Unit 14: Trends in Marketing

I. Orientation: The Changing Marketing Environment

Trends in marketing reflect changes in technology, consumer expectations, environmental concerns, market access and regulation. Modern marketing has moved from transaction-centred selling toward value creation, relationship building and responsible management of customer experiences across physical and digital channels.

• Governing principle: Marketing identifies, creates, communicates and delivers value to customers while achieving organisational and societal objectives.
• Customer orientation: Decisions begin with customer needs, behaviour and lifetime value rather than merely with production capacity.
• Value proposition: A firm must clarify the functional, emotional, social or environmental benefit offered relative to its price and alternatives.
• Technology dependence: Websites, mobile applications, artificial intelligence, analytics and connected databases increasingly shape communication and distribution.
• Relationship focus: Retention, loyalty and advocacy supplement the traditional objective of acquiring new customers.
• Sustainability focus: Product design, packaging, logistics and communication are evaluated for environmental and social consequences.
• Market inclusion: Rural, low-income and previously underserved consumers require accessible products, prices and distribution systems.
• Ethical accountability: Privacy, truthful representation, fair pricing and responsible targeting affect trust, reputation and legal compliance.

II. Service Marketing — Managing Intangible Customer Experiences

A. Service marketing

Service marketing applies marketing principles to activities, performances and experiences whose value is usually created through interaction between the provider and the customer.

• Intangibility: Services cannot normally be examined before purchase; a patient cannot fully evaluate surgery in advance. Marketers therefore use physical evidence such as certificates, premises, reviews and guarantees.
• Inseparability: Production and consumption often occur together, as in teaching or hairdressing. Employee behaviour consequently becomes part of the service itself.
• Variability: Performance may differ by employee, customer, time or location. Banks reduce variation through scripts, training, software and service standards.
• Perishability: Unused service capacity cannot be stored; an empty airline seat after departure has no future inventory value. Reservations and differential pricing help match demand with capacity.
• Lack of ownership: Customers generally obtain access or benefit rather than title to an asset—for example, a hotel stay or streaming subscription.
• Extended marketing mix: Services use the traditional four Ps plus three additional elements:
  • People: Employees, customers and others influencing delivery.
  • Process: Steps through which the service is requested and performed.
  • Physical evidence: Tangible cues such as uniforms, receipts, layout and website design.
• Service-quality dimensions: The SERVQUAL framework highlights reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness. Reliability means delivering the promised service accurately and consistently.
• Service recovery: Prompt acknowledgement, explanation, correction and suitable compensation can restore trust after failure.

B. Applications and limitations

Service marketing seeks to make promises realistic and service delivery dependable.

• Internal marketing: Training and motivating employees helps them fulfil the brand promise; hotel staff may receive standards for greeting and complaint handling.
• Demand management: Off-peak discounts, appointments and queue systems balance fluctuating demand against fixed capacity.
• Customer participation: Self-checkout and online banking improve convenience but may transfer effort to customers.
• Measurement limitation: Perceptions are subjective, so identical waiting times may be judged differently depending on expectations and communication.

III. E-Marketing — Creating and Delivering Value Online

A. E-marketing

E-marketing uses internet-connected technologies to research markets, communicate offers, conduct transactions and maintain customer relationships.

• Digital channels: Websites, search engines, email, social media, online marketplaces and mobile applications provide measurable customer touchpoints.
• Website marketing: Effective sites combine usable navigation, credible content, secure payment and clear calls to action such as “Subscribe” or “Buy now.”
• Search marketing: Search-engine optimisation earns unpaid visibility, whereas pay-per-click advertising charges when a user clicks a sponsored result.
• Content marketing: Articles, videos, podcasts and guides attract audiences by providing relevant value rather than relying only on direct sales messages.
• Email marketing: Permission-based, segmented email can support acquisition and retention; unsubscribe facilities and accurate subject lines are essential.
• Social-media marketing: Brands use communities, creators and paid placements for interaction, customer service and electronic word of mouth.
• Performance measurement: Common indicators include reach, click-through rate and conversion rate.

Conversion rate (%) = (Number of desired actions / Number of visitors) × 100

• Worked example: If 120 of 4,000 website visitors complete a purchase, the conversion rate is (120 / 4,000) × 100 = 3%.

B. Applications and limitations

E-marketing offers targeting and immediacy but creates operational and social risks.

• Personalisation: Browsing or purchase history can generate recommendations, such as suggesting accessories compatible with a purchased device.
• Real-time optimisation: A/B testing compares two versions of a webpage while changing one major element, such as the headline.
• Advantages: Online campaigns can achieve global reach, rapid feedback, automated delivery and detailed measurement.
• Limitations: Ad fraud, algorithm changes, digital exclusion, cybersecurity incidents and information overload can reduce effectiveness.
• Privacy requirement: Collection of identifiable customer data requires a lawful basis, appropriate security and transparent disclosure under applicable rules such as the GDPR.

IV. Green Marketing — Integrating Environmental Value

A. Green marketing

Green marketing develops and promotes offerings whose environmental effects are reduced across relevant stages of their life cycle.

• Life-cycle perspective: Assessment covers raw materials, production, transport, use and end-of-life treatment rather than packaging alone.
• Product decisions: Durability, repairability, energy efficiency, recycled inputs and reduced toxicity can lower environmental burdens.
• Pricing decisions: A higher purchase price may accompany lower operating cost; an efficient appliance may save electricity throughout its useful life.
• Distribution decisions: Route optimisation, local sourcing and consolidated shipments can reduce fuel use and emissions.
• Promotion decisions: Environmental claims should be specific and verifiable. “Packaging contains 70% recycled material” is clearer than “planet friendly.”
• Eco-labels: Independent certification can reduce information asymmetry, provided the standard and certifying body are credible.
• Circular approach: Refill, repair, resale, remanufacturing and take-back systems aim to retain material value and reduce waste.

B. Applications and limitations

Green marketing succeeds when environmental performance is substantive rather than merely promotional.

• Business value: Resource efficiency may reduce energy, packaging and disposal costs while differentiating the brand.
• Consumer value: Clear instructions—for example, how to return a used battery—help convert favourable attitudes into action.
• Greenwashing risk: Highlighting one minor benefit while concealing major harm can mislead customers and damage credibility.
• Trade-offs: Biodegradable packaging may still require industrial composting facilities; environmental claims must therefore state relevant conditions.
• Measurement challenge: Carbon, water, waste and biodiversity effects use different measures and cannot always be reduced to one simple score.

V. Customer Relationship Management — Building Profitable Long-Term Relationships

A. Customer relationship management

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategy supported by people, processes and technology for acquiring, serving, retaining and developing customers.

• Operational CRM: Automates customer-facing activities such as sales leads, service tickets, order records and campaign delivery.
• Analytical CRM: Uses customer data to identify segments, predict churn, estimate value and improve decisions.
• Collaborative CRM: Shares relevant information across sales, service and channel partners so customers receive consistent treatment.
• Customer life cycle: Typical stages are acquisition, onboarding, development, retention, recovery and possible reactivation.
• Single customer view: Integrating authorised records prevents fragmented service; an agent can see prior purchases and unresolved complaints.
• Customer lifetime value: A simplified estimate compares expected contribution with acquisition and service costs.

CLV = (Average contribution per period × Expected retention periods)
      − Acquisition and relationship costs

• Loyalty tools: Membership benefits, personalised offers and priority service reward continuing behaviour, but points alone do not create emotional loyalty.
• Retention logic: Complaint resolution and proactive service address causes of defection rather than repeatedly replacing lost customers.

B. Applications and limitations

CRM creates value only when reliable data supports customer-relevant action.

• Segmentation: Customers may be grouped by value, needs, behaviour or lifecycle stage instead of receiving identical communications.
• Automation: A system may send onboarding guidance after registration or alert an employee when a contract approaches renewal.
• Data-quality limitation: Duplicate, outdated or incorrectly matched records produce poor recommendations and frustrating interactions.
• Trust limitation: Excessive personalisation can appear intrusive; consent, access controls, purpose limitation and deletion procedures are necessary.
• Strategic limitation: CRM software cannot repair an unattractive product, unfair policy or weak service culture.

VI. Rural Marketing — Reaching Dispersed and Diverse Markets

A. Rural marketing

Rural marketing concerns understanding, serving and exchanging goods and services in rural markets, including the movement of agricultural and locally produced output to wider markets.

• Market diversity: Rural consumers differ by occupation, income, infrastructure, language and proximity to towns; rural markets are not homogeneous.
• Four-As framework:
  • Affordability: Prices, pack sizes and payment arrangements should match cash-flow patterns.
  • Availability: Products must reach dispersed settlements through dependable last-mile distribution.
  • Acceptability: Design should suit local needs, climate, skills and usage conditions.
  • Awareness: Communication should be understandable, credible and available through suitable media.
• Distribution: Local retailers, cooperatives, mobile vans, periodic markets and digital ordering can extend reach where conventional channels are costly.
• Product adaptation: Durable construction, easy repair and low power consumption may be more valuable than unnecessary features.
• Communication: Demonstrations, local-language media and trusted community intermediaries can explain unfamiliar products concretely.
• Demand patterns: Agricultural seasons, remittances and weather may create irregular income and purchase cycles.
• Reverse flow: Rural marketing also includes procurement and branding of farm produce, handicrafts and other local outputs.

B. Applications and limitations

Effective rural marketing combines commercial viability with accessibility and local understanding.

• Infrastructure constraint: Weak roads, electricity, connectivity or warehousing can increase inventory and service costs.
• Scale challenge: Small transaction values across distant locations can make conventional distribution uneconomic.
• Inclusive innovation: Shared services, rechargeable products and assisted digital payments may overcome resource constraints.
• Ethical safeguard: Firms should not exploit limited information through hidden credit costs, exaggerated claims or unsuitable products.

VII. Other Emerging Trends — New Technologies and Market Practices

A. Other emerging trends

Emerging trends combine data, connected channels and participatory experiences to make marketing more immediate and personalised.

• Artificial intelligence: Recommendation engines, chatbots and predictive models support personalisation, forecasting and service, but require human oversight.
• Omnichannel marketing: Physical stores, applications, websites and contact centres share information so a customer can browse in one channel and purchase in another.
• Social commerce: Product discovery, creator recommendations, live demonstrations and checkout increasingly occur within social platforms.
• Influencer marketing: Brands collaborate with creators whose credibility depends on audience fit; paid relationships should be clearly disclosed.
• Marketing automation: Triggered workflows deliver messages after observable events, such as an abandoned cart or subscription renewal.
• Augmented and virtual reality: Virtual try-ons and interactive product demonstrations reduce uncertainty for cosmetics, furniture or tourism.
• Experiential marketing: Events, installations and trials create memorable sensory or emotional interaction with a brand.
• Subscription models: Recurring payment shifts attention toward onboarding, continued usage, renewal and churn reduction.
• Purpose-led marketing: Social commitments can strengthen identification only when operations and measurable actions support the stated purpose.

B. Applications and limitations

Emerging tools should be assessed by customer value, not adopted merely because they are novel.

• Algorithmic risk: Biased training data may produce discriminatory targeting, exclusion or pricing.
• Dependence risk: Heavy reliance on a platform exposes firms to fee, policy and algorithm changes.
• Authenticity risk: Undisclosed sponsorships, synthetic testimonials or automated interactions can weaken trust.
• Evaluation principle: Firms should compare incremental revenue, customer experience, cost and risk against a defined baseline.

VIII. Ethical Issues in Marketing — Protecting Fairness, Autonomy and Trust

A. Ethical issues in marketing

Marketing ethics applies principles of honesty, fairness, responsibility, transparency and respect for autonomy to marketing decisions.

• Product ethics: Firms should disclose material risks, avoid unsafe design and provide accurate instructions, warranties and ingredient information.
• Pricing ethics: Hidden charges, collusion, deceptive discounts and exploitative emergency pricing undermine informed choice and fairness.
• Promotion ethics: False claims, manipulated testimonials, disguised advertising and material omissions distort customer decisions.
• Targeting ethics: Children, financially distressed consumers and people with limited digital literacy require protection from exploitative persuasion.
• Distribution ethics: Counterfeit goods, coercive channel practices and artificial scarcity can harm customers and intermediaries.
• Data ethics: Responsible practice includes informed consent, data minimisation, security, limited retention and meaningful control over profiling.
• Dark patterns: Interfaces that obstruct cancellation, preselect unwanted options or disguise recurring charges manipulate rather than assist users.
• Stereotyping: Advertising may reinforce harmful assumptions about gender, ethnicity, age, disability or rural communities.
• Environmental ethics: Unsupported sustainability claims mislead consumers and divert attention from genuine environmental improvement.

B. Ethical decision criteria

Ethical evaluation extends beyond minimum legal compliance because an action may be lawful yet unfair or harmful.

• Truth test: Claims should be factually supportable and should not omit information that would materially alter interpretation.
• Transparency test: Customers should recognise advertisements, sponsorships, recurring payments and significant uses of personal data.
• Fairness test: Benefits and burdens should not be allocated through deception, discrimination or abuse of market power.
• Harm test: Marketers should assess foreseeable physical, financial, psychological, social and environmental consequences.
• Accountability test: Named employees or committees should review high-risk campaigns, maintain evidence and provide complaint and correction mechanisms.
• Long-term consequence: Ethical conduct protects trust, customer retention and brand equity; misconduct can produce complaints, regulatory penalties, boycotts and lasting reputational damage.