teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

Not the best of news for our marketing graduates, as many  pharmaceutical drug makers are using iPad apps and other digital tools to replace the activities of at least some of their salespeople.  See “Drug Makers Replace Reps with Digital Tools” (Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2011, non-subscribers click here).

When do firms need salespeople, when does technology replace or complement the sales force?  Our books have a great 2 x 2 exhibit in the “Personal Selling and Customer Service” chapter that discusses this very issue.  For many doctors there is no need for relationship building.  This situation creates an opportunity for low-cost e-commerce solutions.  When information needs are standardized, digital solutions may be sufficient — but when information needs are complex and higher, digital solutions may complement personal selling activities.

This article can be a great segue to a discussion of other industries that may see the decline of the traditional sales force — and which industries might be technology-proof.

It is always nice to find articles about marketing research.  This article, “Sentiment Analysis Gives Companies Insight Into Consumer Opinion” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, March 1, 2011) is an example of a trend in marketing research — real-time analysis of social media data.  Kia, Best Buy, and Viacom are among a handful of firms using…

…a tool that can swiftly analyze large numbers of opinions on the Web, including blogs, the microblogging site Twitter, and social networking service Facebook. It’s called Mass Opinion Business Intelligence and it was developed by an Irvine (Calif.)-based company called WiseWindow. It coughs up a continuous, real-time feed of relevant consumer sentiment, gathered from millions of sites.

The article cites a number of different examples that might be useful in class.  An accompanying slide show of “Most Loved — And Hated — Tech Companies” shows a real example that maps 10 tech companies on a 2×2 matrix — see below.  Check out the slide show and article for a full explanation.

Here is the latest example of the internet threatening to radically change an industry — retail eyeglass sales.  This article in the New York Times, “Defying Conventional Wisdom to Sell Glasses Online” (January 16, 2011).   The article describes a New York start-up Warby Parker.   There are other online sellers of prescription eyeglasses — Zenni Optical and EyeBuy Direct have been around for a few years and sell primarily based on lower prices that start at less than $10 for a pair of glasses.   I have used both of these retailers and while they have pretty limited customer service, I have been pretty satisfied with the experience.  Warby Parker seems to be shooting for a place in the market between the full-service neighborhood optical store and the low price, limited service provider.

The example here could fit into a discussion of market segmentation, competition, technology as an element of the external market environment, place, or retail.

The primary theme driving the revision of the latest edition of our book, Basic Marketing 18e, is the digital lifestyle we observe among consumers, organizational buyers, and its effect on marketing strategy planning.  Customers increasingly rely on the internet, cell phones, and other digital media to gather information related to purchasing.  As we point out in chapter 5, this trend is not limited to the developed countries in the West.  The implications for marketing managers is important and pervasive. So we were excited to see this article in the Wall Street Journal which outlines “The Year Ahead for Media:  Digital or Die” (January 4, 2011 – non-subscribers might need to click here).  The review looks ahead at social media, movies, television, magazines/newspapers, books, advertising, games, and music.

The discussion would probably fit well when you discuss technology and the external market environment or consumer behavior.

This article “Someday, Store Coupons May Tap You on the Shoulder” (New York Times, December 25, 2010), describes how advances in technology are having an impact on coupons.  Marketers face an interesting problem.  They want to make coupons easier to use – but not too easy to use.  As we know, coupons provide a way to segment the market — offering lower prices to deal-prone consumers while selling at the regular price to a segment that is not so price sensitive.  The article describes where this may lead in the coming years.

The Wall Street Journal has been keeping an eye on marketers efforts to track our online behavior.  Check out this page – “What They Know” for links to all the articles and videos in this series.

We first posted a great WSJ video on this topic back in August – “How Advertisers Use Internet Cookies to Track You,” (Teach the 4 Ps, August 8).  If you showed that video in class, your students might find the video below “What They Know:  Websites Move to Curb Cookies,” (Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2010).  to be an interesting follow-up.   The 4:24 video discusses how many websites are responding to privacy and revenue pressures to try to curb the number of cookies.

The forthcoming edition of Basic Marketing will be in print any day now so request a copy from your McGraw Hill sales rep now.  This article “Young Moms Prefer Digital Communication“  (eMarketer, October 13, 2010) provides more evidence supporting one of the major themes of the new edition — the role of technology and the digital lifestyle.   The data might be interesting to show in a class session on the external market environment, segmentation (the data compares Gen Y, Gen X, and baby boomers communication and Facebook usage), consumer behavior, or technology and promotion.

This article “The iPad Leads Apple to the Elderly” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, August 12, 2010) describes how the ease of use of the iPad appeals to the elderly. The examples are mostly from Japan — where a fast growing elderly population make it a prime target market. The examples here work when talking about opportunities (chapter 2 in our books), demographic trends or market segmentation.

You might ask students:  What else Apple could to do make the iPad more appealing to senior citizens?  Encourage them to think about each of the 4 Ps.  [NOTE:  This article has also been posted over at our “Learn the 4 Ps” blog for students.

This Wall Street Journal article, “Luring Shoppers to Stores” (August 26, 2010 – non-WSJ subscribers may have to click here and choose the WSJ.com link) and video (see below) describe how retailers are leveraging technology to try to get customers in their stores.

The high tech POP (point-of-purchase) might provide nice examples to use when discussing technology and the external market environment, promotion, and/or retailing.  The video is only 2:44 and might be nice to show in class.  We have a great new video coming with the 18th edition of Basic Marketing (October 2010) that focuses on a related trend of digital signage.

This article talks about new RFID technology being used by Wal-Mart — “Wal-Mart Radio Tags to Track Clothing” (Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2010).  The RFID technology can be really helpful in managing inventory — but also raises privacy concerns.  The new retailing video in our books’ video package has something on RFID (new videos for users of Basic Marketing or Essentials of Marketing — not available until November 2010).