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This chapter discusses the definition of marketing as a social science and the role played by the marketing-mix elements in a successful business. The function of marketing and the role of each element in the mix are explored from both social and normative science perspectives.

Higher Education Marketing is a growing field of practice, but suffers from a lack of theoretical discourse. The development of a theoretical discourse for HE Marketing will nurture the development of meaningful marketing practice. The book argues that while HE should not be commoditised, its place in a highly marketised world environment should not be left to chance. It argues that domesticating our own approach to HE marketing is the first step to developing a relevant marketing environment for HE. The book is based on the CORD model, developed by Felix Maringe as part of his PhD thesis which argues for HE marketing to have a focus on the curriculum. It offers both theoretical and practical insights into issues such as institutional positioning; internationalisation of HE; fundraising; pricing HE; reputation management, and enrolment management.

Business-to-business firms spend significant resources in direct marketing to manage close relationships with their customers. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of how the effectiveness of direct marketing communications varies by value propositions. Typically, direct marketing efforts are geared toward explicitly featuring economic or relational values. To implement an effective communication strategy catering to customers' preferences, firms should understand how customers consistently evaluate these organizational marketing communications, which ultimately affect their buying behaviors. Therefore, the authors analyze marketing messages and employ content analysis to capture the two distinct types of direct marketing communications. Using data from a Fortune 500 business-to-business service firm and a robust econometric model, they find that the (1) effects of economic and relational marketing communication on customer purchase behaviors interplay and vary over time, (2) latent stock of direct marketing communication affects customer purchase behaviors, and (3) evolution of customers' perceived importance can be recovered using transaction data. Overall, the authors provide a marketing resource reallocation strategy that enables marketers to customize marketing communications and improve a firm's financial performance.

Business cycles (BCs) may affect entire markets, and significantly alter many firms’ marketing activities and performance. Even though managers cannot prevent BCs from occurring, marketing research over the last 15 years has provided growing evidence that their impact on consumers, and hence on firm and brand performance, depends to a large extent on how firms adjust their marketing mix in response to these macro-economic swings. In this study, we review the growing marketing literature on how to attenuate or amplify the impact of BC fluctuations. Our discussion focuses on three key aspects: (1) the scope of, and insights from, existing BC research in marketing, (2) advancements in the methods to study various BC phenomena in marketing, and (3) some emerging trends that offer new challenges and opportunities for future BC research in marketing.

Relationship marketing considers customers as the main asset of organizations and the source of their profitability. Allocation of marketing budgets to these valuable assets is critical; because the way companies allocate their marketing budgets to customers affects their profitability. The purpose of this research is to provide a new approach to allocate marketing budgets to customer segments in a long-term view and a dynamic process. The contribution of the model is as follows: (1) unlike the previous modeling efforts where a predefined budget level was assigned to acquisition and retention, the suggested model sets and allocates marketing budgets simultaneously; (2) the model is multi-period which means the strategies for setting and allocation of marketing budgets may be different in each period. The proposed approach aims at maximizing customer equity in a long-term planning horizon with several periods. Decision variables determine how the budgets should be assigned to customer acquisition and retention in each period. Formulation of the model is followed by a numerical illustration. Since the model is nonlinear and non-convex, none of exact mathematical programming approaches may solve it. Therefore, genetic algorithm and simulated annealing approaches were employed. The results showed the effectiveness of the model compared with other extant models.

Purpose This paper seeks to draw from services marketing theory as an alternative and under-used pathway to social and behaviour change for the achievement of societal well-being. Social marketing services are an important part of social change programmes as they contribute towards service users’ health, well-being, and the fulfilment of social marketing goals. However, value destruction can occur in users’ service experiences, leading to a decline rather than improvement of their well-being. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the value destruction process and identify the outcomes in social marketing services from a consumer’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory study using a focus group (n = 4) and individual depth interview (n = 4) methods was undertaken. The discussions were guided by a semi-structured interview guide and were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Findings Thematic analysis of the data revealed two value destruction processes: incongruent resource application and misuse of firm resources. The value destruction processes suggest three types of outcomes: reduced usage of the service, termination of service and strategic behavioural actions. Originality/value This study is the first to examine value destruction processes and outcomes in social marketing services from a consumer’s perspective. This study contributes towards the small but growing body of research on value destruction in both commercial and social marketing by challenging the assumption that value creation is always positively valenced and responding to critique that there is currently insufficient focus on value destruction in service research and its impact on well-being.

In developing technology and differentiating markets, businesses have resorted the way of increasing their competitiveness by taking advantage of new marketing methods in order to stand out in the market. Within this context, companies have started to use different marketing strategies in order to be more effective in the market and to maintain their presence and awareness in different ways. Guerrilla marketing is an important marketing technique that small and medium-sized businesses are using with minimum marketing investments in extraordinary ways at unexpected times to attract attention of the target audience in today's increasingly competitive environment. This study focuses on guerrilla marketing which is an important marketing technique that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have applied, using unusual methods, in unexpected times, with minimum marketing investments to attract the attention of target audience in today's increasingly competitive environment. In order to determine the consumer perception about guerrilla marketing methods, a survey was applied to 384 people living in İzmir. Factor analysis was applied to the obtained survey data in SPSS 22 statistics program. Three results were obtained. 'Extraordinary' has been identified as the most important factor. The second important factor is 'Interesting and surprising', and the final factor is 'Communication'. Kolmogorov Smirnov test was conducted to determine which tests should be performed on the sub-dimensions of the scale of Consumer Perception on Guerrilla Marketing Methods (SCPGMM). It was determined that the distribution was not normal and Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests were applied to the sub-dimensions of SCPGMM. According to the test results, It has been determined that the "Extraordinary" (F1) sub-dimension of the SCPGMM sub-dimensions varies according to gender, age, education and marital status; the "interesting and surprising" (F2) sub-dimension varies according to the education and the "Communication" (F3) sub-dimension varies according to gender and marital status.

Purpose Agricultural-related food marketing claims are gaining in importance. The challenge for the industry is to claim real production characteristics while being in line with consumers’ expectations. Looking at the example of marketing pasture-raised milk year-round and the fact that cows only have access to pasture in summer, the purpose of this paper is to analyse consumer expectations, the potential of deception and the acceptance of more credible marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach An online access panel was used for data collection. The data include 310 German milk buyers, who were grouped using cluster analysis to examine the different target groups for the year-round and seasonal marketing of pasture-raised milk. Findings The study distinguished two different consumer groups: one with lower expectations accepting year-round marketing (32.5 per cent) and the other with higher demands, who feel deceived by year-round marketing (46.7 per cent). Furthermore, one part of the last group is also sceptical towards the more precise seasonal marketing due to their general scepticism towards ag-related marketing claims. Practical implications To generate consumer trust in ag-related marketing claims, it is beneficial to meet consumers’ expectations. Producers have to decide if they orient their products to more modest or more critical consumer segments. While it is easier to implement lower standards, there is the risk to disappoint (and thereby lose) the most interesting target group of highly involved consumers characterised by some general doubts regarding food marketing claims. Originality/value The study is the first to demonstrate the existence of two consumer segments that differ in their expectations towards and acceptance of ag-related marketing claims for food products.

Purpose Marketing strategies can be used to leverage business in the service sector, specifically in veterinary medicine; among other benefits, it can make a difference in satisfaction and consequent customer loyalty. Marketing should be used with ethics and professionalism due is one administration area that contributes to effective management in the continuous pursuit of quality in the provision of services and demonstrate that veterinary clinics have much to gain if managed with support of marketing strategies. This paper aims to analyze the applicability of marketing strategies in the management of small animal clinics, such as guidelines to the entrepreneurs of this services sector. Design/methodology/approach Marketing literature is plentiful in proposing alternative strategies, whether focused on the achievement and loyalty of customers, whether to raise the competitiveness of an organization or simply to its survival in the market. In this study, some marketing strategies were selected, on secondary data research, in theoretical framework, to investigate their application in the practice of veterinary medicine. This study emphasizes promotional strategy toward communication with the market and construction of organizational image, using public relations as marketing strategy. Findings The use of marketing strategies is recommended in the management of small animal clinical practice, especially with respect to the high customer satisfaction by streamlining the procedures and optimizing veterinary services provision. Originality/value This study is different because it proposes an integrated system of management techniques in veterinary organizations, which will lead to better efficiency of attendance, adding value to the service provided and generating greater profitability for the organization, which positively reflects on the economic point of view and for the image of the company and its professionals, providing a better quality of life for both clients and their pets.

The connectivity between internal marketing and customer orientation especially in a banking industry cannot be over emphasized. The unsatisfactory output of some banks’ employees cannot be divergent from the input of the affected banks. The present paper explores neglect of customer orientation often displayed by many Nigerian banks’ employees with a view to analysing its impact on internal marketing practices of those banks. In other words, this paper therefore seeks to determine the relationship between internal marketing and customer orientation. Relevant data were gathered from Banks’ Frontline Employees and the Management Staff from four (4) branches of the existing banks in major business areas in Lagos State, South-West Nigeria. These areas include Victoria Island, Ikeja, Ikoyi, Apapa, Idumota, Yaba, Isolo/Oshodi and such other business areas. Meanwhile, the paper computed the required sample size for the two groups of population using the Yamane’s (1968) sample size determination method leading to an estimate of sample sizes 341 and 253 from the frontline employees and management staff of the banks respectively. The data obtained are subjected to statistical analysis using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The PLS-SEM which is an alternative technique for covariance based SEM is confirmatory statistical analysis software adopted to analyse the relationship between the internal marketing and customer orientation. The outcome of this paper reveals that internal marketing has a statistically and practically significant effect on customer orientation which therefore suggests that internal marketing has great impact on customer orientation. The contribution of this paper to the body of knowledge and research is that more than ever before the bank management should take into cognizance the roles played by employees thereby putting all effort in place to increase job satisfaction.

This study explores multilevel relationships between employees and visitors within 25 theme parks in Taiwan. The adapted constructs with corresponding items of interactive, internal, and external m...

Introduction: A hospital is an institution for health care providing treatment by specialized staff and equipment, more often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays. Today, hospitals are very complex institution, not only survive in dynamic environment but also make a profit based on their services. The aimed of this research was to know marketing mix concept (product, price, place, promotion, people, process and provision of customer service) in formulating marketing strategy to increased Bed Occupancy Rate of Obstetric Gynecology Ward 2.Methods: The population are health care personnel including midwife, midwife associate, administrator and also client or consumer. The variable were product, price, place, promotion, people, process and provision of customer service. Data were collected by using structured questionnaire.Results: The result showed that product (type of services, infrastructure and facility), relative price, comfortable and safe place, targeted promotion, trained human resources, standard process and provision of customer service are an important aspect to implement strategy marketing to increase Bed Occupancy Rate. The result of this study has enlightened the importance of strategy marketing in health care services based on seven principle of marketing mix.Conclution: Implementation of marketing mix in obstetric gynecology ward 2 need to be considered.

PurposeThis commentary aims to discuss the potential role of corporate social marketing and identify instances where corporate involvement in social marketing is appropriate. This argument is based on the rationale that there should be a focus on the social outcomes of initiatives rather than on which organisations are delivering the message. Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual and draws on previous marketing, social marketing and health-related literature to discuss the potential positive role of firms in social marketing. FindingsThe paper proposes that there are many instances where corporations can play a vital role in enhancing social outcomes, even though they too may benefit from these social marketing activities (defined as corporate social marketing). It is argued that corporate social marketing is not only appropriate but also may, in fact, be more effective than social marketing undertaken solely by non-profits or governments. However, it is also identified that there may be inappropriate corporate participation in social marketing. Practical implicationsTwo typologies are put forward to assist in evaluating the impact of firm behaviour on society and the situations where corporate social marketing may be more appropriate. These typologies may assist in identifying where firms can play a valuable role in social marketing activities. Social implicationsUse of the typologies proposed will assist in identifying where firms can play a valuable role in social marketing activities and bringing about social benefit. Originality/valueThe discussion of corporate involvement in social marketing generally has been positioned as negative and this paper identifies instances where corporate social marketing may not only be appropriate but also may, in fact, bring about better social outcomes than if the activities were undertaken by government or non-profits.

This study evaluates the applicability of the 4As marketing mix activities (i.e., affordability, accessibility, acceptability, and awareness) in emerging market conditions, using Ghana as the empirical context. Two-thirds of firms in the sample report medium-to-high use of all the 4As. Only affordability and accessibility marketing mix activities lead to market share performance (demand aggregation advantage), while all 4A activities lead to financial performance. Further, the regulatory environment moderates the relationship between affordability and market share performance. Thus, the study results suggest that emerging markets firms emphasize different components of the 4A marketing mix for optimal effectiveness.

A look at the situation of competition in healthcare industry indicates that it is very important to provide high quality services in this industry, something which can be regarded as a success factor. Therefore, hospitals are more successful if they pay more attention to internal marketing in order to maintain their customers. Thus, this study is an investigation about the relationship between internal marketing plans and measures based on human resources, employee perception of the internal marketing strategy and employee job performance in healthcare industry. For this purpose, 249 subjects were selected from the personnel and administration department as a sample. To answer the research questions, a questionnaire was then used for data collection. All of the 11 research hypotheses were confirmed. In addition, research variables and their relationships were analyzed and investigated in SPSS 22 and PLS. According to the research findings, internal marketing and internal market orientation plans had both direct and indirect impacts on the customer-oriented behavior.

Purpose – Social media have become an important marketing tool in recent years, used for marketing purposes by Slovak banks besides other forms of communication. A comparison of social media marketing perception by banks’ customers on the Slovak market with other forms of marketing, examined across age groups, will be the main aim of this paper. Design/Methodology/Approach – This investigation was conducted using a questionnaire survey with self-assessment statements, rated on a five-point Likert scale to compare the perception of items influencing the decision whether to use a bank or its services. The results were presented using descriptive statistics, z-scores, top two box scores, the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney test, and Pearson’s correlation. Findings and implications – A relatively low level of perceived influence of social media marketing compared to those in other forms of marketing was detected in the process of decision-making about the adoption of a bank and its services. Higher levels of perceived influence were detected mainly in younger groups of respondents. Limitations – These results give only a basic overview of the customer perception of social media marketing in comparison with other forms used in the Slovak banking market. Deeper relations between various forms of marketing and their perceptions might be investigated. The results have low explanatory power because of the limited sample size. Originality – The investigation of the clients’ social media marketing perception and its comparison with the perception of other marketing forms used in the Slovak banking market, including age-related differences, has not been conducted before.

After January 25th 2011 Egypt witnessed political, economic and social instability leading to drastic consequences in the hospitality and tourism industry. Thus unstable situation reflected on the deteriorated occupancy percentages that led to declined profit margins, higher employee layoffs and degraded quality of product and services. The objectives of this research is to examine how the Egyptian hospitality properties manage this dilemma through their marketing practices, and to propose a new marketing mix model that adds new layers of depth to the traditional marketing mix model. A methodological framework was designed to help in the assessment process of management practices pertaining to marketing initiatives during times of crisis. Results indicated the presence of tactical elements that assembled the traditional marketing mix model in the investigated hotels. However, these elements are not effectively used and the interaction between them not appears very clear. Results also indicated that the new proposed model would help in providing a framework for the Egyptian hospitality industry to maintain their competitive position during crisis time and avoiding undesired situations for labour force and decline of companies׳ revenues. The authors are grateful to the FEMISE (Forum Euro-Mediterranean of Institutes of Economics). This research received financial assistance of the European union in the contest of the FEMISE programme (projectFEM41-04). We are grateful to the anonymous referees of the journal. Earlier version published at the FEMISE International Conference13–14 February2016.The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the MSA University.

The modern lifestyle has put an emphasis on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. A fitness center provides the facilities and services that help enhance physical wellness. However, the sports industry boom led to the increased competition among the fitness centers and their aggressive marketing strategies, causing management difficulties and consumer damage. As the consumer capabilities and interactions increase, marketing trend has shifted from widely used Marketing Mix to a consumer-oriented paradigm. The customer relationship and retention is identified as the initial key step to effective relationship marketing, which will secure profits to the business. However, the customers consider the physical factors, such as the facilities, equipment and fees, as a priority and regard other various factors, such as fitness programs and employees, as the components of customer satisfaction. This study explored the previous research no the relationship marketing of fitness centers, examined the success factors and future directions and offered a theoretical model for relationship marketing of fitness center.

PurposeIncreasingly, marketing managers are asked to consider the financial implications, in terms of both book and market values, when making strategic decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of marketing expenditures in explaining the variation in the aftermarket performance of a sample of firms conducting initial public offerings (IPOs).Design/methodology/approachTheories from marketing and finance – market-based assets (MBA) theory and signaling theory respectively – serve as the conceptual basis of this paper. The results of this study, based on a sample of 2,103 IPOs covering the 1996 to 2008 time period, suggest that increased marketing spending positively impacts aftermarket (i.e. stock price) performance.FindingsThe authors find that while short-run aftermarket performance is positively and significantly impacted by pre-IPO marketing spending, long-run firm performance measures do not appear to be impacted by pre-IPO marketing spending. Further, pre-IPO marketing spending does not incrementally reduce underpricing or improve long-run performance when the IPO takes place during extreme market conditions such as recessions or hot markets, and these results are important to the shareholders and potential investors in the firm.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically this paper advances the literature on the marketing-finance interface by extending the MBA and signaling theories. For practice, the results indicate that spending more money on marketing before the IPO and disclosing this information produces positive bottom-line results for the firm.Originality/valueWhile Luo (2008) documents a significant relationship between the firms’ pre-IPO marketing spending and IPO underpricing, few studies explore the impact of marketing spending on stock price performance beyond the first day of trading. This paper makes three unique contributions. First, the authors extend Luo’s study by investigating the effect of marketing expenditures on underpricing during extreme market conditions. Second, the authors are the first to examine IPO performance in the long-run as well as the short-run. Finally, the authors assess how long-run performance is impacted by marketing spending during extreme market conditions. The findings of this study has implications for managers and shareholders of firms considering going public through a traditional IPO.

The purpose of this paper is to provide new theoretical perspective on marketing for sustainability, particularly for dealing with the environmental threat of climate change. We reconceptualise how marketing is operationalised through the conceptualisation of the marketing mix in order to permit the normalisation of sustainability considerations in business operations and consumption. To the traditional four Ps (product, price, promotion and place) we add but recalibrate for the specific purpose of sustainability participants, processes, and physical evidence, and introduce: promise, principles, and partnership, arguing that each of these may be considered a controllable marketing variable that will contribute to the creation/co-creation of individual and social value. This framework is developed and justified in order to make a novel contribution to marketing theory and practice. Limitations and future research directions conclude the discussion.

Purpose This conceptual paper aims at developing a customer-centric marketing communications approach that takes the starting point in the customer ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach After a critical analysis of existing marketing communications and integrated marketing communication (IMC) approaches, a customer-driven view of marketing communications is developed using recent developments in relationship communication, customer-dominant logic and the notion of customer value formation as value-in-use. Findings A customer-integrated marketing communication (CIMC) approach centred on a communication-in-use concept is conceptually developed and introduced. The analysis results in a CIMC model, where a customer in his or her individual ecosystem, based on integration of a set of messages from different sources, makes sense of the many messages he or she is exposed to. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a customer-driven perspective on marketing communication and IMC. The analysis is conceptual and should trigger future empirical grounding. It indicates the need for a change in mindset in research. Practical implications CIMC requires a turnaround in the mindset that steers how companies and their marketers communicate with customers. The CIMC model provides guidelines for planning marketing communication. Originality/value The customer-driven communication-in-use concept and the CIMC model challenge traditional inside-out approaches to planning and implementing marketing communication.

Goal of this article is to study the system application directions of marketing tools and technologies to improve the competitiveness of the region and regional markets in the changing conditions of the environment. It is noted that the theory and practice of marketing in the modern territorial administration considers it as a key factor of competitiveness, which will help to keep existing residents and attract expensive, educated, skilled workforceand form comfortable conditions for the operation of existing businesses and develop programs of attractiveness for investors and new entrepreneurs, to develop a unique tourism product focused on the re-visiting etc. It was considered the role of regional marketing definitions of national and foreign scientists. The attention is focused to the fact that despite the growth of attention of theorists and practitioners to territorial management technologies and marketing tools, many questions remain in terms of adapting to the needs of different territorial levels. The main problems associated with the direct transfer of technology of the corporate sector in management system and life activity of regions and cities. Stated that competitiveness as the object marketing impact should be considered within the classical concept of territorial marketing (marketing concept), according to which the bodies of local authorities should seek to identify current and future needs of target segments and play them in goods and services area (region, city) better than do competitors. The classical concept, along with other modern concepts of territorial marketing (social, ethical and partnership) gives to marketing a kind of integrator partnership of territorial authorities and target audiences. Were described the main subjects marketing in the region, discussed their role in enhancing the competitiveness of the regional markets systems on condition of the realization of their own interests and considered. It is noted that the main task of marketing should be increasing the attractiveness of its territory - complex of resources conditions, relationships, objects that allow in the market (competitive) conditions to reorient themselves to the flow of resources (financial, human, material, etc.), which will compete with other regions. Marketing territories allows to clearly understand that successful economic and social development should be to re-evaluate the area and conditions for the operation and development of the territory. It was established that today is activated the use of marketing approach in the local administration, but there is no systematic use of all marketing tools when forming strategies of Ukrainian cities and regions the use of limited marketing application of communication tools and event technologies and remain out of sight other important elements of the marketing mix. Specified directions for using the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion, people, philosophy, perception, income, personality, process, performance, politicalpower, politics) in the process of ensuring the competitiveness of the region and the transformation of the system of regional markets. Integrated use of elements of the complex of territorial marketing, its successful "mixing", harmonization of marketing strategies and policies, can form a set of practical tools of adaptation the region to the market situation in the region to ensure competitiveness and create conditions for the implementation of strategic development programs. It was concluded that regional marketing system of regional markets makes it possible to form the best competitive advantages for customers compared with other areas, promotes the efficient use of resources to improve the competitiveness and image, helping to attract economic agents increasing the attractiveness and competitiveness of the region aimed at sustainable development of the region, and creating a long term and mutually beneficial relationships with internal and external partners. Client-orientation of marketing approach to the management of the region and to transform the system of regional markets allows you to create unique properties of the region as a place of residence, visiting, business investment and promote it successfully in domestic and foreign markets.

As a part of Micro Small Medium Enterprises, home industry plays a very important role as new jobs provider that is expected to decrease unemployment and distribute wealth among society. Home industry development needs to be done in Kendal Regency. However in its implementation, this home industry faces many problems, one of them is marketing. It shows that there needs to be right marketing method and strategy to develop home industries. One of the approaches that is used right now by Small Medium Enterprises is entrepreneurial marketing. This research aims to (1) analyze the achievement being practiced by home industry in Kendal, (2) analyze the impact entrepreneurial marketing has towards the marketing performance of Kendal’s home industry. Respondents in this research are 67 home industry entrepreneur in Kaliwangu district and Patebon district, Kendal Regency. Sampling method uses non probability sampling method with convenience sampling technique. The data was analyzed with transformation index analysis and structural equation modeling with partial least square approach (SEM PLS). The result of the research shows that the implementation of entrepreneurial marketing has been quite good and the biggest aspect of entrepreneurial marketing is shown by strategic ability. According to SEM PLS analysis, concept, strategy, and market intelligence variables on entrepreneurial marketing are significant to marketing performance.

Space and spatiality still do not play a significant role in organizations’ marketing activities. The study – after a brief revision of the basic concepts of spatiality and marketing – introduces those areas in business approach, market discourse and especially in strategic marketing where space-related problems prevail. In order to give a detailed explanation on spatial problems in marketing, the paper first introduces space theories and social scientific approaches to space (regional science, economics, sociology, and human geography). After that, it will discuss theoretical and applied economic considerations with a special focus on spatiality in marketing. It will also introduce a number of international and Hungarian definitions – searching for spatiality in marketing – and, finally, it will analyze different explicit and implicit marketing relations of space on the basis of Kotler’s holistic marketing approach. In this main part, we will point out how and which way space and different space-interpretations (e.g. physical space, relational spaces and subjective spaces) affect (or should affect) marketing in theory and practice. Based upon Kotler’s holistic marketing concept, we will point out spatial features in product, price, place and promotion strategies, as well as the spatial aspects of relationship marketing, CSR marketing and internal marketing. Supported by several examples, we evince that marketing is rather “embedded in space”, so, as the argument goes, spatial connections and spatial features should be considered seriously in an effective marketing approach and even in everyday work. We also highlight that in a “geomarketing” approach spatiality does not simply refer to site selection and sales planning, but it also applies to the entire marketing process: Market analysis has a spatial character, because markets have spatial extent both in geographic and cyber spaces. Companies’ market position are influenced by competitors, suppliers and customers, among others, with their own geographical location and, therefore, they should consider the utilization of it for location-based advantages. Marketing part-strategies (e.g. product, price, communication) also have spatial dimensions if we accept that markets have a spatial character and they differ (also) in spatial terms from one another. And finally, customers, employees, stakeholders and other members of the society have different spatial perceptions, which companies have to consider when elaborating and carrying out their marketing activities.

Purpose This paper aims to review the growth and development of the field of relationship marketing and, through a consideration of this body of work, identifies key research priorities for the future of relationship marketing. The paper also delineates the frequently confused associated concepts of customer relationship management and customer management and considers how they fit within the broader concept of relationship marketing. Design/methodology/approach This paper undertakes a review of the relationship marketing literature, supplemented by the authors’ on-going interactive research with managers. Findings The paper reviews alternative approaches to relationship marketing, reflects on the development of the field of relationship marketing and identifies three critical priorities for future research in relationship marketing. Practical implications The research priorities that are identified in this paper represent important priorities for scholars, managers, regulators and policy makers. Originality/value Although there is now a substantial body of research on relationship, marketing, much of this work focuses on the customer-firm dyad, with a smaller body of work focusing on a broader range of stakeholders. This paper argues for the broadening of the role of relationship marketing to consider ecosystems; the need for firms to shift from a value-in-exchange to a value-in-use perspective when addressing customer relationships; and the critical need to address “dark side” behaviour and dysfunctional processes in relationship marketing.

Quantifying the efficacy of marketing is an age-old challenge. As John Wanamaker said a century ago, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” The big difference today, however, is that the Internet enables detailed tracking of marketing campaigns in real time, or near time. Exemplifies how to leverage the Internet to dramatically improve the efficacy of marketing. Centers upon the Microsoft Security Guidance marketing campaign, which was designed to change IT professionals' perception of Microsoft's software product security. The integrated marketing campaign involved print media, analyst relations, and online advertising. The advertising was designed to drive IT professionals to a Web site on security guidance, then sign them up for free in-person security training classes. Illustrates two important best practices for marketing in the Internet age: first, the campaign was designed to be measured, and second, agility was specifically designed into the campaign. In addition to tracking weekly click-through data from the print and online advertising, the campaign also used online pop-up customer perception surveys. Analyzing the click-though data, Microsoft realized it had a problem at the end of the first week of the campaign–there were far fewer signups for the training sessions than anticipated. By the end of the second week the campaign was changed, resulting in a huge improvement in efficacy. Creates a scorecard illustrating the pros and cons of the Microsoft approach compared to a more traditional campaign. Illustrates how, rather than creating big-bang campaigns, high-performing marketing organizations today are continually experimenting. They build flexibility into campaigns and design them to be measured.To learn how to leverage the Internet in marketing campaigns, analyze click-through data and online survey results acquired in near time, and learn how it is used to fine tune and dramatically improve a campaign. Furthermore, illustrates how nonfinancial metrics can be used to quantify marketing efficacy.

Because social media encourage two-way communication and interaction, they are valuable relationship-building tools for the marketer who chooses to use them to build dialogue and engage customers. ...

The present study investigates the links between market orientation (MO), store-level marketing capabilities and performance. In particular, we are interested in to analyse the relationship between MO and store-level marketing capabilities, and the impact of these store-level marketing capabilities on performance. The store-level marketing capabilities studied here are: 1) assortment management capability; 2) customer-service management capability. For the purpose of the study, we develop a conceptual model and related hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with a sample of 202 small Finnish retail entrepreneurs in the field of specialty goods retailing. Our findings offer the several substantive contributions. As a first contribution, the findings of the present study indicate that the relationship between retailer MO and store-level marketing capabilities is both positive and significant. As a second contribution, the study shows that both assortment management capability and customer-service management capability have a positive impact on customer performance. As a third contribution, the findings of our study indicate that store-level marketing capabilities do not have a direct impact on financial performance.

Marketing communication is a way how to provide selected information to customers, ideally with the fastest and in the most efficient form. Well set marketing communication of the company can presume the increment in the number of its customers which is often the significant factor of increase in sales. However, costs are linked with transforming marketing idea (using selected marketing communication channel and tool) into the final form which address customers. The goal of this paper is to use knowledge from the marketing communication of automobile company Tesla Motors, Inc. in order to gain information about efficient communication channels and tools which are currently used. We observe the relation of marketing strategy compared to financial situation, respectively financial characteristics. of selected communication channels and tools. Using real case of Tesla Motors authors suggest recommendations of efficient marketing communication in current environment as: a) effective from financial perspective b) beneficial in terms of building relationships with customer.

The growing power of the Internet, mobile technology and smart phones has offered new marketing services in tourism industry. Mobile marketing services becomes the most important factor in creating of marketing strategies. This study consider tourism mobile marketing application types in six major aspects: transportation, accommodation, food, tour, community and other, combined with Technology Acceptance Model of usefulness, ease of use and interesting; Analyze of the satisfaction and importance of users by Importance Performance Analysis (IPA). The results showed: user perception of each application in tourism mobile marketing, important susceptibility is higher than satisfaction; ease of use is the most important; real time and correct information are important, but not in good satisfactory, should be in the most need to improve.

In marketing, service and relationships interrelate. Service is based on relationships between actors, and according to the Nordic school research tradition, relationship marketing cannot be implemented without service. The development of service logic in the literature emphasizes that adopting a service perspective on their business and marketing enables service firms and product manufacturers alike to develop, maintain and enhance relationships with customers. From the customers’ point of view, all firms are service firms. “Promise theory” points out that promises made by conventional sales and marketing efforts must be successfully kept. Otherwise marketing will fail. The present article describes connections between service logic and relationship marketing, and between promise making and promise keeping. To implement relationship marketing, deep understanding of service culture and internal marketing as strategic management issues is central. Therefore, integrated management of the marketing a...

Knowledge of how entrepreneurial marketing is conducted in industrial markets is currently rather weak. This study explores the marketing decision-making process of entrepreneurs undertaking entrepreneurial marketing in international new ventures (INVs) operating in high-tech business-to-business markets. A qualitative study conducted with entrepreneurs from four case firms reveals that due to the iterative, incremental, and co-creative nature of the process, marketing decision making in high-tech business-to-business INVs that is more effectual than causal results in more entrepreneurial marketing. A novel finding is that entrepreneurs alternate causal and effectual marketing forms as a result of their ambidextrous entrepreneurialism, and variations in the internal uncertainty, technological uncertainty, and any market turbulence faced by the firm. We develop a dynamic model presenting the alternation between effectual and causal processes, and the feedback loop of entrepreneurial marketing. The research offers implications for the management of organizations operating under conditions of uncertainty on how their decision-making processes can optimize entrepreneurial marketing, how to create new markets, and how to reduce the perceived uncertainty in industrial markets.

In the contemporary competitive environment, companies strive to gain competitive advantage in their business. Strengthening a company’s position in the market is closely related to marketing culture. The article aims at revealing which marketing culture dimensions come into the force in hard times and how these change as hard times inch away and the economy recovers. Seeking to reveal the change tendencies of marketing culture expression in Lithuania, firstly the conception of marketing culture is presented and its elements and peculiarities examined; then the research methodology is presented together with the comparative analysis and interpretation of the findings of questionnaire surveys.

Three schools of thought within relationship marketing, inter-organizational, customer relationship, and customer valuation research, are all analyzed within the scope of marketing practice. Each school of thought is analyzed in line with marketing productivity, and the research that follows helps to demonstrate the success of each approach. Furthermore, the success of relationship marketing, and attempting to give it a specific definition, is analyzed. Each approach to pinpointing a more specific example of what relationship marketing entails is explored; from including all concepts of relationship marketing, to including the most used keywords experts use when defining relationship marketing, to finally, allowing the expert to apply the definition using his or her own approach are all analyzed. A study was also conducted to use customer feedback regarding a specific definition of relationship marketing, since generally scholars, experts, and businesspeople are the ones defining relationship marketing. Based on our findings and our consensus of analysis, we feel it is best to allow relationship marketing to be defined on an as needed approach by the scholar or the customer (client), since it encompasses so much, and can be applied successfully in many arenas. Although they are used rather interchangeably, there exists a clear distinction between the terms "customer" and "client". According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "customer is one that purchases a commodity or service" (https://www.merriam-webster.com), while in the business world customers are assumed to be "kings" and/or "always right". Instead, "client is one that is under the protection of another", or "a person who engages the professional advice or services of another" (https://www.merriam-webster.com). The difference is that customers trust their own judgement to assess a purchase, while clients rely on professionals who will explain what they really need. Interestingly, the key element of trust is common in both definitions, although it may be argued that it is even more important in the case of clients and/or in B2B transactions.

Collaborating offline event marketing and online marketing is considered a relatively novel marketing activity for many of the enterprise software companies. In contrast to conventional communication strategies, event marketing features the active and physical participation of limited customers in marketing communication process and online marketing features to expand event awareness to wide range of customers. For both of customers, the companies often have the marketing event to improve software and service awareness in enterprise B2B Software industry. Improving the number of the event attendees is equal to improving the software and service awareness. Therefore, it is required target number of event registration through the website and actual attendance of both new logo customer and existing customers who recently owns or has experiences to use software before. It requires to show the right session to the right customers at the marketing event and website because each user has each different motivation, business scheme, business model, and own role and responsibility. In this study, we could figure out several differences of customer behavior at the marketing event and effectiveness of business impact after the event between 2 segmented customers, such as invited customers and non-invited customers.

Location-based service is a rapidly growing mobile service group in the mobile technology world. Upon their permissions, location information of consumers can be used to provide them with marketing-related messages and information. However, certain factors have to be considered in order to increase consumers’ willingness to participate in location-based marketing activities. In this article, those factors have been investigated in an merging country, namely Turkey.After a thorough literature review on mobile marketing, location-based mobile marketing and relevant areas topics discovered have been checked with mobile marketing professionals in Turkey through in-depth interviews. A model has been proposed covering factors that affect mobile marketing and a scale has been developed. Statistical analyses were performed using the data collected from 364 surveys. As a result, personal innovativeness, personalization, permission, perceived ease of use, mobile marketing experience, perceived usefulness and perceived trust have proven to have an effect on the intention of consumers to participate in location-based mobile marketing.

Customer engagement marketing—defined as a firm’s deliberate effort to motivate, empower, and measure customer contributions to marketing functions—marks a shift in marketing research and business practice. After defining and differentiating engagement marketing, the authors present a typology of its two primary forms and offer tenets that link specific strategic elements to customer outcomes and thereby firm performance, theorizing that the effectiveness of engagement marketing arises from the establishment of psychological ownership and self-transformation. The authors provide evidence in support of the derived tenets through case illustrations, as well as a quasi-experimental field test of the central tenet of engagement marketing.

This study extends original insights of resource-advantage theory (Hunt & Morgan, 1995) to a specific analysis of the moderators of the capabilities–performance relationship such as market orientation, marketing strategy and organisational power. Using established measures and a representative sample of UK firms drawn from Verhoef and Leeflang's data (2009), our study tests new hypotheses to explain how different types of marketing capabilities contribute to firm performance. The application of resource-advantage theory advances theorising on both marketing and organisational antecedents of firm performance and the causal mechanisms by which competitive advantage is generated.

The product strategy is a cornerstone of the product, price, place, and promotion (four Ps) of the marketing mix that has undergone significant scrutiny and critique. This study sought to conduct a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature to better understand how product has been conceptualized and operationalized over multiple decades. Application of inclusion criteria resulted in a sample of 88 articles published from 1973 to 2015, representing work in 18 different countries in North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. Content analysis showed that authors offering formal definitions of product have placed heavy emphasis on conceptualizing the product P as the prescribed behavior for the target audience in a social marketing initiative. Analysis of the operationalization of product strategies revealed more balance across the literature in thinking about product as beneficial outcomes and tangible goods as well as behaviors. Discussion focuses on consideration of the findings in the context of the call from several thought leaders in recent years to steer away from talking about the product as behavior and concentrate more on goods, services, and product features. The results also inspire discussion about the future utility of conceptualizing product within a three-tiered frame of actual, core, and augmented products.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to create the taxonomy of firms based on the nature of the relationship between market-based resources and marketing capabilities. Anchored in the configuration theory, the present study aims to explore simultaneous roles of market-based resources, i.e. customer orientation and competitor orientation, and marketing capabilities, i.e. the execution of marketing practices and activities within a firm, on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data from chief executive officers or top managers of 220 firms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a transitional economy in South Eastern Europe. Findings Drawing on a configuration approach via the latent class analysis, the authors empirically derive four distinct strategic marketing patterns, namely, marketing super achievers, marketing-focused virtuosi, marketing drifters and marketing mass pushers. The findings also highlight how business performance outcomes differ as a function of a class membership. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional research design and focus on a single country are main limitations of the present study. Thus, longitudinal studies in the context of developed and fast-reforming transition economies are advisable for future work. Practical implications This study enhances the knowledge on how a firm can configure or bundle its market-based resources and marketing capabilities to produce desired outcomes. Findings suggest that joint attention to building market-oriented culture and developing marketing capabilities seems to pay off. However, the authors found that a lack of market knowledge can be substituted by the firms’ ability to build effective promotional and branding capabilities. Thus, the present study adds to the emerging dialog on the relative importance of alternative strategic orientations in achieving superior business performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the strategic marketing literature by examining the synergistic effect of market-based resources and marketing capabilities on firm performance using a configurational approach. It also provides support for the equifinality proposition, suggesting that different “bundles” of market-based resources and marketing capabilities can lead to similar level of performance outcomes.

This paper presents a systematic review of recent academic literature analysing the role, organization and management of marketing activities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To this end, 310 articles published between 2006 and 2015 in 69 main journals devoted to small firms/entrepreneurship and management/marketing fields were analysed. This review shows that SMEs’ marketing has received great attention in both management and marketing literature in recent years. Findings reveal, on the one hand, the emerging role of networks and information and communication technologies in marketing behaviour by SMEs, and on the other hand a research gap in terms of specific marketing practices. Entrepreneurial marketing has been used as the main conceptual framework in reviewed studies, even if findings overall still point out a distance between the theoretical bases of reviewed contributions and the study of SMEs’ marketing behaviour and practices. Therefore, future research on the role of resources, relationships and networks could benefit from the combination of theories developed within the field of entrepreneurship with other approaches such as the resource-based view, the dynamic capabilities theory and the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) framework.

This study assesses the efficiency of marketing activities in a selected enterprise from the banking sector and proposes measurements that contribute to overall organizational performance. The Balanced Scorecard determines the goals for the enterprise's achievement of business strategy in terms of positive future developments and improved realization of individual marketing activities. Several criteria determine the choice of the enterprise: the enterprise must have a functioning marketing department that receives special attention with the company reserving funds for marketing expenditure. Main indexes from indicators serve to measure the efficiency of marketing activities and to benchmark against competition. Findings show the lagging growth rate of loans of the company compared with the overall market growth rate and the negative growth in customer profitability. Individual proposals present a strategic map, focusing on customers' perspective of performance evaluation in the company.

The literature widely acknowledges visual communication in the form of a logo as a potential marketing tool for attracting visitors. Focusing exclusively on logos, this study uses the Haitian Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) logo as a case study to explain how the choice of colors of a logo can benefit from market research methods. In essence, the study develops an analytical framework and contributes to the body of meta-literature in tourism marketing research. The results of the research affect current marketing practices in tourism, because firms seemingly overlook some important elements when developing a new logo. This situation is the case of the Haitian DMO and possibly other DMOs in the world.

Social marketing is regarded as an effective consumer-oriented approach to promoting behavioural change and improved well-being for individuals, communities and society. However, its potential for tourism, especially sustainable tourism, remains under-researched. This article examines the utilisation of social marketing by tourism businesses. A search strategy identified 14 behavioural change programmes that involved tourism businesses. Half of these programmes label themselves social marketing; the others tend to be part of corporate social responsibility efforts, using a form of corporate social marketing (CSM). Most programmes seek to encourage pro-environmental behaviours in tourists, tourism businesses and other stakeholders including suppliers. Although tourism businesses can develop social marketing programmes alone, typically they collaborate with public and non-profit agencies as partners and sponsors. The strength of the tie between the promoted behaviour and the sale of a company's prod...