11 New Marketing Realities.

Major Societal Forces:

Today, major, and sometimes interlinking, societal forces have created new marketing behaviors, opportunities, and challenges. Here are 11 key ones.

1.       Network information technology.

The digital revolution has created an Information Age that promises to lead to more accurate level of production, more targeted communications, and more relevant pricing.

2.     Globalization.

Technology advances in transportation, shipping, and communication have made it easier for companies to market in, and consumers to buy from, almost any country in the world.

3.     Deregulation.

Many countries has deregulated industries to create greater competition and growth opportunities. In India, the domestic airline industry has been grown up very rapidly after deregulation. Airlines are competing with each other by offering different and better services to the consumers.

4.     Heightened competition.

Intense competition among domestic and foreign brands raises marketing costs and shrinks the profit margins. Brand manufacturers are further buffeted by powerful retailers that market their own stores brands. Many strong brands have become megabrands and extended into wide variety of related product categories, presenting a significant competitive threat.

5.     Industry convergence.

Industry boundaries are blurring as companies recognizes new opportunities at the intersection of two or more industries. The computing and consumer electronics industries are converging, for example, as Apple, Sony, and Samsung release a stream of entertainment devices from MP3 players to plasma TVs and camcorders.

6.     Retail transformation.

Retailing on South Asia in general and in India in particular is undergoing a major transformation. Organized retailing in India, which includes supermarkets chains, departmental stores, and discount retailers, is expected to grow from about 5 percent of the total market to about 14 percent to 18 percent of the total retail sale by 2015.

7.     Disintermediation.

The amazing success of early dot-coms such as AOL, Amazon.com, Yahoo!,; eBay, E*trade, and others created the disintermediation in the delivery of products and services by intervening in the traditional flow of goods through distribution channels. These firms stuck terror into the hearts of established manufacturers and retailers. In response traditional companies engaged in reintermediation and become “Brick-and-click” retailers, adding online services to their offerings.

8.     Consumer buying power.

In part, due to disintermediation via the Internet, consumers have substantially increased their buying power. From the home, office, or mobile phone, they can compare product prices and features and other goods online, bypassing limited local offerings and realizing significant price savings.

9.     Consumer information.

Consumers can collect information in as much breadth and depth as they want about practically anything. They can access encyclopedias, dictionaries, medical information, movie rating, consumers report, newspaper, and other information sources in many languages from anywhere in the world. Personal connections and user-generated contents thrive in social media, such as Facebook, Flickr, Wikipedia, and YouTube. Social networking sites bring together consumers with a common interest.

10.Consumer participation.

Consumers have found an amplified voice to influence peer and public opinion. In recognition, companies are inviting them to participate in designing and even marketing offerings to heighten their sense of connection and ownership.

11.  Consumer resistance.

Many consumers today feel there are fewer real product differences, so they show less brand loyalty and become more price- and quality- sensitive in their search for value, and less tolerant about undesired marketing. A Yankelovich study found record levels of marketing resistance from consumers; a majority reported negative opinions about the marketing and advertising and said they avoid products they feel are over marketed.