Page 52 - Foundations of Marketing

Customer-Driven Strategic Marketing | Chapter 1 19

Table 1.1 Selected Smartphone Activities of U.S. Citizens

Activity All Cell Owners
Check weather reports and forecasts 77 %

Use a social networking site 68

Get turn-by-turn navigation or direction while driving 65
Get news online 64

Play a game 64

Upload photos online so that others can see them 58
Listen to an online radio or music service, such as Pandora or Spotify 53

Check your bank balance or any online banking 44

Visit a local, state, or federal government website 31
Get coupons on deals to use at local businesses 24

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, March 15–April 3, 2012 Tracking Survey. N = 2,254
adults ages 18 and older, including 903 interviews conducted on respondent’s cell phone. Margin of error is + / − 2 .6
percentage points based on cell phone owners ( n = 1,954 ).

exchanges. For example, new apps are being released that allow consumers to pay for their
purchases using their smartphones. These apps contain “virtual replicas” of the consumer’s
credit or debit cards that can be used in lieu of plastic. Recognizing the convenience of this new
32
method, more and more companies are adapting their operations to accept mobile payments.
The Internet allows companies to provide tremendous amounts of information about their
products to consumers and to interact with them through e-mail and websites. A consumer
shopping for a new car, for example, can access automakers’ webpages, configure an ideal
vehicle, and get instant feedback on its cost. Consumers can visit Autobytel, Edmund’s, and
other websites to find professional reviews and obtain comparative pricing information on both
new and used cars to help them find the best value. They can also visit a consumer opinion
site, such as Yelp, to read other consumers’ reviews of the products. They can then purchase a
vehicle online or at a dealership. A number of companies employ social media to connect with
their customers, using blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We con-
sider social networking and other digital media in Chapter 9 . Table 1.1 shows some of the most
common smartphone activities. We will discuss mobile marketing in more detail in Chapter 9 .

Socially Responsible Marketing: Promoting
the Welfare of Customers and Stakeholders

The success of our economic system depends on marketers whose values promote trust and
cooperative relationships in which customers and other stakeholders are treated with respect.
The public is increasingly insisting that social responsibility and ethical concerns be consid-
green marketing A strategic
ered in planning and implementing marketing activities. Although some marketers’ irrespon-
process involving stakeholder
sible or unethical activities end up on the front pages of USA Today or The Wall Street Journal,
assessment to create meaning-
more firms are working to develop a responsible approach to developing long-term relation-
ful long-term relationships with
ships with customers and other stakeholders. customers while maintaining,
In the area of the natural environment, companies are increasingly embracing the notion supporting, and enhancing the
of green marketing , which is a strategic process involving stakeholder assessment to create natural environment

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