Editorial

Citation

Leventhal, R.C. (2008), "Editorial", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2008.07725gaa.002

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 25, Issue 7

A recent “phenomenon” that has gained greater global attention has been the idea of marketing to the “bottom of the pyramid”, or those populations that are concentrated in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia. Can these individuals be presented with alternatives to access both goods and services, and at the same time can markets be developed that will allow corporations to develop such marketplaces?

Pitta, Guesalaga and Marshall examine the bottom of the pyramid proposition whereby companies can be both profitable and help alleviate poverty by addressing low-income consumers. The authors provide some guidelines to marketing managers as to how they need to adapt their marketing strategies to sell to the bottom of the pyramid market and what type of partnerships they need to build in order to achieve some degree of success.

Van den waeyenberg and Hens examine which changes companies need to implement in their transactional marketing strategy to sell to the poor when launching a product innovation in low-income countries. The authors report that it is possible for a company to create products with functionality and cost advantage for the poor consumer without compromising on safety and comfort. Creating and innovative distribution system pushes costs and builds trust between the company and the consumer. The authors present a case study that examines bottom of the pyramid marketing in the automotive industry.

Subrahmanyan and Gomez-Arias report that despite income and resource constraints, bottom of the pyramid consumers are both sophisticated and creative. These consumers are motivated not just by survival and physiological needs, but seek to fulfill higher order needs to build social capital, for cultural reasons or as a compensatory mechanism. Furthermore, when forms offer products that also fulfill these higher order needs, especially through linkages to education and job offerings, these is a greater chance for success. The lesson to be learned is relevance, adaptability and tailoring products to suit specific bottom of the pyramid needs in an efficent manner.

Guesalaga and Marshall examine the untapped potential for developing marketing strategies to address this sector of the global economy that now is composed of approximately four billion people worldwide. The authors propose using a buying power index (BPI) to measure the purchasing power of the bottom of the period; they then go on to characterize the world’s bottom of the pyramid buying power in terms of location (geographic area), needs (product categories or industries), and income tiers. This information may help marketing managers to make better decisions about which specific geographic area(s) to focus on and on which income-level consumers to address.

Wood, Pitta and Franzak examine the idea that the relationship between share of heart, global umbrella brands, responsible marketing and successful marketing by multinational firms to the bottom of the pyramid marketplace can be understood as a form of a continuous cycle. By clearly perceiving the size and nature of the bottom of the pyramid, and their unique historical and contemporary realities (low education levels, suspicion of outsiders, exploitation of local monopolists, yet desire for value adding products and partnerships that empower and offer higher meaning in poor individual’s lives) the needs for a responsible marketing approach also becomes clear. If a multinational firm’s efforts result in positive social outcomes, the accompanying goodwill may be so valuable that it outweighs any slim profits that may be expected over the short term.

Ireland explains how leading firms can profitably serve poor consumers by targeting the urban bottom of the pyramid with appropriate marketing practices. The urban bottom of the pyramid is more profitable for large firms than the rural bottom of the pyramid due to its density of wealth, proximity, homogeneity and modernity. While recommended tactics for bottom of the pyramid marketing like rock bottom pricing and innovative products never produced market leaders, multilevel channels and inclusive pricing led to dramatic bottom of the pyramid sales growth for respected middle-class products.

Nielsen, Dacanay and Samia provide a comprehensive perspective on social enterprise development leading to enhance understanding of the bottom of the pyramid marketplace. Three major implications for marketing managers who are creating a strategy to serve the bottom of the pyramid market are presented as a way in which to help further their efforts. These efforts can help to create a model that can yield valuable information.

Sridharan and Viswanathen examine the subsistence marketplace in South India and discuss the innovative marketing approaches for business success in such contexts. The authors explore the twin engines of subsistence economies – consumption and entrepreneurship – through buyer and seller perspectives. The authors then go on to derive three principles for consumer marketing to the bottom of the pyramid and several implications for marketing practice, emphasizing the major differences in approach needed for businesses to succeed in subsistence marketplaces.

For this special issue, you will also find our Misplaced marketing feature, as well as our Book review and Computer currency sections.

Richard C. Leventhal