Marketing & sustainability
The relevance of sustainability in marketing decision making
What is marketing?
What exactly is marketing? Is it just convincing people to buy products through various media? Billboards, TV commercials, junk mail and magazines filled with advertisements? From the consumer’s perspective, that is how it seems (Kotler et al. 2010, p. 5). But from a business’s standpoint, marketing is viewed very differently. Marketing is viewed as being based on an exchange relationship between a business and its customers, where a business offers something of value, and customers purchase this product, which provides the business with the means to continue producing this item of value (Moscardo et al. 2010, p. 277).
Where does sustainability fit into marketing?
In the past, the discipline of marketing has been accused of stimulating unsustainable levels of consumption amongst consumers (Rettie, Burchell & Riley 2012 p. 420). Now with the impact of our overconsumption starting to take its toll on our earth, marketers must reassess its strategies and practices to accommodate the reality of limited resources and the environmental impact our consumption is having on the planet. In order to sustain our valuable resources for future generations, businesses need to re-evaluate their research and development strategies, production methods and financial and marketing practices (Kotler 2011, p. 132). This involves integrating social and environmental concepts into conventional marketing strategies (Peattie & Belz 2010, p. 9).
Consumer behaviour
In the chapter by Wells, et al, the relevance of consumer behaviour in marketing is discussed and broken down into the “four A’s” of sustainable consumer behaviour, Awareness, Acceptance, Ability and Action. This addresses a method that can be used to encourage consumers to support and engage in sustainable behaviours (Moscardo et al. 2010, p. 277).
Awareness
In order for a customer to buy a green product, they must be aware of the
What is marketing?
What exactly is marketing? Is it just convincing people to buy products through various media? Billboards, TV commercials, junk mail and magazines filled with advertisements? From the consumer’s perspective, that is how it seems (Kotler et al. 2010, p. 5). But from a business’s standpoint, marketing is viewed very differently. Marketing is viewed as being based on an exchange relationship between a business and its customers, where a business offers something of value, and customers purchase this product, which provides the business with the means to continue producing this item of value (Moscardo et al. 2010, p. 277).
Where does sustainability fit into marketing?
In the past, the discipline of marketing has been accused of stimulating unsustainable levels of consumption amongst consumers (Rettie, Burchell & Riley 2012 p. 420). Now with the impact of our overconsumption starting to take its toll on our earth, marketers must reassess its strategies and practices to accommodate the reality of limited resources and the environmental impact our consumption is having on the planet. In order to sustain our valuable resources for future generations, businesses need to re-evaluate their research and development strategies, production methods and financial and marketing practices (Kotler 2011, p. 132). This involves integrating social and environmental concepts into conventional marketing strategies (Peattie & Belz 2010, p. 9).
Consumer behaviour
In the chapter by Wells, et al, the relevance of consumer behaviour in marketing is discussed and broken down into the “four A’s” of sustainable consumer behaviour, Awareness, Acceptance, Ability and Action. This addresses a method that can be used to encourage consumers to support and engage in sustainable behaviours (Moscardo et al. 2010, p. 277).
Awareness
In order for a customer to buy a green product, they must be aware of the
References: Doyle, C 2011, A Dictionary of Marketing, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, NY. Galbreth, MR & Ghosh, B 2012, ‘Competition and Sustainability: The Impact of Consumer Awareness’ Decision Sciences, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 127 – 159. Hanss, D & Bohm, G 2012, ‘Sustainability seen from the perspective of consumers’, International Journal of Consumer Studies, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 678 – 687. Kotler, P 2011, ‘Reinventing marketing to Manage the Environmental Imperative’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 75, pp 132-135. Kotler, P, Brown, L, Burton, S, Deans, K & Armstrong, G 2010, Marketing, 8th edn, Pearson Australia, Frenches Forest, NSW. Morcardo, G Lamberton, G, Wells, G, Fallon, W, Lawn, P, Rowe, A, Humphrey, J, Wiesner, R, Pettitt, B, Clifton, D, Renouf, M & Kershaw, W 2013, Sustainability in Australian Business: Principles and Practice. Wiley-Blackwell, Milton, QLD. OECD 2008, Promoting Sustainable Consumption: Good Practices in OECD Countries, OECD, viewed on March 28th, www.oecd.org/greengrowth/40317373.pdf. Peattie, K & Belz, FM 2010 ‘Sustainability Marketing – An Innovative Conception of Marketing’ Marketing Review St. Gallen, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 8-15. Rettie, R, Burchell, K & Riley, D 2012 ‘Normalising green behaviours: A new approach to sustainability marketing’, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 28, no. 3-4, pp. 420-444. Sheth, JN & Sisodia, RS 2012, The 4A’s of Marketing: Creating Value for Customers, Companies and Society, Taylor & Francis, NY.