The Near Future of Marketing from the Consulting Perspective

How we see the future depends partly on our current perspective. A research-oriented visionary will detail what the future brings for researchers. A technology-oriented one describes the wonders of coming technologies. Marketing managers are likely concerned with future developments in their specific areas of responsibility (i.e., advertising and promotion, branding, or supply chain). Academics likely look for the hot new research topics. This article summarizes how several major consulting companies, e.g., McKinsey & Company, Strategy&, and Euromonitor International, view the near future on the premise that academic researchers often overlook such forecasts although they provide a unique perspective on what is important to all types of marketing managers. It summarizes the recommendations several consulting firms make regarding how managers should adapt their practices to these changes. The article contends that the reports consulting companies release to the public in an effort to attract clients are a valuable and unique source of information that can inform and shape academic research and teaching

The Influences of Brand-Consumer and Cause-Congruence on Consumer Responses to Cause Related Marketing

Cause Related Marketing (CRM) is a widely used type of brand alliance in which companies donate a portion of their sales to social causes with whom they ally. Researchers have studied many aspects of CRM to learn why these programs are effective and how to enhance their success. An overlooked component in CRM research is the extent to which consumers identify with the brand and with the cause. The present study presented 604 U.S. college students with CRM campaigns for two brands (M&Ms and Crest) partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to assess whether brand-cause congruence, brand-consumer congruence, cause-consumer congruence, and assessment of the motives of the company influence consumer purchase intention. The results show that congruence between the self-image of the consumer with the image of the brand and with the partner both positively influence reaction to a CRM campaign, as does consumer perceptions of the motivations of the company

Profiling the Frequent Clothing Shopper

Frequent shoppers are an important segment of consumers for the clothing industry because they account for a disproportionate amount of sales and profits and play an important role in the fashion diffusion process. The purpose of this study was to test hypothesized characteristics that distinguish frequent shoppers clothing from other buyers. We focused on characteristics that have been studied by previous researchers and characteristics that have received less study, but are no less interesting and potentially important to clothing marketing and management

The Influence of Descriptive Norms on Investment Risk

This study examines the effect of descriptive norm messages (i.e., highlighting what others are doing) on intentions to increase investment risk. Evidence shows that alarming numbers of people nearing retirement insufficiently save for this next life stage. In addition, research finds that differences exist in investment risk tolerance between men and women, with many women investing too conservatively. This finding is of particular concern as women typically experience longer lifespans, thus relying on accumulated savings for longer periods of time. The present study extends work in financial marketing by examining the influences of social norms and peer influence, constructs shown to be instrumental in guiding behavior. An experiment using 182 U.S. student subjects tested the hypothesis that introducing descriptive norms concurrently with certain variables (financial self-efficacy and gender traits) influences the level of risk taken within investment portfolios. The results did not support the hypothesis; however, we did find support for the existence of differences in investment risk between genders and show that financial self-efficacy is associated with greater financial risk taking

In the Wake of a Merger: Consumer Reactions to Service Failures

Customers are often overlooked during the merger process in both reality and the marketing literature. This research features an experiment with 431 U.S. consumers that assesses the impact of a service failure following a merger on a variety of consumer behaviors. Key results indicate that consumers are more likely to switch service providers if they experience a failure of any magnitude (major/minor) following a merger than if they experience the same failure in the absence of a merger. This finding emphasizes that firms involved in service mergers have to be extremely diligent about preventing customer defection and implement focused marketing strategies sooner rather than later. Several managerial implications are provided based on the results of the study

Introducing the Super Consumer

Who are our best consumers? One can imagine all sorts of businesses asking this question on a regular basis. The 80/20 rule, the heavy half, the high frequency and high spending consumers are traditionally the backbone of many successful brands or companies. Relationship marketing, a key element of modern marketing strategy, is the outgrowth of the interest in heavy users because of their importance in terms of revenue and potential word-of-mouth. However, who are these best consumers? The present study is motivated by a body of research on a constellation of consumer characteristics that reflect a unique consumption pattern we have come to think of as the “super consumer.” The theoretical background for the study first presents the three criteria variables used to segment the sample: materialism, status consumption, and brand engagement in selfconcept. We chose these three variables as the basis for the super consumer concept because they are consistently correlated across studies and conceptually are highly related. The study uses these three variables to classify consumers into two groups, potential heavy or “super consumers” and “regular” consumers and then contrasts these two types on gender, age, shopping, spending, and market mavenism. The goal is to begin to develop a behavioral, psychological, and demographic profile of the super consumer segment. Not only does this concept tie together several disparate concepts in consumer psychology, but it also has potential managerial application in that identifying these consumers could lead to greater profitability and long-term relationships with them. The data came from an online survey of 351 consumers. A cluster analysis using materialism, status consumption, and brand engagement in self-concept as criteria produced a two-cluster solution with 136 super consumers and 215 regular consumers. Comparing mean scores between these two groups of on measures of marketplace behavior: market mavenism, shopping frequency, amount of spending, age, and gender, showed that the super consumers were significantly more likely to be market mavens, to shop more frequently, and to spend more than the other consumers were. The super consumers were younger in age as well, but there were no gender differences between the two groups. From a theoretical perspective, describing the super consumer has the potential to contribute expanded understanding of how customers are differently motivated. A nuanced and quantitatively based description of the motivational underpinnings of important groups of consumers could be the basis for new models of consumer behavior. Currently, the individual based inputs to the consumer decision making process are atomistic and measured by an ever expanding list of scales. Grouping those inputs should clarify their importance and make them more useful in understanding and predicting the decision process. Marketers, especially those of status-conferring or self-concept related brands, could use this concept and the profile variables to identity buyers highly motived to purchase their brands and emphasize these themes to them in marketing promotions. They could develop and/or market new products targeted to this segment, and based on their insights into the motivations driving these consumers, they could build long term relationships with them. The enhanced spending and word-of-mouth characterizing super consumers should repay any investment in targeting them

Mavenism, Frugality, and Loyalty

Since Feick and Price (1987) introduced the concept of market mavenism almost 30 years ago, researchers have accumulated a large body of empirical findings describing market maven attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics. Mavenism can be defined briefly as a strong involvement in the marketplace. The purpose of the present study was to assess relationships between market mavenism and three aspects of consumption behavior largely ignored by previous research into market mavenism. Analysis of data from a sample of 351 adult U.S. consumers confirms that market mavenism is positively related to frugality and negatively related to brand loyalty. The results showed that as H1 hypothesized, mavenism is positively related to frugality (r = .27). H2 proposed that mavenism is negatively correlated with brand loyalty. The results (r = -.24, p \u3c .01) support this hypothesis as well. H3 posited that mavenism is positively correlated with shopping and spending. The correlations (.27 and .29) support this. These findings continue to develop our understanding of market mavenism and provide insights that marketing managers might use as they factor mavenism into their strategies

Why Do Shoppers Shop?

The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationships between three potential motivators of shopping behavior with a measure of attitude toward shopping. Data from 306 US student consumers were collected via an online survey. Reliable and valid scales operationalized the constructs. The results showed that shopping appears to be motivated in part by a desire for status, by materialism, and by brand engagement in self-concept. The results also showed women like to shop more than men do and that the relationships among the variables differed between men and women, suggesting that each gender is motivated to shop for different reasons

Generosity as an Individual Difference Variable: Preliminary Steps towards a New Measurement Scale

Generosity is giving more real value to another entity than the giver expects in return. It is seen as the height of humanity by philosophers, and as non-rational by economists, and is not only encouraged but also mandated by religious institutions. Altruism, the motivator of generosity is called the main problem in sociobiology (Ridley & Dawkins 1981). Interest has been shown in generosity and altruism for centuries. Marketers are primarily interested in generosity as it drives support of non-profit causes, but it also has potential value in understanding complaint behavior, service failures, and tipping of service workers. This paper represents an effort to explicate generosity through the eyes of the various disciplines that are concerned with it. The goal is to develop a comprehensive literature review on generosity and propose a measure of the tendency to behave in a generous manner. We look at how generosity regarded in Philosophy where it is a central theme, in Economics where it not possible, in Psychology, where generosity is part of helping behavior and in Marketing where tipping behavior and charitable giving are its logical, though not well-researched correlates. We develop a series of propositions upon which we will begin building a scalar measure of the tendency to be generous. These are: Humility will be positively related to self-reported generous tendencies. Empathetic concern will be positively related to self-reported generous tendencies. Materialism will be negatively related to self-reported generous tendencies It is our hope that we can create a measure useful in a number of disciplines but especially in marketing to help segment and communicate for giving and activism appeals and to better understand tipping behavior

Brand Engagement and Consumer Innovativeness

Brand engagement describes the tendency of consumers to make the brands they buy part of their self-concept. This new insight into consumer behavior offers marketers many ways to create relationships with their customers. An unexplored aspect of brand engagement is how it is related to consumer innovativeness, the tendency to be among the first buyers of new products. The present study used survey data from 2399 adult U.S. consumers to show that brand engagement is positively related to consumer innovativeness. This finding suggests that in addition to promoting the features of new products likely to attract innovators, showing how the brand can express the selfconcept of the innovator may also encourage its adoption