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Global
Economy Today An Analysis of Marketing and Technological Changes
for Targeting Global Market for Success
-- R Nagaraja
People
worry about love, food, shelter, clothes, weather, and `the
economy', but not necessarily in that order. According to
public opinion polls, the economy is always one of our foremost
concerns. To understand the present global economy, one must
learn to think in global terms. Many are becoming increasingly
aware that their job prospects and the prices they pay are
somehow related to national trends in prices, employment,
unemployment, and economic growth. Although some people think
in terms of price indexes, graphs or economic cycles, most
of us now recognize the importance of major economic events.
Despite the widespread concern for the economy, only a few
people really understand how it works. We spend much of our
time working to produce the goods and services that flow from
our factories and offices. We spend a good part of the remaining
time, consuming the same goods and services. The demise of
communism has not only opened new markets in the former Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe, but has also reduced the demand
for some products and intensified global competition with
firms taking advantage of the emerging opportunities. Firms
need to comprehend and contemplate the situation to stay abreast
of new developments within their own industry and economy.
Electronics companies must be competitive in using the new
digital technologies for their audio and video equipments.
Automobile manufacturers survive only if they keep the costs
down by using advanced robotics for assembly. Computer suppliers
can stay profitable only if their machines include the state-of-the-art
chips, display terminals, and storage devices. In view of
these factors, this article addresses and analyzes the global
economy, marketing and technological changes and targets the
global markets for success.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Financial
Customers in India and their Technology Inclination
--
Atanu
Adhikari
With
rapid changes in the technological environment, a number of
large and small Indian banks have recently begun experimenting
with the Internet as an alternative delivery channel to provide
full-fledged banking services. However, all customers do not
experience the same comfort level in adopting these new changes.
This research has been conducted in financial institutions,
with an aim to help them decide whether to launch a single
technology-centric product for all its customers. Perceived
benefits, security, human touch, physical reach and price
premium have emerged as important factors in deciding the
technological inclination of a customer. Moreover, there are
distinct segments comprising of different percentages of customers,
based on technological inclination. Though 85% of the population
is aware of the present technological benefits, security has
become an important factor in deciding the technological inclination
of the customer. Banks have been recommended to develop their
single technology-centric product with due attention to security
concerns of the customers. They have also been advised to
conduct technology awareness workshops for important customers,
as their average age is high.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
A
Study of Brand Awareness and Brand Loyalty in Branded Commodity
Products
-- C Anandan,
K Ravichandran,
M Prasanna Mohan Raj, and N K Shetty
In
the present competitive business environment, marketers of
commodity products like salt, wheat, sugar, rice, etc., must
work harder than ever before to achieve some degree of differentiation
for their products to build strong brands in order to avoid
their product from being viewed as a basic commodity, and
increase brand awareness and loyalty. Branding, however, is
more than simply putting the company's name on a product and
advertising the name to its target customers. For commodities
like salt, wheat, etc., branding is a multidimensional construct,
which includes not only how the customers view the basic physical
product, but also the distribution, quality, purity, package,
company image and brand image. The success of the commodity
brands mainly depends on the brand strategy based on the effective
use of product, price, place and promotional tools, to provide
the true economic value for the customers. The growing competition
makes customer loyalty mandatory for any organization. The
benefits of making customers loyal are building a strong market
share; making higher profits; providing greater resistance
against brands of the competitors; and reducing the marketing
costs. Customer satisfaction is one of the factors for bringing
about loyalty, but not always the main one. Dissatisfaction
guarantees switching; but satisfaction does not always promise
loyalty. Brand loyalty can be measured using the Preference
Behavior Model (PBM) for low involvement products. PBM utilizes
both the attitude and behavioral components for the measurement
of brand loyalty. The focus of this paper is on commodity
products, and the products chosen for the study, belong to
the fastest growing category in commodity market, i.e., salt
and wheat. The model aims at giving the consolidated brand
loyalty score for the different brands in salt and wheat.
This paper presents a strategic framework for building strong
brands in commodity products and providing various strategies
to increase brand awareness and create a loyal customer base.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Innovative
Marketing Strategies for Turnaround Brands
-- Chirayu Wadke,
P V Rama Sasank and M Scalem
This
paper discusses the unconventional marketing strategies and
analyzes the logic of business behind these strategies. Four
separate examples that have been pioneers in the field of
the so-called "radical" or "unconventional"
marketing are cited here. These organizations have successfully
implemented marketing strategies that have, at times, seemed
counter-intuitive to the conventional marketing rules. The
four examples discussed are of Snapple, Skoda, Intel and Patagonia.
The methodology followed in each example is to capture the
initial situation of the incumbent organization, including
its motivation to try out a new marketing strategy. Finally
the authors' analysis has been mentioned which attempts to
disentangle the possible reasons for the success of the strategy,
as well as some salient aspects of the strategy adopted. The
observations and conclusions so arrived at, capture the common
threads that appear from the discussion of the examples. The
three reasons which the authors think have led to the success
of the unconventional marketing strategies are: (i) the factor
of 'marketing dominant logic'; (ii) a unique consumer insight;
and (iii) focus on single strategy. It should be noted here
that these are not exhaustive, and there may be more reasons
for success. The satisfaction of all the above conditions
increases the probability of success of any new marketing
idea, however revolutionary it may be.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Fighting
TB through Social Marketing
-- Pradeep
Krishnatray and Shailendra S Bisht
Combating
Tuberculosis (TB) is a huge challenge for social marketing.
Besides implementing and monitoring the TB control program,
the challenge lies in devising communication strategies. This
article discusses the communication strategies, community
participation and efforts to involve the private sector in
combating the menace of TB. The authors specifically discuss
a TV commercial, featuring Vivek Oberoia popular Bollywood
film starfor the promotion of Directly Observed TreatmentShort-course
(DOTS). The paper analyzes the communication aspects of this
commercial with the help of meaning transfer theory. It also
discusses the use of celebrity endorsement in non-profit communication.
The communication strategy for TB emphasizes on advocacy and
information dissemination. The authors argue that if TB control
objectives have to be met, the program should focus on social
mobilization. Celebrity endorsements help in mobilization
in a big way. Communication messages are specifically targeted
at the significant others to improve early detection of the
disease and adherence to medication for effective treatment.
Locating DOTS centers close to the patient and establishing
local DOTS committee are some of the other significant steps.
Partnering with the private sector would go a long way to
ensure an effective TB control program.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
An
Analytical Study of Slogans in English and Hindi
--
T D Babu and G Jababal
A
slogan is a phrase or a small group of words that are combined
in a special way to convey a message in the political or commercial
context, as a repetitive expression of an idea or the purpose.
It may be expressed in two major wayswritten and visual. Slogans
are generally short in length and easily remembered. Effective
slogans leave the key brand message in the minds of the target
market. An advertisement is effective only when it is designed
in the language of customers or prospects. India is a multilingual
country. About 15 languages are recognized in India. The national
language of India is Hindi. A majority of the advertisements
carry a slogan in Hindi. This paper addresses the fundamental
queries about slogansthe message communicated by a slogan,
the effect of the length of a slogan, and the rhyming aspect
of a slogan in Hindi as compared to that in English.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
Gender
Role Orientation and Decision-making in Families
--
Raghbir Singh and Pavleen Kaur
The
attitude towards role of women in every society is a function
of the prevailing social norms. The roles governed for women
by the society define the boundaries of participation and
spheres of influence for them. Thus, gender role orientation
affects the influence exerted by women in making decisions
in families. Therefore, this article makes an attempt to examine
the prevailing gender role norms for women in the Indian families
and to identify if influences in making purchase decisions
for durables vary across families with different orientations
and the role of women at home and society.
©
2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved.
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