within their broader cultural context, has investigated surviving business records from the period 1760–1840. This research contributes to marketing thought by documenting early marketing problems and practices including insufficient consumer demand, global competition, attempts at demand stimulation, and emerging channels of distribution.     

Development of a taxonomy of services to gain strategic marketing insights

A theme emerging in the services marketing literature indicates that services marketers should look beyond their own industry boundaries to gain marketing insight. A number of conceptual typologies for grouping services have been developed. However, none of these conceptualizations have been studied empirically. This article presents an empirically based taxonomy, developed through cluster analysis of consumer's perceptions of services. The results of the study offer several insights into strategic marketing for service marketers.     

A suggested taxonomy for marketing thought: The case of lacking applied development and research in marketing

An examination of marketing literature reveals a surpricing deficiency of articles discussing theoretical applications in marketing. These deficiencies are largely in the area of specific, practical, everyday applied marketing. This article casts the literature into an overall taxonomy of marketing thought and development, highlighting the deficiency. Then the article discusses the deficiency positing reasons for its continued existence. It is thought that such a taxonomy might better help marketers identify critical need areas that might well result in unusually productive findings and advances important to all marketers. EDITOR'S FOOT-NOTE: Reviewers have agreed that marketing has no Taxonomy and needs one, but that a full study and statement would be a Herculean task. The paper published here is presented as a beginning and, as the author himself states, “in the hope to stir controversy, debate, and effort.”     

Marketing research and the aged consumer: The need for a new perspective

The aged consumer movement represents a major social trend which has broad implications for marketers. While many of these implications are positive, there are aspects associated with this movement that may prove detrimental to business firms if not acted upon in a positive manner. Perhaps the most notable of the potentially detrimental aspects is the increased activity of aged organizations in pressuring government for legislation designed to provide them with a greater voice in the marketplace. As a result of the movement's political strength, government is becoming an active advocate for the aged consumer. The obvious danger to business as a result of these activities is the potential for increased restrictive legislation. Certainly, a defense against such efforts is for business to meet the consumer needs of the elderly market segment more effectively. Unfortunately, a review of current marketing activities in this area does not show that such efforts are being expended. To correct this situation it is recommended that marketers attack this problem in two directions (1) through organizational and policy changes and (2) through increased research efforts. Specific recommendations are suggested in each of these areas.     

A useful scope for marketing

The debate over the nature and scope of marketing is far from settled, but the desire for change among marketers is apparent. It is urgent that marketers determine what the scope of their field should become as a necessary first step in developing an adequate definition. The effort so far has been somewhat haphazard with a variety of authors-extolling the virtues of their viewpoint. This article represents an attempt to add order to the search for a useful scope for marketing. To achieve this purpose, four norms are developed which seem suitable for testing the scope and definition of marketing. They include the level of abstraction norm, the norm of correspondence, the pragmatic norm, and the norm of simplicity. These four norms are first used to test two extreme positions and then to test a third compromise definition of marketing.     

Identifying critical problems for mutual cooperation between the private and public sectors: A marketing perspective

The study presented in this article is an application of “futures research.” One objective is to identify some of the more pressing future world-wide problems that require the combined effort of both the government and the private sector to reach a solution. A second objective is to suggest ways in which marketers can become more involved in the solution of them. Prominent problem clusters of particular importance to marketers, including “Social Values,” “Social Institutions,” and “Resources” were uncovered by this research. The authors hope that this article will stimulate marketing research in each of these areas.     

Alienation from the marketplace

The research compares consumers with professional marketers on alienation from the marketplace, direct-action to overcome dissatisfaction with products, and support of government intervention in the marketplace. Consumers were clearly more alienated than marketing professionals and tended to be more supportive of radical government intervention. Professional marketers were more prone to direct-action than were consumers. A discussion follows with implications for marketing as a key integrating institution in society, and the direction of change in the marketplace. Pepsico, Inc.     

A brief note on the history of fashion

For a number of years the practioners and scholars of fashion have held different views of the consumer. Fashion designers and marketers have traditionally regarded consumers as followers who automatically accept the style dictates and purchase products without any resistance. In contrast, fashion historians and scholars held just the opposite view. To them the consumer is a free individual whose needs must be examined and considered before a new style is introduced. In this article the ideas of such historians as Paul Mystiom, Flaccus, and Tarde are examined. While writing in the early 1900’s, their observations and theories are remarkably similar to the “marketing concept” so often mentioned in the more contemporary marketing literature.     

渠道发展新动态及成因分析

归纳新的市场条件下渠道发展的新动态,并从多个维度分析了这些新动态产生的原因,以便为企业的渠道设计决策和渠道管理决策提供参考。     

Marketing and the adoption of microcomputers: An application of diffusion theory

This paper examines the adoption of microcomputers in the marketing community. Diffusion theory is applied to gain clearer insights into why the infusion of this technology has succeeded where other forms of computer technology have lagged. Unique characteristics of microcomputers important to marketers are identified and those features most amenable to marketing settings are explained.     

Distinguishing market segments to assess price responsiveness

Economists and marketers have developed theoretical constructs which suggest that effective market segmentation can be used to identify differences in price sensitivity among market theory in the industrial marketing literature by using marketing research to distinguish market segments that are useful in industrial pricing decisions. Both macrosegmentation, using characteristics of customers (that is, end-use and usage level), as well as microsegmentation (using behavioral variables) were utilized in a survey of natural gas customers to determine if segments of the industrial market differ in price sensitivity.     

Relationship marketing: The strategy continuum

Conclusion Few service firms will apply a pure transaction marketing strategy. Even highly standardized service operations include direct contacts with customers, and the customers do perceive the production and delivery process. Hence there are part-time marketers and functional quality effects, so we cannot talk about a pure transaction marketing situation. However, the more standardized the process is, the more dominating is the core service and the technical quality of the outcome of the production and delivery process and the less difficult it is to manage the personnel from a marketing point of view. Firms can position their strategic approach along the strategy continuum, and the more a relationship-type strategy is called for, the more has to be invested in interactive marketing, the functional quality impact, and internal marketing. In such a situation, it is at the same time more important to create information systems where the firm is managing its customer base directly and not relying on market share statistics and ad hoc customer surveys. Christian Gr?nroos, a former visiting professor at Arizona State University and a research fellow at the First Interstate Center for Services Marketing there, is currently a professor of marketing at the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration in Finland, where he also is head of the marketing department. He has published extensively within the areas of service management and marketing and relationship marketing. He has published seven books and numerous articles in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian.     

Exploring CRM effectiveness: an institutional theory perspective

This study identifies the potential contribution that institutional theory can make to understanding the success of marketing practices. Based on institutional theory, we argue that the effectiveness of marketing practices decreases when firms are motivated to adopt such practices under the influence of institutional pressures originating in firms’ environments. However, alignment between a practice and a firm’s marketing strategy may buffer against these negative effects. We apply these insights to the case of customer relationship management (CRM). CRM is considered an important way to enhance customer loyalty and firm performance, but it has also been criticized for being expensive and for not living up to expectations. Empirical data from 107 organizations confirm that, in general, adopting CRM for mimetic motives is likely to result in fewer customer insights as a result of using this practice. Our study suggests that institutional theory has much to offer to the investigation of the effectiveness of marketing practices.     

Using a customer-Level marketing strategy to enhance firm performance: A review of theoretical and empirical evidence

It is becoming increasingly apparent from the literature that marketers need to consider customer-level information when they generate a marketing strategy for the firm. In this article, the authors develop a customer-focused framework that uses a marketing strategy with an overall objective of maximized financial performance. This strategy is driven by seven customer-level marketing tactics and shows how actual customer data can be used to generate an actionable marketing strategy leading to optimal levels of profitability, customer equity, and shareholder value. In addition, the authors discuss a successful implementation of this strategy for several business-to-business and business-to-consumer firms and offer insights as to how to customize an implementation strategy for any firm, along with presenting potential challenges a firm may encounter during the implementation process. Several suggestions for future research are offered to explore and harness this newly available evidence. V. Kumar (VK) (vk@business.uconn.edu) is the ING Chair Professor of Marketing and the executive director of the ING Center for Financial Services at the University of Connecticut. He spends his time by transferring his knowledge (however little it may be) to his two daughters about customer lifetime value, diffusion models, forecasting sales and market share, retailing, and marketing strategy. J. Andrew Petersen (apetersen@business.uconn.edu) is a doctoral candidate in marketing at the University of Connecticut. His research interests include customer lifetime value, word-of-mouth effects, and customer-level marketing strategy. His research has been published inMarketing Research Magazine and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science.     

Exciting red and competent blue: the importance of color in marketing

From beverages to consumer electronics, marketers are using color in innovative ways. Despite this, little academic research has investigated the role that color plays in marketing. This paper examines how color affects consumer perceptions through a series of four studies. The authors provide a framework and empirical evidence that draws on research in aesthetics, color psychology, and associative learning to map hues onto brand personality dimensions (Study 1), as well as examine the roles of saturation and value for amplifying brand personality traits (Study 2). The authors also demonstrate how marketers can strategically use color to alter brand personality and purchase intent (Study 3), and how color influences the likability and familiarity of a brand (Study 4). The results underscore the importance of recognizing the impact of color in forming consumer brand perceptions.