This book was written to create a unique strategic marketing management book that would be contextually relevant for Asian students and managers interested in understanding the basics of marketing, as well as for those who desire to glean insights into the application of marketing in the region. The book provides exposure to marketing concepts in succinct form, embellished by cases, to create excitement about Asian approaches, in addition to informing students about the giant strides that Asian businesses are making toward building the largest global economy!
Asia comprises more than 60 percent of the global population with about 4.4 billion people living in roughly 51 sovereign nations. According to financial forecasts, Asia is the fastest growing economic region in the world and the largest continental economy by purchasing power parity (PPP). The continent is currently undergoing rapid growth and industrialization spearheaded by China and India, the two fastest growing and major economies in the world.
Considering the availability of a productive labor force and rapid economic growth, Asian markets represent tremendous opportunities for firms despite the presence of a unique set of complex challenges such as poverty, climate change, literacy rates, gender disparities, political unrest, governance failures, and so on.
To continue the current growth momentum, excel in all phases of business, and create future business leadership in Asia and across the globe, there is a felt need to gain a deeper understanding of the Asian business environment and ways of creating effective marketing strategies in the region that will help grow various businesses. This book on marketing management, embellished with Asian cases, will help students understand key issues in marketing, especially in the context of changing economic and related challenges in Asia. The cases in this book address how marketing opportunities need to be created, how to leverage constrained capabilities, and how to create sustainable and competitive advantage to pursue profitable growth in Asia, especially South Asia. Specific cases in this book are drawn from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
Asia is a region of vast diversity in terms of geography, population size, political and social systems, as well as economic resources. A region of majestic mountains, arid deserts, humid to extremely cold weather, densely populated urban centers and remote rural communities, Asian countries are classified across the spectrum — from low-income to mid- and relatively high-income countries. For instance, China and India are the largest countries in the region by population and total economic output. Despite China’s place as the world’s second largest economy and one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world, it is still classified as a developing country. Similarly, India being known as another “growing giant in Asia” still faces huge challenges on many social indicators. Other South Asian countries are mostly classified as low to middle-income countries. South East Asian countries other than Singapore — such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia — are striving to move from middle to upper middle income status. Countries like Singapore and Japan are already labeled as developed countries.
Within the developing countries in Asia, marketing and development are intimately intertwined and the challenges many. For example, in marketing channels — from manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and retailers to customers and end users — many institutions, processes, and activities need to be in place and functioning smoothly before marketing’s contributions to development become readily apparent. There are infrastructure related issues — roads, electricity, and media availability to name but a few — that affect how goods are produced, transported, promoted, and consumed. Then there are governance and institutional issues — in terms of financial and human capital, as well as raw materials — that influence both production and consumption of goods and services. Finally, there are practices that affect how smoothly institutions function to enable participants to engage with the market in a sustained manner, ethically and with a long term view of exchange.
Governments in these countries have already adopted policies that address the variety of complex problems created by natural disasters, population boom, and economic disparity that have led to positive socio-economic changes including improvements in health status, increase in literacy and education rates, progress in gender balance, building of transportation and communications facilities, and generation of employment. Accesses to information, products, and programs have been impacted by increases in media’s reach among the rural and urban populations. Broadcast media such as radio and television have also made significant inroads into the dispersed population in South Asia.
Strategic Marketing Management in Asia was written based on three decades of teaching, research, and practical experience, both in Asia and in the developed markets, which we believe will provide a unique blend of materials to our valued readers. As we know, Asia is the most dynamic economic region at present. Asian countries have a young labor force, as well as a strong consumer base. To fully understand the ramifications, we felt that there was a need for a strategic marketing management case book that must go beyond any typical case-based text book. The book was thus planned to be written with full-length practical cases backed by (1) a careful exposition of the basic concepts in marketing and (2) discussion notes on key issues. This approach was either missing from other text or case books or somehow ignored. Keeping this in mind, we deliberated extensively on positioning before embarking on writing this book.
The text and cases were written very lucidly so that students in Asia can easily grasp the knowledge and concepts of marketing. Readers will also find many action-oriented strategies in the cases that are used by successful entrepreneurs and organizations.
Another unique feature of the book is the combination of cases from profit-making companies and not-for-profit international organizations that target social causes. For instances, there are cases on poverty alleviation, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, rural marketing, social marketing, and social business. On the other hand, there are also cases from leading brands of MNCs including Unilever, P&G, Tata, Maruti, Subaru, Square, Maybank, Birla, etc.
We also wanted to emphasize to students the need to understand the importance of research, be it quantitative or qualitative. Research-supported strategy can become a distinguishing feature of innovative firms vying for market share and profits.
Finally, this book result from the contributions of a galaxy of experienced and globally recognized professionals in their own areas in marketing. Different chapters on marketing management were contributed by scholars doing research in specific fields while working in leading universities and organizations in different countries.
We would also like to note that this book does not favor any particular industry and/or country. Rather, the students, whether they are interested in consumer packaged goods, high-tech marketing, services, research, rural markets, social business, or pricing, will find something useful in this book for them.
We believe this book is an ideal text to use in undergraduate, MBA, and executive development courses where a first-hand but deep exposure to marketing is the goal.
This book is divided into four parts, the contents of which follow a specific sequence: (1) introduction to marketing, the environment of marketing, marketing strategy and decision-making processes, (2) understanding consumers and the importance of segmentation, targeting, and positioning, (3) marketing-mix decisions, and (4) special topics such as services marketing, social marketing, social business, and rural marketing that cut across all of the preceding material. The special topics are particularly relevant for marketing in the 21st century.
Chapter 1: Evolution of Marketing as a Discipline. It covers the basics of marketing: evolution and definition, why it is important in business, and the importance of a customer/competitor orientation.
Key benefits: The text and case will introduce students to the importance of being customer-oriented and to focus on both the external and internal aspects of business.
Chapter 2: Marketing Environment. This chapter examines the macro-environment affecting marketing analysis and decisions.
Key benefits: The chapter provides students with a better understanding of the organizational environment within which marketing decisions are made. The case shows how Maybank’s actions in recent years have been affected by social, economic, regulatory, and technological forces in Asia, and how decisions were made to continue their growth by satisfying customer needs.
Chapter 3: Strategic Planning and Marketing Models. This chapter covers the “behind the scenes” work that marketing managers need to do in framing specific decisions before and during various phases and activities of business.
Key benefits: It provides a deeper understanding of strategic tools and techniques such as SWOT analysis, value chain model, and Ansoff’s Product Market Grid. Cases from two countries demonstrate the practical use of strategic models.
Chapter 4: Marketing Research. This chapter shows how market research is fundamental to the development of a marketing strategy and covers both quantitative and qualitative aspects of research. The chapter focuses on various aspects of research design, such as framing objectives, identifying sources of information including primary and secondary data, sampling, and methods of estimating market potential.
Key benefits: Demonstrates to students how to use research techniques for real life situations. The two cases on quantitative and qualitative techniques show how research projects can help solve “problems” in creative ways.
Chapter 5: Consumer Behavior. This chapter covers the basics of why and how consumers (individuals) make purchasing decisions. The first part examines the various factors — cultural, social, personal, and psychological — that influence decisions. The second part examines steps in the purchase process and how marketers can play a role in each step to sway a consumer’s preferences and ultimate choice.
Key benefits: Leads the students to understand the importance of consumer behavior in the development of a marketing strategy.
Chapter 6: Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. The chapter provides the students with a basic understanding of Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning.
Key benefits: Students will be able to understand the need for segmentation and how to position a product in selected target markets. In addition to explaining concepts, the chapter refers to a real life segmentation situation through analyzing a case.
Chapter 7: Product Decisions. This chapter shows how product decisions must fit an overall strategic framework. Various aspects of product decisions (branding, packaging, new product development) are broken into subsequent chapters to elucidate their importance.
Key benefits: Enables students to relate to an important pillar of the “4Ps.” The cases on Tata Nano and Bajaj scooter will enrich students’ perspectives on how these two products addressed the transportation needs of millions of low-income people in India.
Chapter 8: New Product Development. The chapter looks into developing new products, the lifeblood of an organization. Students will learn, though, that NPD is risky and many new products fail. Once introduced, marketers want their products to enjoy long and happy lives. Sustaining products through the product lifecycle is discussed.
Key benefits: Since new products serve as the lifeline of any business, students will understand the complexities of developing and introducing new products. The case focuses on the launch of a well-known global brand, Ariel, in Pakistan.
Chapter 9: Packaging. This chapter examines various decisions concerning the packaging of products: from objective setting to strategic thinking that helps integrate and align packaging decisions with other broader objectives such as positioning, communication, branding, etc.
Key benefits: Gives students a better understanding of a variety of tests that packages need to undergo — from visual to technical, consumer, retail, recognition, and related tests.
Chapter 10: Branding and Brand Management. Vital to forming identity and positioning, this chapter explains why branding is considered today as central to marketing. The chapter examines why branding has become a “buzz” word in today’s business world. From a consumer’s perspective, it can facilitate decision-making and purchase.
Key benefits: Because of the role and importance accorded to branding, two chapters (Chapters 10 and 11) are devoted to this vital marketing activity, addressing basic concepts and ideas in branding.
Chapter 11: Consumer Behavior and the Anatomy of a Brand. This chapter provides a more detailed anatomy of branding and the processes involved.
Key benefits: Students will have a complete understanding of branding and its anatomy. The cases focus on how consumer behavior influences branding of any product or service. There are interesting cases on both products and services.
Chapter 12: Services Marketing. This chapter discusses the importance of services in most industries. The chapter specifically addresses how services can add greater value to customers and what makes services marketing different from product marketing.
Key benefits: Students will learn that the competition has increased in intensity in various industries; as a consequence, firms have turned to service differentiation — from faster complaint resolution and on-time delivery to wait minimization and friendly, sympathetic responses.
Chapter 13: Pricing Strategy. It is one of the vital elements of the marketing mix and has come to take center-stage in marketing warfare. The chapter focuses on the importance of understanding the concept of customer value, how much customers are willing to pay for a product or service, and how “value for money” can drive purchase behavior.
Key benefits: Students should understand all about pricing from an important case on Indian Airlines and how pricing decisions are systematically made for survival in a given industry.
Chapter 14: Integrated Marketing Channels. The chapter covers concepts like the value chain, channel structures, multi-level marketing, direct marketing and market coverage strategies, as well as use of the Internet as a channel. The chapter also discusses the importance of retailing and wholesaling and supply chain management.
Key benefits: Students will better appreciate the wide variety of channel options that exist today.
Chapter 15: Integrated Marketing Communications. This chapter covers the basic tools of communication and emphasizes how it is changing due to various media vehicles such as mobile, electronic media, Internet, and the Web, and various social media vehicles (such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, and so on).
Key benefits: Students will have a better understanding of the “communication mix” through integrated marketing communications. Student will also learn about ethical issues surrounding communication strategies and best practices.
Chapter 16: Sales Force Management. A sales force serves as a company’s personal link to its customers. The ultimate objective of sales management is to influence the sales force to get sales orders. This chapter briefly reviews some of the key issues on sales force management.
Key benefits: Students will learn how to select, train and retain a “performing” sales force for attracting customers and to aid the growth of the business.
Chapter 17: Social Marketing and Social Business. This is one of the two special chapters included in this book. Students will be familiar with these important aspects of modern businesses. The world is going through a turbulent journey with economic and financial bumps impacting our lives and businesses. At the same time, increasing levels of poverty and unemployment are creating social and political unrest and challenging our quality of life everyday across the globe.
Key benefits: The student will learn about the importance of social marketing and a new concept — social business. Here we have highlighted the concept of Social Business as initiated by Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Chapter 18: Rural Marketing. This is another special chapter. Marketers have started looking at the large mass of consumers living in the rural areas whose purchasing power has been growing slowly but surely. The population in the rural markets is more than the urban populations in Asia. This chapter examines the differences between urban and rural markets and offers insights into how things may be done differently from a marketer’s perspective to gain share of this lucrative and emerging market.
Key benefits: Students will gain many good ideas about the growing rural markets and marketing strategies to fit their specific needs.
A variety of pedagogical features have been integrated throughout this text to enhance the learning experience for students.
Syed Saad Andaleeb
Khalid Hasan
Editors