Understanding consumers and the way they behave is crucial to the success of any business. In these times of economic uncertainty and reduced customer expenditure, ensuring that the consumer's wants and needs are met, forms part of the strategic planning of all organisations - big or small. Consumers, by means of their buying behaviour, exert influence on businesses and compel them to act in certain ways. Understanding consumer behaviour is therefore imperative, as it provides information to businesses on how to plan their marketing activities and sustain themselves as commercially viable and useful entities.

International marketing combines foundational marketing theory and practice and illustrates the latest advances in international trade agreements and legislation with specific reference to the Southern African region. The text combines foundational international marketing theory with practical experience. International marketing is the only South African-based textbook written by a team of South African academics and practitioners.

The first of its kind in South Africa, Brand Management constitutes an invaluable tool for the growing number of academic institutions that offer this exciting subject. Making use of both local and international examples and cases, the subject is approached from a holistic, yet applied perspective. Written in an accessible style, this book assists both students and practitioners to develop the ability to manage brands from the outset to the ultimate outcome. This text is an invaluable reference work for practising professionals, written by authors who have extensive academic and professional expertise and international exposure.

The research techniques and methods discussed are applied to researching advertising, mass-media audiences, mass-media efficiency and organisational and development contexts. The research problems or issues addressed are also relevant to other communication fields, including political, government, marketing, intercultural, health and interpersonal and small-group communication, plus information and communications technology.

This second edition elaborates on the application of additional measurement scales and of content analysis. It contains more practical examples of the application of scientific criteria and it includes additional marginal notes that facilitate the comprehension of key concepts.

Understanding the customer, identifying opportunities and threats in the market and integrating the elements of marketing in a suitable and winning combination are all paramount to the survival of organisations in the 21st century. Essentials of Marketing explains the fundamental aspects of marketing alike. It is a must-have resource for those responsible for keeping their organisations abreast with the latest developments in the marketing environment.

It is widely recognised that sales and marketing are the two business functions that contribute directly to the bottom line of any organisation.

Marketing is more than a sequence of steps or a strategic process; it is also a mindset that leads to good business philosophy. The marketing mindset focuses wholeheartedly on customers and the satisfaction of customers’ needs while aiming to influence the entire organisation to strive towards customer satisfaction. Sales, on the other hand, is that business function that ultimately closes the deal and brings the customer and the business together. Without sales, the customer would never achieve need satisfaction and the organisation would never meet its objectives. The ultimate goal of meeting the customer’s needs brings these two seemingly different fields together.

Fundamentals of Sales and Marketing serves to provide a fundamental understanding of both sales and marketing by equipping the reader with theoretical knowledge and practical examples that are applicable to a South African context.

Teaching you how to use online tools to reach your customers. In today's increasingly digital world, marketing is going online. From companies to individuals, people are seeking new and creative ways to promote their products and themselves in the virtual realm. Websites, email and social media are reaching out to customers at home, in the office or on the move, and finding ways to engage with them. The virtual world has many benefits, but not everyone is familiar enough with digital channels to use them to maximum potential. This is where e-Marketing in the South African context comes into play. This comprehensive book focuses on the critical issues associated with e-marketing in the South African context. It is written in an easy-to-read and practical fashion that will help readers grasp the relevant technologies and concepts presented in the book. And it provides a strategic perspective as well as metrics to help achieve the goal of successful e-marketing.

As an introduction to branding, Fundamentals of branding provides students with an overview of the building blocks of branding, which include: the influence of branding on marketing decisions; the role and place of branding in the organisation; the various elements of branding; packaging the brand; positioning the brand; planning, leveraging and extending the brand; evaluating the brand. The book contains a chapter with real-life branding case studies which illustrates the practical application of the topics discussed in this book. This is a very useful resource for students who struggle to apply theory learned to real-life situations.

For courses in Retail Buying, Retail Merchandising and Fashion Merchandising. Retail Buying, Ninth Edition, is known for its clear depiction of retail buying, reflecting what buyers face every day in their pursuit of excellence. Focusing on the changes in today's market, the book addresses topics such as diverse ethnicities and the nuances of purchasing abroad. Contemporary market considerations are highlighted throughout, including chapters on buying for discount operations, using the Internet for product procurement, and methods of analyzing customer demand. With a host of end-of-chapter materials and visual aids, this book continues its tradition of effectively preparing students for their role as professional retail buyers.

For marketing courses that focus on creating a marketing plan. A step-by-step guide to creating a customized marketing plan. The Marketing Plan Handbook is the only planning handbook to guide readers, step-by-step, through the complete development of a realistic, customized marketing plan.

The new and extended Second Edition of the award-winning textbook Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective provides a sustainability-oriented vision of marketing for the twenty-first century. Adopting a a consumer marketing focus, it emphasises integrating sustainability principles into both marketing theory and the practical decision making of marketing managers. The book shows how the complexities of sustainability issues can be addressed by marketers through a systematic step-by-step approach. The steps involve an analysis of socio-environmental priorities to complement conventional consumer research; an integration of social, ethical and environmental values into marketing strategy development; a new consumer-oriented sustainability marketing mix to replace the outmoded and producer-oriented '4Ps'; and finally an analysis of how marketing can go beyond responding to social change to contribute to a transformation to a more sustainable society. Without taking such steps, marketing will continue to drive global crises linked to climate change, poverty, food shortages, oil depletion and species extinction, instead of helping to tackle them.

This new edition of Contemporary Retail and Marketing Case Studies is a collection of 34 studies of retail and marketing operations as told by individual companies.

Small, medium and larger companies relate the challenges they have faced and how they overcame them, and share their successes and frustrations in a frank and open manner. Each case is unique in its own way and addresses issues which are pertinent and relevant to the South African retail and marketing environment.

The value of this collection is that:

• It provides a variety of cases that together offer insight into the marketing challenges faced by local businesses
• It offers a South African perspective on how to overcome these issues
• It is written from the viewpoint of the entrepreneur or business executive
• It provides practical insights which support work-integrated learning.

This book is a must-read for scholars, students and people concerned with the retail and marketing industry.

This introductory textbook provides a thorough guide to the management of food and beverage outlets, from their day-to-day running through to the wider concerns of the hospitality industry. It explores the broad range of subject areas that encompass the food and beverage market and its main sectors - fast food and casual dining, hotels and quality restaurants and event, industrial and welfare catering. It also looks at some of the important trends affecting the food and beverage industry, covering consumers, the environment and ethical concerns as well as developments in technology. New to this edition: New chapter: Classifying food and drink service operations. New international case studies throughout covering the latest industry developments within a wide range of businesses. Enhanced coverage of financial aspects, including forecasting and menu pricing with respective examples of costings. New coverage of contemporary trends, including events management, use of technology, use of social media in marketing, customer management and environmental concerns, such as sourcing, sustainability and waste management. Updated companion website, including new case studies, PowerPoint slides, multiple choice questions, revision notes, true or false questions, short answer questions and new video and web links per chapter. It is illustrated in full colour and contains in-chapter activities as well as end-of-chapter summaries and revision questions to test the readers' knowledge as they progress. Written by a team of authors with many years of industry practice and teaching experience, this book is the ideal guide to the subject for hospitality students and industry practitioners alike.

"The Bar and Beverage Book" explains how to manage the beverage option of a restaurant, bar, hotel, country club--any place that serves beverages to customers. It provides readers with the history of the beverage industry and appreciation of wine, beer, and spirits; information on equipping, staffing, managing, and marketing a bar; and the purchase and mixology of beverages. New topics in this edition include changes to regulations regarding the service of alcohol, updated sanitation guidelines, updates to labor laws and the employment of staff, and how to make your operation more profitable. New trends in spirits, wine, and beer are also covered.

Daily existence is more interconnected to consumer behaviors than ever before, encompassing many issues of well-being. Problems include unhealthy eating; credit card mismanagement; alcohol, tobacco, pornography, and gambling abuse; marketplace discrimination; and ecological deterioration; as well as at-risk groups who are impoverished, impaired, or elderly. Opportunities for well-being via consumer behaviors include empowerment via the Internet, product sharing, leisure pursuits, family consumption, and pro-environmental activities, among others.

In 2005 the Association for Consumer Research launched Transformative Consumer Research (TCR). Its mission is to foster research on quality of life that is both rigorous and applied for better assisting consumers, their caregivers, policy administrators, and executives.

This edited volume includes 33 chapters on a wide range of topics by expert international authors. All royalties from sales of this book are donated to the Association to support TCR grants.

Business-to-business marketing is the first B2B marketing book in South Africa written by local academics. Its content therefore includes material to which South African students of B2B marketing can relate more easily. This book is about businesses marketing their products and services to other businesses and covers concepts related to this environment. It gives valuable insights into business-to-business marketing management, as well as analysing B2B buying practices, supply chain management, the selection of business customers and the development of a B2B marketing strategy. It provides readers with an understanding of what B2B marketing is and how it differs from business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing. The book has a strong theoretical basis, while also exploring many case studies from a South African perspective.

Advertising research organizations have been trying for years to measure the effectiveness of advertising. The Advertised Mind draws on the very latest research into the workings of the human brain undertaken by psychologists, neurologists and artificial intelligence specialists. Author Erik du Plessis uses this research to suggest why emotion is such an important factor in establishing a firm memory of an advertisement and predisposing consumers to buy the brand that is being advertised. He also draws on the findings of Adtrack's world-famous database of responses to over 30,000 TV commercials (the largest in the world). He explores what "ad-liking" really means, and suggests how this paradigm about the role of emotion has resulted in a continued effort to obtain maximum return from advertising spend.

The all-new Applied Marketing Cases is an engaging collection of case studies written by owners, entrepreneurs and corporates (from SMMEs to larger companies). They share their frustrations, successes and challenges on starting and running successful businesses. The stories are unique and inspiring to students, practitioners and would-be entrepreneurs.

Contents Include:

• 1st for Women Insurance
• 8ta2StrokeAfrica Media Online
• Bella Donna Finishing Classes
• Bio-Strath
• Blue Apple
• BulkSMS.com
• Clover Danao
• Clover Tropika
• Engen
• Europcar
• Gary Rom Hairdressing
• Hippo.co.za
• Jenna Clifford Designs (Pty) Ltd
• John Deere
• Ocean Baskey
• Studentnotes.co.za
• Suzuki Auto South Africa
• Vega
• Vital Health Foods

Simple, relevant and practical, Applied Marketing Cases is a must-read for entrepreneurs and business students alike.

Prepare for a successful career in social media marketing or a related field with the unique emphasis found only in SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: A STRATEGIC APPROACH, 2E. Each chapter in this popular book includes a section on creating a personal brand, which is useful to current or future professionals at any stage of career development. This edition emphasizes how to use social media techniques, detailed in the book, to develop and maintain a strong personal brand. Helpful discussions also address a full range of online and offline elements you can use to create a viable personal branding strategy. You learn how to use graphical concepts to structure and strategize within what is otherwise a chaotic social media milieu. This edition summarizes many of today's best practices for marketing activities on social media platforms to assist you in functioning most effectively and dealing with the rapid change that is a hallmark of social media.