e-Commerce is a broad term that covers all business activities that use the internet as the platform for conducting exchanges or forming and maintaining relationships. It encompasses social media, the sharing economy, mobile applications, e-tailing, the changes to business models and developments such as wearables, and is a rapidly growing component of business education. The separation between real and virtual worlds is becoming more intangible as we rapidly face a new world of integrated technology. e-Commerce provides a solid grounding in this dynamic discipline as well as tools and techniques to leverage for e-commerce business success. e-Commerce is written from the perspective of a developing country and makes use of many South African examples. It uncovers the main business drivers that practitioners need to be aware of in this rapidly developing field, from an overview of the e-commerce environment and the digital business models and strategies that have emerged from it, to an in-depth look at the strategic drivers for digital and social marketing, operations and emerging trends in the digital future. e-Commerce is aimed at students who already have an understanding of general business theory, specifically basic concepts in economics, marketing and management.

Do your marketing efforts rely on your best guesses? Would you rather be a data-led marketer, working from hard facts and with a clear strategy? Learn how to improve your marketing, get ahead of your competitors, and enhance your career with this whistle stop tour of the modern marketing landscape, where data and marketing go hand-in-hand.

This timely and incisive Handbook provides critical contemporary insights into the theory and practice of entrepreneurship and marketing in the twenty-first century. Bringing together rich and varied contributions from prominent international researchers, it offers a reflective synthesis of scholarship at the interface between marketing and entrepreneurship. Emphasising the need for contextual analysis of marketing and entrepreneurial practices, this Handbook explores the effectiveness of a variety of behaviours, supporting its insights with relevant theory. Chapters cover areas such as innovation, strategy and networking for SMEs, social media and crowdfunding, and entrepreneurial marketing in the arts, including a focus on the growing phenomenon of cultural entrepreneurship. Scholars and postgraduate students in entrepreneurship and marketing, and particularly those working on the intersections between them, will find this Handbook an invaluable read. Its examination of the efficacy of various practices will also be of great interest to marketing professionals and entrepreneurs themselves. Contributors include: C. Ball, A. Bayraktar, S. Brown, D. Cummins, J.H. Deacon, N. Dennis, E. Erdogan, I. Fillis, J.B. Ford, I.S. Fraser, P.J. Fraser, L. Frondigoun, E. Gallagher, A. Gilmore, V. Gustafsson, B. Hynes, B. Jones, R. Jones, M. Kelly, F. Kerrigan, A. Kincaid, T.A. Kirchner, O.F. Lee, K. Lehman, E. Lloyd-Parkes, S. Loane, M. Macaulay, S. Mawson, M.P. Miles, S. Mirvahedi, S.C. Morrish, T. Morrow, S. Mottner, E.L. Ngan, K. Nightingale, R. Noorda, A. Patterson, C. Preece, E. Ramsey, R. Rentschler, E. Ritch, V.L. Rodner, J.E. Schroeder, Z. Sethna, R. Shannon, A.M.J. Smith, R. Smith, M. Suoranta, N. Telford, P. Tjabbes, C. Uslay

The core focus of marketing is developing and delivering need-satisfying, value-creating offerings to an organisation's target markets. Guided and influenced by a constant stream of new developments and initiatives in the marketing arena, marketing management has established itself as a dynamic field of study. Contemporary cases in Southern African marketing is about the integration of theory and practice, focusing specifically on consumer insights to guide marketing strategy. Contemporary cases in Southern African marketing is a collection of case studies designed to provide a taste of local, regional and international marketing experiences across a broad spectrum of industries, with special attention being given to emerging market contexts. A handy reference grid is included that indicates which areas of marketing the different case studies deal with. Each case study has been carefully selected to emphasise the different critical aspects of marketing, and includes questions that help to direct the reader's attention towards the most important points. Contemporary cases in Southern African marketing is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students of marketing.

This timely and incisive Handbook provides critical contemporary insights into the theory and practice of entrepreneurship and marketing in the twenty-first century. Bringing together rich and varied contributions from prominent international researchers, it offers a reflective synthesis of scholarship at the interface between marketing and entrepreneurship. Emphasising the need for contextual analysis of marketing and entrepreneurial practices, this Handbook explores the effectiveness of a variety of behaviours, supporting its insights with relevant theory. Chapters cover areas such as innovation, strategy and networking for SMEs, social media and crowdfunding, and entrepreneurial marketing in the arts, including a focus on the growing phenomenon of cultural entrepreneurship. Scholars and postgraduate students in entrepreneurship and marketing, and particularly those working on the intersections between them, will find this Handbook an invaluable read. Its examination of the efficacy of various practices will also be of great interest to marketing professionals and entrepreneurs themselves. Contributors include: C. Ball, A. Bayraktar, S. Brown, D. Cummins, J.H. Deacon, N. Dennis, E. Erdogan, I. Fillis, J.B. Ford, I.S. Fraser, P.J. Fraser, L. Frondigoun, E. Gallagher, A. Gilmore, V. Gustafsson, B. Hynes, B. Jones, R. Jones, M. Kelly, F. Kerrigan, A. Kincaid, T.A. Kirchner, O.F. Lee, K. Lehman, E. Lloyd-Parkes, S. Loane, M. Macaulay, S. Mawson, M.P. Miles, S. Mirvahedi, S.C. Morrish, T. Morrow, S. Mottner, E.L. Ngan, K. Nightingale, R. Noorda, A. Patterson, C. Preece, E. Ramsey, R. Rentschler, E. Ritch, V.L. Rodner, J.E. Schroeder, Z. Sethna, R. Shannon, A.M.J. Smith, R. Smith, M. Suoranta, N. Telford, P. Tjabbes, C. Uslay

The No#1 Marketing Book for Local Trades. If you are a local trades or service based business this is for you...Whether you are an electrician, a plumber, gas engineer, carpet cleaner, handyman or gardener, this easy-to-implement, proven six-step system is designed to position you as the go-to person in your area for the service you provide. It doesn't matter if you are starting out or have been trading for years, the SPARKS Blueprint(TM) can help boost your business, find new customers and keep them.

Viewing Europe as the centre of intercultural confrontation with its own set of subcultures, Cross-Cultural Marketing analyses the cultural comparison between East and West from a European perspective. Structured in four parts, the textbook explores the cross-cultural approach; a model of cross-cultural marketing strategy; marketing choices and decisions, and cross-cultural marketing challenges. At the end of each part, business cases and intercultural stories pose challenging questions for students' discussion. Key Features: International co-authors provide their perspectives to give a rounded view of the topic Extensive case studies that allow students to learn how cross-cultural marketing works in practice A European perspective that offers students insight into multiple subcultures' experience of cross-cultural marketing Innovative marketing strategies are discussed in detail in cross-cultural contexts, allowing students to develop knowledge at the cutting-edge of international marketing techniques. Focused on the intercultural evolution taking place in our connected world, this textbook will be an essential core text for cross-cultural marketing and international marketing courses at Masters level. It will also serve as a supplementary text for other marketing and management courses, preparing students for the world of work in an interconnected environment.

Offering a critical approach to digital marketing strategies, this innovative book introduces the ‘phygital’, a new ecosystem that creates a continuum between physical and digital settings to aid the design of successful customer experiences. Combining theory with practical case studies, it provides a timely prediction of the evolution of customer experience and effective means of brand communication in an increasingly phygital era.

Delineating how digital and physical experiences differ, this book characterizes the role of digital, AI, and extended reality technologies in creating successful and engaging phygital experiences and the customer values they engender. Chapters identify the underlying mechanisms for designing a compelling phygital customer experience and how it is enhanced by digital tools, devices, immersive technologies, chatbots, AI, and robotics. The book concludes by addressing how these technologies can help businesses create the ultimate brand experience in a phygital-driven context by rethinking their strategies and tools.

Providing new market research tools and frameworks to better understand digital transformation, this book will prove vital to practitioners, students, and marketing scholars. Advising how to design compelling customer experiences that connect physical and digital settings, it will also prove a valuable resource to a vast range of businesses and consultants.

Marketing your business has never been so challenging. So much change, so many new opportunities, especially when it comes to engaging with your customers. Digital has seen to that but the capabilities it has opened up have barely been exploited. The fact is that businesses need to become customer-centric but don't know how. Intelligent Customer Engagement is the 'how'. It is the next natural evolutionary step that businesses will take to commercially market to their audiences. Built on a foundation of existing marketing, communications and technological capabilities, Intelligent Customer Engagement is a pioneering methodology that is already being deployed by businesses that are seeking new ways to transform the engagement they have with their audiences. The authors have written this book as a working manual of how to develop and deploy Intelligent Customer Engagement and readers will benefit from it being continuously supported online through their content hub at www.timihub.com.

The new eighth edition of the pioneering guide to generating attention for your idea or business, jam-packed with new and updated techniques As the ways we communicate continue to evolve, keeping pace with the latest trends in social media, including social audio like Clubhouse, the newest online video tools such as TikTok, and all the other high-tech influences, can seem an almost impossible task. How can you keep your product or service from getting lost in the digital clutter? The eighth edition of The New Rules of Marketing and PR provides everything you need to speak directly to your audience, make a strong personal connection, and generate attention for your business. An international bestseller with nearly half a million copies sold in twenty-nine languages, this revolutionary guide gives you a proven, step-by-step plan for leveraging the power of technology to get your message seen and heard by the right people at the right time. You will learn the latest approaches for highly effective public relations, marketing, and customer communications--all at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising! The latest edition of The New Rules of Marketing and PR has been completely revised and updated to present the most innovative methods and cost-effective strategies. The most comprehensive update yet shows you details about the pros and cons of AI and machine learning to automate routine tasks. Your life is already AI-assisted. Your marketing should be too, but there are challenges to be aware of. The definitive guide on the future of marketing, this must-have resource will help you: Incorporate the new rules that will keep you ahead of the digital marketing curve Make your marketing and public relations real-time by incorporating techniques like newsjacking to generate instant attention when your audience is eager to hear from you Gain valuable insights through compelling case studies and real-world examples The eighth edition of The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Content Marketing, Podcasting, Social Media, AI, Live Video, and Newsjacking to Reach Buyers Directly is the ideal resource for entrepreneurs, business owners, marketers, PR professionals, and managers in organizations of all types and sizes.

This book integrates new thinking on the image, marketing, and branding of places at all levels, from town squares to cities and countries, and of the products and peoples associated with them, thereby bridging the 'country' and 'place' silos in place-related research and practice. Insightful contributions from top scholars reflect fresh theorizing and provide a critical appraisal of conventional wisdom by juxtaposing intriguing contexts, questioning commonplace practices, and challenging methodologies and theoretical assumptions. Chapters explore interdependencies among residents, visitors, brand managers, and consumers; image effects of place and social identity, cross-border acquisitions, popular culture exports, and sporting mega-events; country-of-origin research, cross-cultural consumer behaviour, international marketing, destination branding, and brand modelling; and cutting-edge methodological approaches and managerial best practices in place marketing. The book's interdisciplinary know-how and approach makes it an invaluable and comprehensive reference for researchers, managers, consultants, and students alike, in areas from marketing, place management, international business, and tourism to communications, social psychology, urban geography, and regional economics.

The Handbook of Research on Identity Theory in Marketing features cutting-edge research that delves into the origins and consequences of identity loyalty and organizes these insights around five basic identity principles that span nearly every consumer marketing subdomain. The Handbook explores [1] what makes an identity come to mind [2] what creates strong associations between identities and products [3] how consumers use brands to verify who they are or want to become [4] how consumption enhances or resolves conflict amongst identities and [5] how marketing and consumption becomes particularly relevant to particular identities. Each of these five principles are fully analyzed by a who's who of world-class international marketing scholars. This Handbook is a comprehensive and state of the art treatment of identity and marketing: An authoritative and practical guide for academics, brand managers, marketers, public policy advocates and even intellectually curious consumers. Contributors include: J. Angle, K. Aquino, J.J. Argo, A. Barasch, D.A. Briley, L.N. Chaplin, S. Chen, N.V. Coleman, S. Connors, S.W. Dagogo-Jack, D.W. Dahl, S. Danziger, K.G. DeMarree, K. Diehl, S.L. Dommer, L. Dunn, K.M. Durante, J. Edson Escalas, I. Gallo, T. Gaustad, M. Graso, L. Grewal, V. Griskevicius, G.R. Henderson, T. Hill, K.C. Husemann, G.V. Johar, A.C. Jones, K. Jung, K.L. Kettle, C. Lamberton, J. Laran, C. Lelchuk, E. Leung, T.M. Lowrey, B. McFerran, R. Mehta, A.C. Morales, H. Nikolova, E. Ok, J.G. Olson, G. Paolacci, A.W. Perkins, S. Puntoni, T. Rank-Christman, R. Scott, J. Shang, L.J. Shrum, B. Simpson, K. Spangenberg, A.T. Stephen, L. Weiss, S.C. Wheeler, K. White, K. Wilcox, K.P. Winterich, L. Xu, G. Zauberman

A groundbreaking exploration of purchasing behaviour and its essential role in smarter marketing practices to benefit your organization If you understand why people buy, you are already one step ahead in reaching out to them effectively with your products and services. Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy offers a groundbreaking exploration into the science of purchasing. The book specifically demonstrates why decision science has proven invaluable to the field of marketing by helping to explain purchasing behaviours. Decoded delivers a practical framework and guidelines for applying science to the marketing practices you use every day. As a marketing professional, you can look to this book for behavioural knowledge, timely case studies, and an understanding of methodologies. You'll gain advice on how to employ knowledge about behaviours for more effective brand management, from strategy to implementation to new product development. You'll also gain useful insight into the latest research on consumer motivations that lead to purchasing decisions. Learn more about what happens in the human brain as buyers make their choices. This updated edition of Decoded provides new material that marketers can apply to informed, successful practices. Gain an understanding of the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) approach Take a closer look at the Ferrero neuroscience study that supports JTBD See updated and relevant case studies of JTBD at work Discover how to engage customers through digital touchpoints If you're a marketing practitioner, an understanding of decision science will enhance your day-to-day work. Decoded helps you see how science and marketing come together. Immerse yourself in the science of why people buy and gain a stronger base of knowledge as you develop strategies, implement marketing plans, and meet customer needs through innovation.

When selling are the following statements true or false? : ** Always Be Closing ** ** Attitude Sets Altitude ** ** People Buy People ** ** Customers Like to Talk about Themselves ** ** It's a Numbers Game ** ** Sell the Sizzle not the Sausage** ** Money Talks ** Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail ** All false, claims Mark Blackmore. They are myths of selling that have been passed on through generations without any evidence that they work. Through extensive research Mark substitutes the 8 myths with the Single Sales Principle - the definitive answer for why people buy. In addition, Mark introduces the DECIDE sales process, a methodology designed specifically to achieve the Single Sales Principle.

One key for success of an entrepreneur is to obtain sales (revenue) and profits as quickly as possible upon launching the venture. Entrepreneurial Marketing focuses on the essential elements of success in order to achieve these needed sales and revenues and to grow the company. The authors build a comprehensive, state-of-the-art picture of entrepreneurial marketing issues, providing major theoretical and empirical evidence that offers a clear, concise view of entrepreneurial marketing. Through an international approach that combines both theoretical and empirical knowledge of entrepreneurship and marketing, this book informs and enhances the entrepreneurs' creativity, their ability to bring innovations to the market, and their willingness to face risk that changes the world. Key components addressed include: identifying and selecting the market; determining the consumer needs cost-effectively; executing the basic elements of the marketing mix (product, price, distribution, and promotion); and competing successfully in the domestic and global markets through implementing a sound marketing plan. Numerous illustrative examples throughout the book bring the content to life. The mix of theoretical content, examples, empirical analyses, and case studies make this book an excellent resource for students, professors, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers all over the world.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This cutting-edge Research Agenda for Place Branding explores ideas and debates that inform a refreshing take on the future of place branding and marketing. It argues that we are at a juncture where the logical and sensible step is to push the 'reset button' on such activity and fully reconsider its purpose and goals. Chapters span a range of important themes in contemporary place branding and are organised into sections covering place branding governance, contexts, experience and creativity. Drawing on contributions from key international scholars across a variety of academic disciplines, the book showcases an interplay of oppositional perspectives - ranging from those who see place branding as a potential means of improving the economic vitality of places, to others who consider much existing place branding activity exclusionary to certain sectors of society. Providing a wealth of creative and innovative suggestions on how place branding can be done, thought about and researched differently in the future, this Research Agenda will be a key resource for research-oriented academics and students in marketing, geography, planning and tourism.

E-Commerce - A Southern African Perspective approaches the theory and practice of e-commerce from a developing-world perspective. It covers theory, business models, case studies and practical issues such as the digital divide and the law governing e-commerce transactions. State of the art technology such as mobile commerce and its potential in the developing world are also included.

The authors are experienced lecturers on e-commerce and are well qualified to trace developments in this fast-paced field of inquiry. This book is essential reading, for students and practitioners.

This second edition of the Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing provides an updated comprehensive state-of-the-art overview of business-to-business (B2B) marketing by leading academic scholars and practitioners in the field. Each of the 34 chapters is structured to provide perspectives of one B2B problem area both from an academic and a managerial perspective, a state-of-art review and summary, a research agenda for the domain, and implications for practitioners. Published in conjunction with Penn State's Institute for the Study of Business Markets, this extensive Handbook will expand research and teaching on B2B marketing and will improve the practice of B2B marketing for firms in the industry. It summarizes current knowledge about the realm of B2B marketing and addresses the most important unanswered questions there. This path-breaking Handbook is targeted primarily at marketing academics and graduate students who want a comprehensive overview of the academic state of the B2B marketing domain. It will also prove an invaluable resource for forward-thinking B2B practitioners who want to be aware of the current state of knowledge in their domains.

Integrated marketing communication (IMC) has come to the fore as a very important concept in communicating to an organisation's target audiences. In this title, the notion behind the IMC process is explained and the following issues are explored: Philosophy and evolution of the concept, ethics in marketing communication, co-ordination of the various IMC elements - advertising, media selection, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations (including marketing public relations), publicity (including marketing publicity), sponsorship and new media marketing.

Marketing research is one of a series of books specially written for South African undergraduate marketing students. The other titles in the series deal with distribution management, product management, pricing and integrated marketing communications. The objective of the series is to place specific marketing topics in perspective. This title focuses on the essentials of marketing research, and does so in a comprehensive, practical and extremely accessible manner. Most readers of the text will be users of marketing research information. For this reason, the title introduces students to the basic aspects of marketing research.

This book integrates new thinking on the image, marketing, and branding of places at all levels, from town squares to cities and countries, and of the products and peoples associated with them, thereby bridging the 'country' and 'place' silos in place-related research and practice. Insightful contributions from top scholars reflect fresh theorizing and provide a critical appraisal of conventional wisdom by juxtaposing intriguing contexts, questioning commonplace practices, and challenging methodologies and theoretical assumptions. Chapters explore interdependencies among residents, visitors, brand managers, and consumers; image effects of place and social identity, cross-border acquisitions, popular culture exports, and sporting mega-events; country-of-origin research, cross-cultural consumer behaviour, international marketing, destination branding, and brand modelling; and cutting-edge methodological approaches and managerial best practices in place marketing. The book's interdisciplinary know-how and approach makes it an invaluable and comprehensive reference for researchers, managers, consultants, and students alike, in areas from marketing, place management, international business, and tourism to communications, social psychology, urban geography, and regional economics.

The lifeblood of any business is sales and marketing. Selling and marketing skills are essential for a business to succeed. A person's ability to market a product or service assists in the development of entrepreneurial flair, a much-needed attribute for people either seeking employment, or currently employed, in the southern African business environment. Fundamentals of sales and marketing - Discuss the development of sales and marketing skills in the southern African business environment; is unique as it presents the theory on both sales and marketing in one concise book; provides southern African examples and case studies; is written in simple, clear language which makes it easy to read an accessible to business; management students and practitioners in the sales and marketing fields.