Traditional and Non-traditional Marketing Strategies:

A Comparative Analysis

Thesis

by

Alena Listkova

Submitted in Partial fulfilment

Of the Requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Science

in

Business Administration

State University of New York

Empire State College

2015 Reader: David Starr-Glass

Acknowledgement

My first acknowledgement and thank you goes to my parents Listkov Yevgeniy and

Listkova Yelena for their loving support throughout my education and especially for their

stubborn and persistent encouragements during the last year of my university education. I

am thankful to all my teachers who have provided, share and influenced my quest for

knowledge. A special gratitude goes to my mentor Professor David Starr-Glass, who

accorded me a generous amount of his precious time throughout the research and writing of

this research project. My final thank you and acknowledgement goes out to my friends for

their supports. I am especially grateful to Vladimir Abrashkin for his constant and

consistent support.

Thank you all.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction to the Research Project

1.0 The Reseach Project: An Introduction ............................................................................. 6

1.1 The Research Project Aim ............................................................................................... 7

1.2 The Research Project Objectives and Objective Questions ............................................. 7

1.3 Marketing, Marketing Concept and Marketing Strategies: An Overview ....................... 7

Chapter Two: The Research Project Methods and Methodology

2.0 The Research Project Methodology ............................................................................... 17

2.1 The Research Project Philosophy .................................................................................. 18

2.2 The Research Project Approach .................................................................................... 18

2.3 The Research Project Strategy ....................................................................................... 19

2.4 The Research Project Design ......................................................................................... 19

2.5 The Research Project Data Collection Technique - Literature Review ......................... 20

2.6 The Research Project Data Analysis Technique - Qualitative Content Analysis .......... 23

Chapter Three: Traditional & Non-traditional Marketing Strategies: An Investigation

3.0 An Overview of Traditional Marketing Strategies ........................................................ 25

3.0.1 Transactional Marketing Approach ............................................................... 28

3.0.2 Market Segmentation Approach .................................................................... 29

3.0.3 Relationship Marketing Approach ................................................................. 32

3.1 An Overview of Non-traditional Marketing Strategies ................................................. 38

3.1.1 Personal Marketing Approach ....................................................................... 39

3.1.2 Place Marketing Approach ............................................................................ 40

3.1.3 Cause-Related Marketing Approach .............................................................. 43

Chapter Four: Comparative Analysis and Conclusions

4.0 Comparative Analysis .................................................................................................... 47

4.1 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 52

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 54

Tables, Figures and Illustrations

Figure 1: Five Eras of Marketing Evolution ........................................................................ 10

Figure 2: The Shift to Customer Orientation ....................................................................... 14

Figure 3: The Honeycomb of Research Methodology. ......................................................... 17

Figure 4: How Theory Fits into Research. ........................................................................... 19

Figure 5: Research Data Types, Sources and Collection Techniques ................................. 21

Figure 6: Secondary Research Data Sources. ..................................................................... 22

Figure 7: Undifferentiated targeting strategy ...................................................................... 30

Figure 8: Concentrated targeting strategy ........................................................................... 31

Figure 9: Differentiated targeting strategy .......................................................................... 32

Figure 10: The Six Markets Model ....................................................................................... 33

Figure 11: The Customer Markets Domain ......................................................................... 34

Figure 12: The Referral Markets Domain ............................................................................ 34

Figure 13: The Influence Markets Domain .......................................................................... 35

Figure 14: The Recruitment Markets Domain ..................................................................... 36

Figure 15: The Supplier/alliance Markets Domain ............................................................. 37

Figure 16: The Internal Markets Domain ............................................................................ 37

Figure 17: World Internet Users by Regions ....................................................................... 41

Abstract

This research thesis investigates the marketing dichotomy between traditional and non-

traditional marketing strategies and the approaches adopted by business organizations. The

research looked at the dynamic nature of marketing as the basis for the existence of the two

different strategic approaches deployed by business organizations for achieving the twin

objectives of generating revenue thus profit and ensuring that customers’ needs and wants

are adequately addressed. The research thesis focused on identifying which of the two

strategies and their approaches best serve business organizations’ objectives as stated above.

The significance of this research thesis is it impact on business organization’s ability to

effectively and efficiently market its products/services to its customers. The understanding

of which is of great financial benefits to business organizations by keeping marketing costs

under control, that is, lower overhead costs.

It is also of great benefits to the customers because the lower the cost of marketing the

products/service, the lower the overhead costs passed on to customers in the price of the

products/services, that is, cheaper goods and services. The research thesis is investigated

through the use of secondary research data. The secondary research data where extensively

collected from different body of works already in existence about the subject matter. The

large body of works were reduced through the use of systematic review of literatures to

separate the relevant from the irrelevant research information. The relevant information

collected from the systematic review of literature were then analysed through qualitative

content analysis. The result of the qualitative content analysis were then comparatively

analysed to arrive at the conclusion that business organizations interested in achieving the

most effective and efficient marketing strategies and approaches must see both strategies are

complementary rather contradictory strategies for achieving its marketing objectives.

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Chapter One

Introduction to the Research Project

1.0 Introduction

Marketing is a continuously evolving concept that seems to adapt effortlessly to the changes

in society as well as in technology. This study is a research into two aspects of the ability of

marketing to adapt to changing circumstances. Firstly, the study looked at application of

marketing strategies and approaches through the traditional marketing strategies and

approaches. Identifying the critical significance of how the strategy ensure the effective and

efficient communication of the manufacturers’ products/services to the consumers. The

research investigated the traditional marketing strategies and approaches highlighting the

role of transactional marketing approach, market segmentation approach and relationship

marketing approach.

Secondly, the research looked at non-traditional marketing strategies and approaches. The

non-traditional marketing strategies and approaches deviates away from the traditional

marketing strategies and approaches. It rather focuses on how marketing is adapting its

strategies and approaches to the societal changes, and the use of information and

telecommunication technology to reach the consumer in a more personal and individualistic

ways. To identify all the aspect of the dynamic and fast moving technological advancement

and its influences on the marketing of goods and services through personal marketing

approach, place marketing approach and cause-related marketing approach. The outcome

of these investigations where comparatively evaluated and a conclusion on how the research

study enable the researcher to answer the research questions. Enabling the researcher to

achieve the research aim and research objectives, establishing the fact the both strategies and

approaches are more complementary than contradictory to each other in ensuring the

marketing of goods and services to all.

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1.1 The Research Project Aim

The aim of this research project is to investigate the dynamism inherent in marketing as a

concept, focusing on the traditional and non-traditional strategies applied by businesses.

Identifying the merits and demerits of the two approaches through a comparative analysis.

1.2 Research Objectives and Objectives Questions

I. Investigate the traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies.

What are the attributes of the two marketing strategies?

What are the merits and demerits inherent in each of the strategies?

Is it advisable for business organizations to implement one of either or combine both in the

marketing of their products and services in a technological driven global economy?

II. Draw valid and reliable conclusions based on comparative analysis of the two

marketing strategies.

What does the comparative analysis of the two approaches reveal about their future

application to marketing of goods and services in the current dynamic and globalized

business environment?

1.3 Marketing, Marketing Concept and Marketing Strategies: An Overview

Marketing as a concept is dynamic and its dynamism is expressed through the speed at which

it continues to evolve and expand on the basis of societal changes and technological

advancement. This research project explores what can be referred to as the result of the

dynamism of marketing concept. By dynamism of marketing concept the researcher meant

the increasing leaning of marketing from the ‘traditional’ to the ‘non-traditional’ approaches

to marketing. The changes in marketing concept really not a new occurrence, the changes

has been ongoing for a long time.

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There are at least five recognized eras of marketing history. Before the five eras of marketing

history and its accompanying changes are explained in this introductory chapter. It is critical

to have a foundational understanding of the researcher’s approach to the subject matter. By

this, the researcher is talking about the dynamism of marketing concept as it was investigated

in this research project. The dynamism of marketing was investigated and explained through

two differing perspectives. The traditional marketing approaches and the non-traditional

marketing approaches. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) (2007) declares

marketing as “the strategic function that creates value by stimulating, facilitating and

fulfilling customer demand. It does this by building brands, nurturing innovation, developing

relationships, creating good customers service and communication benefits” (as cited in

Jackson, 2013, p.37).

According to Thomson and Baden-Fuller (2010), “strategy is the discipline that seeks to

explain why organizations do what they do, and how they can be changed to achieve a

purpose (such as make profits or survive)” (p.1). The effectiveness of the strategic function

identified above determines the success or failure of an organization’s approach to the

marketing of its goods and services. In order for an organization to determine the most

effective strategies for its goods and services, it must have a sound understanding of the

different available marketing strategies, that is, traditional and non-traditional.

The significance of the understanding of the right strategies extends to an appreciation of the

right approaches to be applied. The differences in marketing strategies and their

accompanying approaches is as a result of decades of changes that have taken place in the

application of marketing. It is therefore important to have the basic understanding of the

different eras of marketing that has resulted in the current traditional and non-traditional

strategies of marketing.

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There is perhaps no better evidence of the dynamism of the changes in marketing concepts

than the ever evolving definitions of the concept by no greater authority on the subject matter

than the American Marketing Association (AMA). In 1935, the National Association of

Marketing Teachers (as the AMA was formerly known) (1935) defined marketing as: “the

performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers

to consumers” (as cited in Hackley, 2009, p.32). This definition explains the concept of

marketing from the perspective of it being solely a managerial activity.

By 1985, the AMA (1985) described marketing as: “The process of planning and executing

the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create

exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives” (as cited in Hackley, 2009,

p.32). While the 1985 definition still view the concept of marketing as a managerial function,

the exchange was expanded beyond just goods and services to include ideas. The needs that

it was expected to satisfied has also expanded beyond that of consumers to include that of

businesses as well.

In 2004, the AMA (2004) argues that “marketing is an organizational function and a set of

processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing

customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders” (as cited

in Hackley, 2009, p.32). The 2004 definition differs from the 1985 definition by recognizing

marketing as an organizational function and highlighting the presence of customer

relationship management within the concept of marketing. In 2007, the AMA (2007),

“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,

delivering, and exchanging offering that have value for the customers, clients, partners, and

society at large” (as cited in Masterson & Pickton, 2010, p.5). Irrespective of which of the

definitions above is applied, one undeniable fact remains that marketing as a concept evolves

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with time. The identification of traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies is an

expression of the evolution of the concept over time.

The researcher seeks to understand the traditional and non-traditional marketing activities,

institutions, processes of communicating as well as delivery. The research is not just looking

at the processes, but all the activities and institutions so as to identify the differences between

the two marketing strategies.

Following the evolution of the definition of marketing, it is equally important to have an

understanding of the evolution of marketing as a concept. This is critical because it was the

gradual evolution from the period prior to the 1920s that created the traditional and non-

traditional marketing strategies. Boone and Kurtz (2015) provided five eras of marketing

concept evolution eras which included the production era (prior to 1920s), the sales era (prior

to 1950s), the marketing era (since 1950s), the relationship era (since 1990s) and finally, the

social era (since 2000s) (p.9). These evolutionary eras of marketing is identified and

explained below:

Figure 1: Five Eras of Marketing Evolution (Source: Boone & Kurtz, 2015, p.9).

The Production Era of Marketing (prior to 1920s)

During the 1920s the prevailing philosophy amongst entrepreneurs and manufacturers are

mainly that efficiency in the production process that result in excellent quality products. This

11

era of marketing was not concern about customer buying behaviour. It was mainly concerned

with efficiency in the delivery of mass products with high quality as the main reason to

motivate customer patronage. According to Boone and Kurtz (2015), “this production

orientation dominated business philosophy for decades; business success often was defined

solely in terms of production success” (p.9). According to Solomon, Hughes, Chitty,

Marshall, and Stuart (2014):

“The production era of marketing was all about the efficient production of a product

for a mass market. The focus was on the company, not the customer…Basically, if

you [Organization] could mass-produce something cheaply and efficiently, you

could dominate a market. Customer need weren’t important, as in this case they had

little choice but to buy from you [Organization]” (p.11).

The emphasis of business was simply to ensure that their production process is efficient and

their products are of high quality. Once these two critical objectives are achieved, the success

of the product is all but guaranteed. A sentiment expressed in Ford’s famous slogan, “they

[customers] can have any colour they want, as long as it’s black” (as cited in Boone & Kurtz,

2015 p.9).

The Sales Era of Marketing (prior to 1950s)

By the 1950s the production era philosophy of efficient and effective mass production has

peaked. The advantages of efficient production process to create quality products peaked for

two critical reasons. Firstly, the war production process developed during the Second War

World by the military as part of the war efforts were converted producing goods at a greater

efficiency rate. These conversion of military production process to civilian purposes were

not limited to the United States alone, but across the developed world. Another aspect was

the improvement in critical utilities such as transportation systems that ensures the

movement of goods in at a faster rate than ever before, thus creating a massive production

of goods across the developed world (Burrow, 2009, p.25). Secondly, the consequence of

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the improvement in production processes and transportation systems created a saturated

market place because of its efficiency in making goods available in all nooks and crannies

of the world at a cheaper and more efficient rate. The saturation of the market place led to

increased customer bargaining power. The customer exercised their new found power

through choice and since there are plenty quality products to choose from, the production

era competitive advantage through efficient low cost production has been completely erased.

This left businesses is little or no differentiation that can be exploited at the detriment of

competitors thus the peaking of the production era of marketing. Burrow (2009) explained

that these changes resulted in increased competition among businesses because of the lack

of differentiation. Companies began to rely on salespeople to convince customers that their

products were better than that of competitors. Salespeople are able to introduce products that

customers had not purchased before and demonstrate the advantages of ownership (p.25).

The introduction of salespeople ignited the sales era of marketing.

The Marketing Era of Marketing (since 1950s)

There are no universally agreed start off year for any of the marketing eras investigated

throughout this research project. The marketing era is therefore no exception. Boone and

Kurtz (2015) postulated that this era started taking roots since the 1950s. Hurd, Barcelona

and Meldrum (2008) argues that the marketing era started in the early 1980s and that this

was due to the increased competitions amongst businesses that saw organizations becoming

more responsive to the needs of consumers (p.167). The first notable difference between this

era and the previous eras already examined is the shift from the production orientation, which

is concerned about efficiency in production. Or the sales orientation, which is concerned

about how much sales the organizations was able to generate. To meeting the needs of the

customers. This is the first time the needs of the customers became the first concern of

13

businesses. Boone and Kurtz (2015) explained this shift as “a companywide consumer

orientation with the objective of achieving long-run success. All facets – and all levels, from

top to bottom – of the organization must contribute first to assessing and then to satisfying

customer wants and needs” (p.10).

Now, businesses are not thinking of their own successes from the perspective of their ability

to utilized their resources more effectively, but actually seeking to understand the needs and

wants of the customer and then developing products to meet these identified needs and wants

and therefore eliminating the possibility of producing what customers do not want or need.

Boone and Kurtz (2015) “business philosophy incorporating the marketing concept that

emphasizes first determining unmet consumer needs and then designing a system for

satisfying them” (p.10). This era exposes the reality that the success of businesses are not

limited to its production efficiency, or its sales peoples’ effectiveness, but the understanding

of the needs and wants of the customer.

The Relationship Era of Marketing (since 1990s)

The relationship era represented an expansion of the marketing era is a way that enable

businesses to create a symbiotic relation with consumers that is beneficial to both sides. This

era indicated the fact that consumer centric approach to product marketing is established.

Boone and Kurtz (2015) argues that the relationship era goes beyond just the business and

its customers when they argued that relationship era involves the “development and

maintenance of long-term, cost-effective relationships with individual customers, suppliers,

employees, and other partners for mutual benefit” (p.11). Solomon et al. (2014) explained

this symbiotic relationship as:

“The relationship era is all about having a consumer orientation that satisfies

consumers’ needs and wants. It is not about consumer domination where the

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customer is always right, but more about an era where the organization and

consumer both work with each other to create value in the relationship and the

consumption experience” (p.12).

Irrespective of whether the era is seen from a limited perspective Solomon et al. or from an

expanded perspective of Boone and Kurtz, the customer centricity of the eras post sales is

established (Figure2).

Figure 2: The Shift to Customer Orientation (Source: Cundari, 2015, p.9).

The Social Era of Marketing (since the 2000s)

The social era of marketing is an offshoot of the dramatic and dynamic changes in

telecommunication technology. Boone and Kurtz (2015) argues that the social era of

marketing is currently in full swing due to the ever increasing accessibility of the consumer

to the opportunities of the Internet and the creation of the social media sites (p.11). The new

era in marketing is unique in many ways.

Cundari (2015) argues that in the past eras while innovations in manufacturing, information,

and communications ignited new marketing practices. These practices were mainly driven

by the businesses and unaffected by the hands of the customers, but in this new era, it’s the

customers who have a prominent and leading role in the relations (p.9) (Figure 2). The social

15

era marketing is more diverse than any of the precious eras of marketing already examined

in this research. This diversity is because of the many different opportunities for the

manufacturers to meet and satisfy customer needs and wants.

Masterson and Pickton (2010) explained that the Internet has had a significant impact on the

lifestyles of many and on the way that many companies market their products (p.26).

One of the dominant opportunity and venue that era of marketing provided was the social

media venue. Rath, Bay, Petrizzi, and Gill (2015) referred to the emerging and expanding

social era of marketing as Social Media Marketing (SMM) which is “the process of garnering

consumer attention and sales through use of social media platforms” (p.273). The vast

majority of social era marketing tools while still consumer centric like the previous two era.

It went further by actually allowing the consumers to determine the exact products they want

and how they want it. This era of marketing is the only era that has been able to merge the

traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies.

The social era marketing provide flexibility for businesses to incorporate online and offline

customer contacts (Masterson & Pickton, 2010, p.27). To understand the motivation behind

this broad attempt by the researcher especially in respect of the fusion of the traditional and

nontraditional marketing strategies. Hurd et al (2008) provided the basis for this motivation

arguing that, “the purposeful planning and execution of the pricing, promotion of ideas,

goods, and services to create an exchange of time or resources that results in the satisfaction

of individual needs and organizational objectives” (p.167).

It is therefore essential to have an understanding of marketing from the perspective of the

customer and the manufacturer in order to have a complete grounding of the phenomenon.

The exploration of the five different marketing eras above showed that while the production

era was focused on the products, it was also an era dominated by the manufacturing industry.

16

In the current social era however, the focus is mainly on the consumer, but this does not

mean the need of the manufacturers have been ignored. The emphasis on the consumer is

basically because of business organizations focus on the service industry while the

manufacturing industries have been mainly outsourced to China and other emerging

economies such as Mexico and Brazil.

This is the era where giant corporations such as Google, and Facebook have generated sales

revenues in excess of $1 billion providing services while not manufacturing anything. The

potentials of this era is truly unlimited, however, the era also recognizes the fact that

manufacturing while not the main driving force of the so called ‘knowledge’ economies of

the developed world. It is still s significant part of the economy and will remain so for

decades to come. The fusion of the traditional and the non-traditional strategies is therefore

inevitable. The significance of the above introductory chapter will become clearer in the

proceeding chapters. These includes the chapter on the research aim, objectives and

methodology. Followed by the main chapter of the research project and concluded with the

comparative analysis and conclusions chapter.

In this introductory chapter, the researcher has been able to explain the research aim and

objectives, establishing the motivation behind the entire research. The chapter also provided

the underpinning for the dynamism of marketing highlighting the evolutionary growth of the

concept. In the next chapter, the researcher highlights the methods and methodology applied

in ensuring the meeting of the research objectives.

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Chapter Two

The Research Project Methods and Methodology

2.0 The Research Project Methodology

By research project methodology, the researcher meant the philosophy, assumptions and

values that serve as a rationale for research and the standards or criteria the researcher uses

for collecting and interpreting data to draw valid and reliable conclusions (Bailey, 1994,

p.34). The research methodology of this research consist of six elements of research (Figure

3). According to Wilson (2014) these six elements of research includes “(1) research

philosophy; (2) research approach; (3) research strategy; (4) research design; (5) data

collection and (6) data analysis techniques – come together to form research methodology”

(p.7) (Figure 3). The role of these six elements of research that formed the research

methodology of this research project explained in details as follows:

Figure 3: The Honeycomb of Research Methodology (Source: Wilson, 2014, p.7).

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2.1 The Research Project Philosophy

The researcher’s philosophical view of the research project is critical in conducting of a

marketing research. Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2009) argues, the adopted research

philosophy contains important assumptions about the way in which the researcher view of

the world and these assumptions underpins the research strategy and the methods chosen as

part of the strategy (p.108). In the light of the above, the researcher Epistemology, that is,

the nature of the knowledge is interpretivist and the Ontology, that is, what the researcher

considered as acceptable knowledge is subjectivist. While the Axiology, that is, the role of

values in the research, is biased (Figure 3). Furthermore, Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and

Jackson (2012), “first, it helps to clarify research designs…Second…help the researcher to

recognize which designs will work and which will not…Third, it can help the researcher

identify, and even create, designs that may be outside his or her experience” (p.17).

2.2 The Research Project Approach

There are three main research approaches, these are the inductive, deductive and mixed

methods research approach which combines the inductive and deductive approaches. This

research project was approached through inductive reasoning. According to Hair, Celsi,

Money, Samouel and Page (2015) inductive research approach is the thinking that involves

identifying patterns in a data set to reach conclusions and build theories. Inductive research

approach enables researchers to build conceptual framework from the collected data (p.276)

(Figure 4). Inductive research approach enables the researcher to explain how the conceptual

understanding of traditional and non-traditional marketing fits into the whole research

through the application different marketing approaches.

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Figure 4: How Theory Fits into Research (Source: Wilson, 2014, p.18).

2.3 The Research Project Strategy

According to Blaike (2010) explains that “research strategies provide a logic, or a set of

procedures, for answering research questions, particularly ‘what’ and ‘why’ questions”

(p.18). The strategy for answering the research objective questions that enabled the

researcher to achieve the objective of the research project was the qualitative research

strategy. The qualitative research strategy was favour instead of the quantitative or mixed

methods strategy because this is an interpretivist research. As Smith (2010) explains,

“research strategy therefore is the logical set of principles that informs the researcher in the

process of planning, managing and implementing a single or collection of research method”

(p,21). The logical process for collecting data for an inductive interpretive research such as

this is through qualitative research data, hence the qualitative research strategy.

2.4 The Research Project Design

According to Ghauri and Gronhaug (2005), “the research design is the overall plan for

relating the conceptual research problem to relevant and practicable empirical research. In

other words, the research design provides a plan or framework for data collection and its

analysis” (p.56). The research design provides the researcher with the means of answering

the ‘what’ and ‘why’ questions of the research objectives. This research project design is the

archival research method. Jackson (2015) explains the appropriateness of the archival

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research design for this research arguing that as a qualitative method, the archival research

design involves describing data that existed before the time of the study, that is, the data

were not generated as part of this research (p.105). These already existing data on the

research topic were carefully selected to ensure that they are a valid and reliable data that

are fit for purpose.

2.5 The Research Project Data Collection Technique – Literature Review

The critical role of collecting the type of data required for the research project is underscored

only by the technique(s) used in collecting them. Graziano and Rawlin (2004) postulates that

effective data collection is pivotal to the entire research process since data is the raw material

of providing the answers to the research questions (as cited in Lancaster, 2005, p.65). The

research project data, the validity, reliability and appropriateness of the information gathered

from them is dependent on the technique(s) used for collecting them hence the significance

of this section. Lancaster (2005) underscore this importance arguing that “the researcher

must know not only what data is required, but also the principal methods, approaches and

techniques for collecting data such that the most appropriate data collection technique can

be used” (p.65). The appropriateness of the technique(s) is also dependent on the type of

data required. The type of data required for this research project is the secondary data (Figure

5).

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Figure 5: Research Data Types, Sources and Collection Techniques

(Source:Malhotra et al., 2006 as cited in Polonsky & Waller, 2011, p.130).

Secondary Information Sources

This entire research project sources research data from the secondary data as already

mentioned above. White (2010) explains that “secondary data consist of information that has

already been collected for another purpose but which is available for others to use” (p.61).

This sources of this research data however are limitless, but the common ones are illustrated

in figure 6 below. The researcher therefore took advantage of this large sources of secondary

research data. By sourcing research information from various sources to provide the most

appropriate and reliable information for providing the answers to the research questions.

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Figure 6: Secondary Research Data Sources (Source: Browne, 2005, p.418).

Apart from the research design and strategy that requires the use of secondary research

information. The secondary research information also provided the research other benefits

that are critical. As White (2010) argues, firstly, it helps in describing the issues that is the

focus of the research investigation by providing context. Secondly, helps to provide data

comparison through replication and finally, it provides the raw material for analysis (p.68,

69, 70). The secondary research information collected for this research project was used in

the various ways identified in the argument above.

Literature Review

Unlike the primary research information that could be collected through the application of

the survey questionnaire, interviews (structured and semi-structured), or observations. The

secondary research information are already in existence by their nature. The collection is

therefore completely different from that of the primary sources of research information. The

secondary research data collection technique for this research project is the literature review.

Dawidowicz (2010), “a literature review is a systematic examination of knowledge available

on a topic” (p.2). While the simple definition above give a broad view of what constitute a

literature review, it fall short of identifying a critical fact. The fact that literature can be either

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traditional or systematic depending on the purpose. In this research project, the systematic

literature review was the chosen path.

Petticrew and Roberts (2006) explained that systematic literature review is “a method of

making sense of large bodies of information, and a means to contributing to the answers to

questions about what works and what does not” (as cited in Jesson, Matheson & Lacey,

2011, p.12). The systematic literature review as applied in this research project provided the

researcher the opportunity to separate the important information required for the research

from the seemingly limitless body of information available. It helped the researcher to

answer the research questions, design the research and develop the appropriate strategy for

conducting the investigation. As Jesson et al (2011) explain “systematic review as a review

with a clear stated purpose, a question, a defined search approach, stating inclusion and

exclusion criteria, producing a qualitative appraisal of articles” (p.12). It is the technique

used in selecting the required information to meet the requirements of the research project

thus part of the entire research thesis and not an independent chapter as is common with

traditional literature review.

2.6 The Research Project Data Analysis Technique – Qualitative Content Analysis

One of the principal determinants of which analysis technique to use is the appropriateness

of the technique to the type of research data. This factor is essential because the technique

used in analysing the collected that have a direct impact on the quality of the interpretations,

and by extension the reliability and validity of the findings. As Hatch (2002) argues:

“Data analysis is a systematic search for meaning. It is a way to process qualitative

data so that what has been learned can be communicated to others. Analysis means

organizing and interrogating data in ways that allow researchers to see patterns,

identify themes, discover relationships, develop explanations, make interpretations,

mount critiques, or generate theories. It often involves synthesis, evaluation,

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interpretation, categorization, hypothesizing, comparison, and pattern finding”

(p.148).

In the light of the above, the researcher analysed the collected research data through the

application of the qualitative content analysis technique.

Qualitative Content Analysis

According to Kuckartz (2014), qualitative content analysis is a form of analysis in which an

understanding and interpretation of the text play a far larger role than in classical content

analysis (p.33). On the other hand, Schreier (2002) described qualitative content analysis as

a “method of systematically describing the meaning of qualitative material” (p.8). The

decision to use the qualitative content analysis technique is not limited to its suitability for

qualitative research data as explained above. It also includes the techniques appropriateness

for analysing research that are interpretative, inductive, situational and content specific

research data such as the ones collected in this research (Schreier, 2002, p.21, 22, 31). The

qualitative content analysis technique enable the researcher to analyse the research data in

an interpretive, situational, and context specific manner.

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Chapter Three

The Traditional and Non-traditional Marketing Strategies: An Investigation

3.0 An Overview of Traditional Marketing Strategies

The exploration of the historical background of marketing and its evolution revealed that

change was constant through the entire historical phases. The production era focuses on the

productive efficiency and product quality, but that focus was completely change by the time

of the marketing era. The changes in focus did not stop at just moving from the product to

the customers, it continued with the current social era which identifies the synergies of

combining satisfying the manufacturers’ desire for profit and the customer needs met

simultaneously. To establish a comprehensive understanding of the traditional marketing

approach, the researcher investigated four marketing approaches that business used in

ensuring that the manufacturers’ objective of profit maximization is achieve while ensuring

that the consumers are served as well.

To establish a comprehensive understanding of the traditional marketing strategies the

researcher investigated the popularly known marketing mix. As Kashani (2005) declared,

despite the emergency of integrated services, the traditional core ideas in marketing,

including the ever-present marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion) continued to

be tangible product centred (p.2). As already explained above, the whole premise of

marketing is to provide strategies the enables the manufacturer produce goods and services

that meets consumers’ needs and wants while remaining profitable enough to meet the

manufacturers objectives. The traditional marketing strategies are therefore the tools for

achieving these two sometimes conflicting objectives. The effectiveness of marketing

approaches such as transactional, segmentation, relationship or experiential marketing in

influencing the consumers’ decision is largely dependent on business understanding, and

management of the marketing mix as explained below:

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Product

According to Kerin and Hartley (2013), “a product is a good, service or idea consisting of a

bundle of tangible and intangible attributes that satisfies consumers’ needs and is received

in exchange for money or something of value” (p.213). The concept of product can be

broken down into consumer and business products. The traditional marketing strategy

provides a pathway to ensuring that business markets their products in such a way that it

addresses the specific needs of the type of customers that they are trying to reach. This means

that the way products are marketed are influenced by the type of the product whether

consumer or business products and their nature, that is, tangible or intangible.

Price

Schindler (2012) described price as “that which is given in return for a product in a

commercial exchange” (p.3). One critical aspect of the description of price given by

Schindler above is the phrase ‘commercial exchange’. If the transaction is not a commercial

exchange, then the value given in return for the product cannot be said to be price. Nagle

(1987) postulated that the significance of price in traditional marketing strategy is not

primarily concerned with creating value. Rather, it could be said to be the marketing activity

involved with capturing, or “harvesting” the value created by the other marketing activities

(as cited in Schindler, 2012, p.5). In addition, Kotler (n.d.) argues that price as a traditional

marketing activity is fundamentally different from others because it produces revenue while

others produces costs (as cited in Schindler, 2012, p.5). This is main significance of pricing

in the whole concept of marketing. Where the pricing strategy an organization is wrong, the

whole system of is doomed to collapse from production to marketing.

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Promotion

Under traditional marketing strategies, the promotion strategy is perhaps the most

distinguishing activity between the traditional and the non-traditional approach to marketing.

The methods of promoting products and services under the traditional marketing approach

is completely different from the non-traditional because of the rapid changes in

communication and technology. According to Hodgkinson (2005):

“Promotion includes advertising, public relations, and marketing communications.

The role of promotion is to call attention to a product or service, and build awareness

of it, usually with a focus on key benefits, with the ultimate aim of influencing

purchasing decisions. Promotion exists both to inform and create awareness, and is

an essential aspect of marketing in competitive markets” (p.74).

The traditional marketing strategy to advertising, public relation and marketing

communication is based on simply informing the potential customer about the product. The

approach is more concern of informing as oppose to seeking out the needs and wants of

customers.

Distribution

Distribution is a traditional marketing strategy that is pivotal because irrespective of the

effectiveness of the production process or the quality of the products that emerges from that

process. All the advantages accrued from efficient process and the quality of the product is

lost if the goods are not available in the market where they can be accessed by the consumers.

Where there is laxity in the distribution strategy, all the gain made through effective and

efficient production and promotion are lost. While the successful management of the

marketing mix is critical, a business organization’s marketing approach can make or

undermine the objectives of the manufacturer. The researcher investigated the significance

of traditional marketing approaches for the purposes of this research through the

transactional, segmentation, and relationship marketing approaches.

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3.0.1 The Transactional Marketing Approach

The transactional marketing approach is one of the areas most affected by the changes that

have been taking place in the way that organizations markets and relates with their

customers. Ferrell and Hartline (2014) explained that “the goal of transactional marketing is

to complete a large number of discrete exchanges with individual customers. The focus is

on acquiring customers and making sales, not necessarily on attending to customers’ needs

and wants” (p.21). While transactional marketing approach to the marketing of products and

services by business organizations are not as relevant as it was in the past. It does not in any

way diminished the fact that some specialized businesses the transactional marketing

approach is still relevant and effective. The main reason behind transactional marketing

approach losing its relevance amongst majority of business organizations is due to the

increasing competitiveness of the globalized business world. It is no longer enough to build

business on transactional basis and expect a repeat performance on the path of the customers.

Organizations have to build relationships with customers to ensure their loyalty.

However, transactional marketing approach is still the main marketing approach use by

organizations marketing and servicing political parties. In majority of democracies across

the world, elections occurs in specific intervals. As an example, the United States

presidential election circle occurs every four years. Business involved in producing flyers,

posters, and campaign advertisements approaches the political parties and their presidential

candidates on a transactional marketing basis. Building an enduring relationship with the

customers in this case is not applicable because the business relationship between the

producers and customers is time barred. Whether the candidates are elected or not, the

producers’ products and services will not be required again until another presidential election

circle four years later, making the transactional marketing approach the most appropriate

approach.

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3.0.2 The Market Segmentation Approach

The market segmentation as an approach to marketing by organizations is one of the oldest

approaches available to businesses. Unlike in the transactional marketing approaches

examined above, this approach is more detailed and long term oriented. Pride and Ferrell

(2014) explains that “market segmentation is the process of dividing a total market into

groups, or segments, that consist of people or organizations with relatively similar product

needs” (p.164). The importance of this segmentation is to enable organizations develop the

appropriate marketing strategies that will precisely match the needs if these customers.

It is the shared characteristics of the segmented market that enables organizations to produce

goods and services that meets these similar needs, and design the most effective and efficient

marketing strategies to reach the customers irrespective of whether they are consumer or

industrial customers. It is important to emphasize here that market segmentation is only

feasible in a heterogeneous market because of the diversity of the needs of the market. While

market segmentation does not apply to a homogeneous market because homogeneous

markets by their nature already consists of individuals and organizations with needs and so

do not require market segmentation.

Business organizations further breaks down segmented market into smaller segments that

are referred to as target market for more specific marketing. Iacobucci (2014) explained that

once the different segments’ preferences of the segmented market have been identified, the

next step is to now target each of the market segment using the appropriate targeting

approach (p.5). There are basically three types of targeting approaches that organizations

apply to target markets. Pride and Ferrell (2014) identifies these three types of targeting

approaches as undifferentiated targeting, concentrated targeting and differentiated targeting

(p.165):

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Undifferentiated Targeting

Pride et al., (2015), undifferentiated targeting is “a strategy in which an organization designs

a single marketing mix and directs this strategy at the entire market for a particular product”

(p.170) (Figure 7). Undifferentiated targeting is only used in situations where the

organization seeks to market a single product to the entire market without differentiating on

the basis of the needs of the consumers within that particular market. This means there is

also no distinction between the product marketed, the price charge and the promotion

deployed as well as the means of distribution. Undifferentiated targeting is mainly viable for

mass consumer goods such as food items, and similar home daily needs.

Figure 7: Undifferentiated targeting strategy (Source: Pride et al., 2015, p.171).

Concentrated Targeting

Concentrated targeting strategy as the name implies is a strategy that allows the organization

to concentrate its marketing efforts to target specific segment of the market that it is able to

serve best. Lamb et al., (2012) explains that this is “a strategy used to select one segment of

a market for targeting marketing efforts” (p.180) (Figure 8). This approach enables the

organization to concentrate its limited marketing resources in appealing to a particular

segment among the several segments existing in the market. The illustration below (Figure

8) shows a target market with three segments (As, Bs, and Cs). The organization in this case

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concentrates its resources to concentrate on serving segment market ‘Bs’ using a single

marketing mix.

Figure 8: Concentrated targeting strategy (Source: Pride et al., 2015, p.171).

Differentiated Targeting

Pride et al., (2015) described differentiated marketing as “a strategy in which an organization

targets two or more segments by developing a marketing mix for each” (p.173) (Figure 9).

While the two preceding targeting approaches uses a single marketing mix to reach the

targeted market. The differentiated targeting approach follows a different route by deploying

multiple marketing mix designed to meet the need of each of the targeted segment. It is also

known as the multisegment or customer targeting approach. This approach is most effective

within industrial context where single or few larger customers requires specifically

developed products.

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Figure 9: Differentiated targeting strategy (Source: Pride et al., 2015, p.171).

3.0.3 The Relationship Marketing Approach

Gronroos (1997) described relationship marketing as an attempt “to establish, maintain and

enhance relationship with customers and other partners, at a profit so that the objectives of

the parties involved are met. This is achieved by mutual exchange and fulfilment of promise”

(as cited in Little & Marandi, 2003, p.22). The whole premise of relationship marketing

approach is the enhancement of the exchange relationships that benefits all the parties

concerned on a long term basis. The relationship marketing approach is usually adopted by

business organizations interested in enhancing its competitive position in the market. The

relationship marketing approach is concerned with all stakeholders benefiting from the

exchange. Based on the aforementioned, it is essential to identify and explain the role each

of the stakeholders in a relationship marketing approach. The identification of the

stakeholders in a relationship marketing approach is based on the ‘six markets model’

developed by Christopher, M., Payne, A., and Ballantyne, D. (1991). The six markets model

are (1) customer markets; (2) referral markets; (3) influence markets; (4) recruitment

(employee) markets; (5) supplier/alliance markets; and (6) internal markets (Payne,

Ballantyne & Christopher, 2005, p.855) (Figure 10).

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Figure 10: The Six Markets Model (Source: Payne et al., 2005, p.860).

Customer Markets

Payne and Frow (2013) explained as expected that the customer is at the centre of the model.

“It is clear that customers should be the main focus of marketing activity. In focusing on the

customer domain, companies need to adopt the relationship marketing approach” (p.120).

The customer market domain consists of the buyer, that is, the direct customer of the business

organization – the wholesaler. Followed by the intermediary, that is, the retailer to whom

the wholesaler above sells the business organization’s products and services. Finally, the

consumer, that is, the individual customers who buys the organization’s products and

services from the retail outlets (Payne & Frow, 2013, p.121) (Figure 11).

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Figure 11: The Customer Markets Domain (Source: Payne & Frow, 2013, p.121).

Referral Markets

This is a marketing relationship that deploys the ‘word of mouth’, that is, advocates the

principle of ‘the best form of marketing is to get the customer to do the marketing for the

organization’. It stimulates the existing customer base of the organization to recommend the

organization’s goods and services to other third parties within their sphere of influence

(Harwood, Garry, &Broderick, 2008 as cited in Buhler & Nufer, 2010, p.24) (Figure 12).

Figure 12: The Referral Markets Domain (Source: Payne & Frow, 2013, p.124).

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Influence Markets

The influence markets relationship marketing of an organization is limited only by how

wideness of the organization’s areas of influence. According to Buhler and Nufer (2010),

“influence markets refer to a wide range of sub-markets including financial and regulatory

organizations as well as the government” (p.24) (Figure 13).

Figure 13: The Influence Markets Domain (Source: Payne & Frow, 2013, p.130).

Recruitment (employee) Markets

According to Payne et al., (2005), this comprise of all potential employees in addition with

third parties that serve as access channels. These ranges from executive search organizations,

employment agencies, job centres, off-line and on-line advertising, as well as using the

organization’s own staff to suggest potential applicants (p.861) (Figure 14). This relationship

marketing domain is the entirety of the spectrum of the venues that an organization uses to

recruit employees both internal and external.

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Figure 14: The Recruitment Markets Domain (Source: Payne & Frow, 2013, p.133).

Supplier/alliance Markets

Brink and Berndt (2008) postulates that “one of the key relationships that organizations build

is with their suppliers” (p.144). This market is principally about the relationship with other

businesses that trades with an organization, this is not limited to the organization’s suppliers

alone. It also included other organizations that are in alliance with the organization

irrespective of nature of the alliance whether short, medium or long term alliance. The size

of the organization determines the size of these markets (Figure 15).

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Figure 15: The Supplier/alliance Markets Domain (Source: Payne & Frow, 2013, p.128).

Internal Markets

All the five preceding relationship marketing domains that has been discussed are focused

at the building relationship with entities external to the organization. The internal markets

domain changes that focus because it focuses on the internal customers of the organizations.

Brennan et al (2008), “internal marketing is the process of applying explicit marketing

practices to the organization’s internal departments, that is, treating departments within the

organization as if they were ‘real customers (p.148) (Figure 16).

Figure 16: The Internal Markets Domain (Source: Payne & Frow, 2013, p.137).

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3.1 An Overview of Non-traditional Marketing Strategies

The emergence of non-traditional market strategies speaks to the dynamic nature of

marketing as a concept. Fallon and Zgodzinski (2012) argues that “whether traditional or

nontraditional, marketing is designed to plan, price, promote, and distribute products and

services capable of satisfying the needs and desires of consumers” (p.92). Given the

postulation by Fallon and Zgodzinski above, the main difference between traditional and

nontraditional marketing strategies is simply the adaption of the current and evolving

changes in society to the original functions of marketing. The evolving changes in society

ranges from cultural changes to the most significant, that is, the way that society

communicates today. The increasing significance of societal changes has impact the way

goods and services are marketed to customers.

Kotler et al (2007) recognized these societal changes declaring that “marketing is a social

and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want

through creating and exchanging products and value with others” (as cited in Blythe, 2014,

p.5). The social era of marketing grants non-traditional more significance in reaching

customers and meeting their needs and wants. The changes in society and the social era

meant marketing is address in a different ways. Davis (2010):

“nontraditional marketing describes new media and/or unconventional marketing

communications choices have developed during the past 15 years as a result of

technological advances in technology, such as the advent of the commercial Internet

and the World Wide Web protocol, mobile technology, and social media” (p.301).

The non-traditional marketing strategies departures from traditional marketing strategies in

their approaches to meeting the needs and wants of the customers. The research into non-

traditional marketing strategies therefore looks at how the customers are reached through the

personal marketing, place marketing and cause-related marketing approaches.

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3.1.1 Personal Marketing Approach

Traditionally manufacturers mass produce products for the customers without any form of

input from the customers. In non-traditional marketing, the production of goods and services

are personalized, that is, seeking to design goods and services based on the specific needs of

customers. Kotler et al. (2009) described personal marketing approaches as using a one-to-

one personalization approach to marketing which provides content or recommendations that

are relevant specifically to the individual customer’s need based on that individual’s

characteristics and preferences (p.141). In non-traditional personal marketing approach the

manufacturers produced products/services and market them based on the needs of individual

consumers. This involves taking extensive advantages of the Internet as a medium of

accessing the specific characteristics of individuals and then producing goods and services

to meet the needs of those customers.

Under non-traditional personalized marketing approach, the market is not just broken down

into smaller segments, but actually focused on individuals. It is this personalization of the

products/services that differentiates the non-traditional from the traditional. Non-traditional

personalization marketing gives manufacturers certain advantages that traditional product

marketing was not able to provide. Blakeman (2014) postulates that these advantages

includes: Firstly, “the ability to target only those [customers] most likely to buy, this means

that producers are producing only goods and services that on demand, cutting organization’s

cost of doing business such as warehousing. Secondly, “the ability to build and maintain a

long-term relationship” with the customers. The identification of the personal needs of

customers enable organizations to develop a lasting relationship with consumers through the

providing for their specific needs. Thirdly, “the ability to personalize messages” that is,

customized advertisements cutting the cost of unnecessary advertisements (p.194). The

postal child for personalized marketing is social marketing.

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3.1.2 Place Marketing Approach

Distribution strategies in traditional marketing at its basic level is simply the management

of product physical movement from the point of manufacturing to the point of consumption.

This is not limited in any way to tangible products as services in certain unique

circumstances involves physical movement. A computer engineer from an Information

Technology (I.T) firm going to the customer’s office to repair a defect is movement of

services in the physical. The same can be argued in terms of a plumber coming to a customer

place of abode to repair a broken water pipe. However, in non-traditional place marketing,

the issues involved in the strategies goes beyond the physical movement of goods and

services. In this section, the focus on place marketing strategy is approached from two

contemporary perspectives. The first is place marketing in terms of services provision that

does not involve physical relocation of the service provider from one location to another as

in the two given examples above.

Place marketing in this case is viewed from the perspective of the service economy. Kotler

and Armstrong (1991), “a service is an activity or benefit that one party can offer to another

that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production

may or may not be tied to a physical product” (as cited in Clarke, 2000, p.11).

Hoffman and Bateson (2011), “traditionally, economies throughout the world tend to

transition from an agricultural economy to an industry economy (e.g., manufacturing,

mining, etc.), to service economy” (p.11). These transitions in the world economy lead to

the development of place marketing as the appropriate strategy for the marketing of services

that does not involve service as it is traditionally known. The marketing of services provided

through retail banking to mention an example, is not done through the traditional distribution

marketing strategy, but rather through for example the Internet. The Internet is perhaps the

most significant influencer on the development of place marketing differentiates strategic

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marketing of service different from the usual. Organizations such as banks today market

what is commonly known as ‘e-services’. E-services enables the organizations to market

their services as well as provide their services to the consumers through the Internet without

any physical contact with the potential consumers. Now services in retail banking are now

possible without a visit to the banking hall. Loans, overdrafts and card services can be

initiated and concluded on the Internet, eliminating the usual physical presence of the service

provider or the customer.

Figure 17: Source: Internet World States (as cited in Hoffman & Bateson, 2011, p.17).

The opportunities and potentials that the Internet represent as a tool for marketing is simply

limitless. It is limitless because its potentials and opportunities are not limited to the services

sector of the economy as discussed above is underscored by the Internet increasing

prevalence across the world (Figure 17). According to Hoffman and Bateson (2011), self-

service technologies enables the provision of convenience and efficiency to the both parties

involved in the transaction. It makes the service available to the customer at owns choosing

and the revenue from the transaction to the provider immediately the service is used (p.17).

The second perspective of place marketing approach as it concerns this research thesis is

focused on the marketing of a location, a city, a country (tourism). Boone and Kurtz (2010),

“place marketing attempts to attract people (customers) to a particular area, such as a city,

state, or nation. It may involve appealing to consumers as a tourist destination or to

businesses as a desirable business location” (p.395).

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Short et al., (2000) description of place marketing illuminates significance of using other

marketing mix elements in combination with place marketing. Declaring “place promotion

involves the re-evaluation and re-presentation of place to create and market a new image for

localities to enhance their competitive position in attracting or retaining resources (as cited

in Avraham & Ketter, 2008, p.5). The essence of place marketing is its ability to help cities

rebrand to create a new image in the minds of tourists to visit, or businesses to relocate. The

ability of cities and nations to draw in more tourists is not limited to the promotion of that

location as a place to vacation. There is an economic aspect to the movement of tourists.

It builds new business activities that are geared towards serving the needs of the visitors. It

also creates employments for people within the location ensuring the economic benefits of

tourism is spread from the governments to individuals. According to the World Travel and

Tourism Council (WTTC) (2015):

“The direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP in 2014 was USD2,364.8bn

(3.1% of GDP). This is forecast to rise by 3.7% to USD2,451.1bn in 2015. This

primarily reflects the economic activity generated by industries such as hotels, travel

agents, airlines and other passenger transport services (excluding commuter

services)” (p.3).

On the attraction of businesses to a particular city or location. Place marketing works to

establish the advantages of businesses relocating to a locality based on promise of lower tax

burden, and granting of tax holidays. The essence of this type of marketing is the significant

impact it can have on the profitability of the organizations attracted to the location. Finally,

non-traditional place marketing exposes the business opportunities beyond the limitations of

movement of physical goods from one location to another. Place marketing approaches

involves not just the tangible, but also the intangible goods and services which is enhanced

by the increasing role of technology in the market place.

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3.1.3 Cause-Related Marketing Approach

Boone and Kurtz (2010) described cause-related marketing as “marketing that promotes

awareness of, or raises money [revenue] for, a cause or social issue, such as drug abuse

prevention, childhood hunger, or homelessness (p.395). Furthermore, Adkins (2011) argues

that cause-related marketing is “a commercial activity by which a business with a product,

service or image to market builds a relationship with a cause or a number causes for mutual

benefit” (p.11). There are two critical points in these definitions of cause-related marketing.

Firstly, the commercial characteristics of the approach to marketing of goods and services.

This removes the erroneous assumption that cause-related marketing is a charity, clearly it

is not. Secondly, the building of relationships for the purpose of creating mutual benefits

for the cause organizers and the business organization. The arguments above evidently

established the fact that cause-related marketing unlike the traditional marketing strategies

approaches is not solely geared towards revenue generation, but rather combines revenue

generation with benefiting a worthy cause.

One of the most recognized outlets for cause-related marketing approach adopted by

businesses across the globe currently is the concept of Corporate Social Responsibilities

(CSR). Sims (2003) described corporate social responsibility as “the continuing commitment

by business to behaving ethically and contributing to economic development while

improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community

and society at large [stakeholders]” (p.43). Furthermore, Fallon (2015) argues that forward-

thinking organizations embed CSR into their business operations to create shared value for

business and society. Arguing along the same lines, Taylor (2013) explained that the

evolution of the CSR (cause-related marketing) has changed and is changing the entire

business environment significantly in that it creates the understanding that profit alone is

insufficient motive for the business organizations (p.49).

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The increasing popularity cause-related marketing is not only because of its benefits to the

society as an entirety, but more so due to its symbiotic benefits to all stakeholders, that is,

the business, the focal cause(s) and the society at large. Business organizations are only able

to sustain their commitment and in most cases increase their commitment to cause-related

marketing because of its symbiotic nature. To understand the effectiveness of cause-related

marketing as a viable marketing approach for business organizations, it is critical to identify

some its commercial and relationship benefits to business. Some of the commercial benefits

cause-related marketing includes the under listed:

Event or Activity Sponsorship

Kinzey (2013) explained that “when a non-profit event or activity is sponsored by a business

to help raise funds for a good cause, it is called a sponsorship” (p.122). The average customer

see the event simply as a charity by the business, but the organization is benefiting

commercially from the sponsorship in two broad sense. First, the sponsorship enables the

business to build goodwill among the people living in the locality and this goodwill do

translate to patronizing of such business. Second, the number of customers that patronize the

business ensures the business benefits commercially from the sponsorship. Finally, the most

visible benefit of the three is that the business is able to brand the venue of the event or

activity, through which it creates exposure for its brands.

Product and Service Sales

Business organizations sometimes set aside and donate a certain percentage of the profit

from the sale of an identified product or service to the non-profit organization on a

transactional sale agreement (Kinzey, 2013, p.123). This type of cause-related marketing

involves for example a Mobile Phone business pledging to donate say $1 of every one year

contract signed from December 1 2015 to end of February 2016 to an orphanage.

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This type of transactional sale agreement with the orphanage represent a cause-related

marketing. The business will market its Mobile Phone contract to the community stating

clearly that between the mentioned dates, a $1 from the signing of the contract goes directly

to the orphanage. Customers who sign up for the contract knows they are contributing to the

sustenance of the orphanage while make what is an ordinary purchase. The business stand

to benefit from this type of campaign because some people will make the purchase with the

sole aim of being able to support their local orphanage, while the business reap increase

profit from the initiative making the outcome a mutual benefit.

Trade-In

This is a common retail cause-related marketing program, it usually involves a retail business

asking customer to donate their gently used item such as lady’s handbags or gently used

smartphones. The end use of the donated items are made know in the marketing campaign,

such as stating that the lady’s handbags will be donated to a shelter for abused women

(Kinzey, 2013, p.125). This type of campaign also involve the retail business informing the

customers and other potential donors that in addition to supporting a worthy cause in kind,

they also get a certain percentage off their next purchase within the retail outlet. The business

benefits commercially through customers’ purchases while supporting a worthy cause, and

the non-profit organization the business entered the trade-in agreement with also benefit by

having an increase in number of items to give tout to the needy.

Attraction and Retention of Employees for Business

Smith (2003) argues that “there are ample evidence that CSR [cause-related marketing] can

have a positive effect on attracting applications, work satisfaction and staff retention” for

business involved in cause related marketing (as cited in Taylor, 2003, p.51).

Reduction in Corporate Costs for Business

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Another less discussed benefit of cause-related marketing approach to marketing is its

impact on reduction in the cost overhead of business. Berman et al., (1999) explained that

there is a growing evidence that cause-related marketing activities can lead to both risk and

cost reduction. They can both enhance efficiencies and reducing operating costs, pointing

out that 73 percent of business surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers indicated that one of

the top three reasons for becoming socially responsible was ‘cost savings’ (as cited in Taylor,

2003, p.51). In some cases, business benefit from tax exception or reduction on the basis of

some of their cause-related activities. A good example is the trade-in cause-related

marketing. Business benefit from reduce cost due to their ability to attract and retain

employees as less resources is committed to head hunting, recruiting and retaining talents.

Co-Branded Events, Competitions

Kinzey (2003) declares that a popular cause-related marketing technique is a co-branded

event. These includes runs, bike-a-thons, dinners, dance competitions and performances

(p.125). In this type of cause-related marketing the business provides the resources required

for marketing and operation of the event. “Promotional communication, event materials, and

even trophies or awards may be donated by the business” (Kinzey, 2003, p.125). In return

for its commitment, the business benefits from exposure to the attendees of the events as

socially responsible corporate citizen, improving its goodwill within the community. The

non-profit organization involve benefits by being the sole recipient of the proceeds from the

events, while the community benefits events organization through participation in

community relations building activity. Finally, cause-related marketing approaches creates

a perfect opportunity for the key stakeholders in a community to work together for the mutual

benefits of all concerned. And as the demands on business to increase its CSR commitments

grows, cause-related marketing will continue to grow.

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Chapter Four

Comparative Analysis and Conclusion

4.0 Comparative Analysis

The comparison between traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies reached in this

chapter of the research thesis are as a result of the collected secondary research data as used

in chapter three (page 19 – 39). This comparison enable the researcher to achieve the research

objective of investigating the traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies. The

achievement of the research thesis objective is made possible through the use of secondary

research data that enabled the researcher to answer the research objective questions. The

research thesis objective questions and how they are answered in this chapter of the research

thesis are as follows:

The erroneous believe that traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies are deployed

in opposition to each other or that they serve completely different purposes was dispelled by

this research. Firstly, the marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion are shared

similarity between the two marketing strategies albeit slight moderations. However, the

manner of application of the marketing mix differs, but are designed to result in the

achievement of the same objectives, that is, satisfying the needs and wants of consumers

while earning revenue for the businesses and thus profitability.

The traditional marketing strategies view of products as consisting of goods, services or idea.

These products are categorized into consumer and business products. The consumer products

are mass produced with the highest level of quality for the entire spectrum of ultimate

consumers. The business products on the other hand are also produced to satisfy variety of

business needs and wants. The business products can be produced to specification in certain

circumstances such as industrial supplies that must conform to certain technical

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specifications. The non-traditional marketing strategies however, viewed products in a more

narrowed manner. Products/services are personalized in such a way that not only business

products get designed to their specifications. In non-traditional marketing strategies,

products are designed with the input of the consumers irrespective of whether they are the

ultimate consumer or the business customer. Examples of the personalized design of

products by non-traditional marketing strategies can be seen in the opportunities given by

Dell Computers for consumers to select the different parts they want in their computers.

The company then build the computer to the specification of the consumer, this marketing

strategy enables the non-traditional marketing companies to provide personalized, tailor-

made products to individual ultimate consumers as the traditional marketing strategy would

have done for business consumers. The non-traditional marketing strategy took full

advantage of the dynamism of marketing through the use of modern technology to give

consumers greater access to the way products communicated to them are produced.

In the same manner, traditional marketing strategies viewed price as the return given for

provision of products, services or ideas. Similarly, non-traditional marketing strategies view

of price also as a commercial exchange. This is where the similarities to price ends, non-

traditional marketing strategies goes beyond the usual description of price as a ‘harvesting

of value’ to include the concept reaping of goodwill. Non-traditional marketing engage in

Cause marketing for the purposes of not receiving any commercial value such as price in its

traditional marketing sense, but as form of goodwill within the community. This form of

deriving non-commercial value is mostly referred to as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.

The price the non-traditional marketing organizations benefits extends to aforementioned

goodwill for its brand as well as attraction of the best employees.

49

The traditional marketing strategies view promotion as basically a tool for communicating

the manufacturers’ goods and services to the consumer through the use of advertising, public

relations, and marketing communication. The focus of these view of promotion is limited to

projecting the benefits of the product/service to the consumer with the sole aim of

influencing the consumers’ behaviour. This means the traditional marketing strategies is

more interested in creating awareness through information for the product/service as oppose

to seeking out consumers’ needs, that is, there is no avenue for feedback from the consumers.

The non-traditional marketing strategies also sees promotion as a tool of communicating the

products/services to the consumers. However, unlike the traditional marketing strategies, its

primary focus is on generating feedback from the consumers in order to be able to create a

more consumer specific products/services through the feedback they receive. The traditional

marketing strategies promotional communication is usually through the traditional

promotional tools of television, radio, newspapers and magazines. The non-traditional

marketing strategies took advantage of the modern communication venues provided by the

Internet, with its arrays of social media platforms providing excellent on-time, real time

feedback and the fastest promotion avenue ever known to man.

Finally, both traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies viewed distribution as a

critical factor in marketing process. The traditional marketing strategies is more focused on

the most effective and efficient means of products/service delivery. It tackles challenges of

distribution either through three levels of degrees, that is, intensive, selective or exclusive.

The non-traditional on the other hand, tackles distribution through use of the traditional

forms of distribution as well as providing the consumers the choice of deciding the form they

want.

50

The differences in the traditional and non-traditional strategies is not limited to their strategic

use of the marketing mix as detailed above. The fundamental and more significant is the

differences in the two marketing strategies approaches to deploying the above identified

marketing strategies. In investigating the traditional marketing approaches to marketing.

Firstly, the research finds that traditional marketing strategies approach the market through

transactional marketing approach. This approach is focused more on just making sales not

on attending to the customers’ needs or wants. This approach is fast losing effectiveness in

a competitive globalized market. Secondly, the strategy also use the market segmentation

approach. This approach attempts to at least recognize the differences in the market by

breaking the total market segments with similar needs and serve them on the basis of their

segment needs. The approach serve each of the segments of the total market through three

means, that is, undifferentiated, concentrated and differentiated targeting (Figure 7, page 24;

Figure 8, and Figure 9, page 25).

Finally, the research finds that traditional marketing also approached the market through,

relationship marketing approach. This enables the establishment, maintenance and

enhancement of an organizations relationship with its entire stakeholders and not just the

customers. Addressing the shortcomings of the other approaches through the recognition of

various stakeholders in modern marketing and developing effective means of reaching them.

The stakeholders were recognized and approached through customer markets; referral

markets; influences markets, recruitment markets; supplier/alliance markets; and internal

markets (Figure 10, page 26). The identification of these different markets on the basis of

their characteristics ensures that the markets are served more effectively and efficiently

through a sound knowledge of needs as uniquely different markets that requires different

products/services types and quality. As well as the appropriate distributive systems that

meets its requirements.

51

Non-traditional marketing strategies approached the marketing through three approaches

that adequately addresses the changes in society, the way and means of information and

communication changes. First, non-traditional marketing strategies approached the market

through personal marketing approach. Personal marketing seeks to involve the consumers

in the entire process of creating the products/services that they are to be supplied. This is

achieved through the involving of the consumers in the designing of the goods/services based

on the feedback on the specific needs of the markets. This approach addresses the specific

needs of individuals which is a light years ahead of traditional marketing approach of

addressing the needs of total markets through segmentation or relationship approach.

Second, non-traditional marketing uses place marketing approach. The function of this

approach is similar to distribution in traditional marketing mix. However, this approach is

focused on addressing the market for services, which does not involve the movement of

tangible products, but mainly services industry. This approach provided the virtual place for

the exchange of service for value. The explosion in the use of Internet banking, also known

as e-banking, and similar electronic platform services. As well as online shopping and e-

government are testaments to the effectiveness of this approach to marketing.

Third, non-traditional marketing also approached marketing through Cause-related

marketing approach which involves the building of relationship with a Cause or number of

Causes that benefits both the business objective for profit and the Cause objective of

addressing a particular need of society. The Cause-related marketing involves the use of

event or activity sponsorship; products and services sales; trade-in; and other related

avenues. It grants the business organizations a golden opportunity to generate goodwill as

well as revenue for its brands while at the same time ensuring that some critical needs of

society is satisfied, a fact that seems to be lost on the traditional approaches to marketing.

52

4.1 Conclusion

The aim of this research thesis was to investigate the dynamism inherent in marketing as a

concept. To achieve this aim, the researcher focused on traditional and non-traditional

strategies applied by organizations to communicate their products/services to the consumers.

The investigation into traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies enabled the

researcher to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the two strategies through a

concentrated focus on their approaches to marketing products/services to the consumers. A

comparison of the collected research data in respect of these approaches were then

comparatively analysed as seen above. The result of the comparative analysis enabled the

researcher to achieve the research objective by providing the answers to the research

objective questions. The significance of the answers this research provided to the research

questions is the comprehensive understanding the similarities, differences and the impact of

the concepts on the marketing of goods and services.

The first research objective question of what are the attributes of the two marketing

strategies? The research reveals that the main attribute of traditional marketing strategies

and approaches more suitable for the manufacturing industry where the majority of the

products are tangible goods. While the non-traditional marketing strategies and approaches

are geared more towards the services industry, where the majority of the products are

intangible. The second research objective question of what are the merits and demerits

inherent in each of the strategies? The answer to this research question shows that both

strategies and approaches have their merits and demerits. Therefore neither the traditional

nor the non-traditional has any major advantage over the other except as it concern

communications. The main demerit of traditional marketing strategies and approaches is the

limitation of the marketing to involve instant immediate feedback that enables the designing

of products and services tailored to the specific needs of the consumers.

53

The non-traditional marketing strategies and approaches on the other hand have these

attributes through the effective and efficient use of information and telecommunication

technology of today’s society, that is, the Internet and all its various platforms to market its

products and services. The advantage of this ability while undeniable, it does have its

limitations. There are still a significant number of products and services that cannot be rely

solely on the Internet platforms, thus making the traditional marketing strategies and

approaches indispensable.

The final research objective question of whether it is advisable for business organizations to

implement one of either or combine both strategies in marketing their products/services in

a technological driven global economy? As already mentioned above, the increasing

influence of non-traditional marketing strategies and approaches does not diminish the

relevance of the traditional marketing strategies and approaches but rather complements it.

In the light of this assertion, any business organization determined to maintain, increase or

expand its competitiveness must strive to implement both marketing strategies and

approaches in its marketing practices.

54

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