USING SOCIAL TREND DATA TO SHAPE MARKETING POLICY: SOME DO'S AND A DON'T

Abstract

Since the social revolution of the 1960's, marketers have increasingly accepted the idea that an understanding of changing social values is as important to successful marketing as the traditional study of demographic forecasts and economic outlook. The move to the “marketing approach,” a widespread policy shift which began in the 1950's, meant that it was not sufficient to understand consumer needs, attitudes, and behavior in the specific product category being marketed. Rather, the marketing approach demands knowledge of and sensitivity to the consumers as a total entity: who they are, how much money they can spend, and increasingly, their life goals, concerns, beliefs, taboos, that is, their social agendas. The 1960's initiated an era of profound social values changes, more notable than the economic and demographic changes. It is not surprising, therefore, that marketers began to focus more and more on the shifting social climate in their efforts to understand the consumer.

Citation

Skelly, F.R. (1984), "USING SOCIAL TREND DATA TO SHAPE MARKETING POLICY: SOME DO'S AND A DON'T", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 14-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb008079