What’s Next? Buying for a better world (#M4BW)

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The following is a direct quote from the forthcoming 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing and highlights examples of marketing for a better world in B2B. The boxed element in the textbook provides other examples.

While B2B buyers care about doing what’s best for their company, many organizations want to do more. Creative buyers are finding ways to help their companies and make the world a better place.

For example, South African grocery chain Woolworths (no relationship to the U.S. drugstore chain) follows its “Global Business Journey.” This strategic initiative identifies key areas where Woolworths can make sub-Saharan Africa (where it operates) a better place. For example, to achieve objectives in three of those key areas—sustainable farming, ethical sourcing, and water—Woolworths began to work closely with the farmers who grow the fruits and vegetables on its store shelves. Many of these suppliers are small businesses with limited financial resources. They regularly contend with South African droughts, so Woolworths developed its “Farming for the Future” program to train farmers on water and fertilizer management. Those who attended reduced water usage by 16 percent and cut pesticide and herbicide use in half. To give its black- and women-owned suppliers a leg up, its “Supplier and Enterprise Development Program” offers them low-cost loans. Programs like these bring Woolworths a more stable supply chain, better-quality produce, and make a better South Africa.

 

Essentials of Marketing 17th edition now available

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We are excited to let you know that you can now get access to the new edition of Essentials of Marketing. The book is being this month–January 2020.

The new edition features a new emphasis on marketing for a better world, further refinement of our flexible  marketing analytics package (use as much as your students need), and updates to our active learning package. And of course is updated for currency. If you want more information, click through to the book’s information page, check out our emag, contact your McGraw-Hill sales rep or drop Joe Cannon an email.

Internet of Things: Comfort vs Privacy in a Connected World

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The Internet of Things (IOT), which we cover in one of our What’s Next? boxes (see Chapter 8) offers some promising consumer benefits. IOT connects devices (your sprinkler system, coffee pot, thermostat, and more) to the Internet. From there, the devices get smart — so for example, your sprinkler system sees there is a 90% chance of rain today and so it doesn’t water the lawn for the next three days. Yet there are tradeoffs as consumers lose privacy. This short (less than 3 minute) Bloomberg video can be assigned to students or shown in class to stimulate discussion. It might work well with Chapter 8 as you discuss Product or in Chapters 7 or 19 where we dig more deeply into privacy.

“Green” attitudes change consumer behavior—the “5 Rs” (#M4BW)

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The following is a direct quote from the forthcoming 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing.

Many consumers are showing increasingly positive attitudes toward sustainability—and these attitudes are changing some people’s behavior. While some are choosing brands they view as more sustainable, others are changing their behavior more radically. Some advocates of sustainability encourage people to practice the “5 Rs of sustainability”: (1) refuse—stop buying stuff; (2) reduce overall consumption; (3) reuse—choose reusable, not disposable, products; (4) repurpose—use product packaging, for example, for some other purpose; and (5) recycle. While most of us are familiar with the last R, the other 4 Rs are moving from fringe behaviors to being increasingly common. This may have implications for marketing managers: greater practicing of the 5 Rs may lead consumers to buy less stuff and to be more selective in what they buy.

This might be another way to foster debate around marketing for a better world (#M4BW). While a brand like Patagonia, which positions itself as extremely environmentally-friendly, might be able to get away with an advertising campaign like its “Don’t Buy This Jacket” from a few years ago, can other brands promote reduced consumption? This certainly puts #M4BW to the test and may be worth a classroom debate.

More fake reviews at Amazon…

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We have talked about the “Gray World of Online Reviews” here at Teach the 4 Ps several times in the past few years–and of course in Essentials of Marketing. I am still shocked at the different unethical techniques used to continue this misleading practice. I am also surprised that Amazon and others that rely on their reviews to (in part) drive traffic have not figured out how to better police such behavior. With all that in mind, here is one more example, “Her Amazon Purchases Are Real. The Reviews Are Fake,” Buzz Feed News, November 20, 2019.

From a personal standpoint, I used to just assume that a product with a few dozen reviews and a 4.5 star (or higher) average was worth buying. I still trust reviews, but I am much more likely to check out a few of the one-start and two-star reviews to see if they are the few honest ones. I also believe that fake reviews are eventually sorted out. If those five-start reviews attract buyers — they will also attract frustrated critics who shower the product with one-star reviews.