The growth in Information Technology has re defined marketing strategies, leading to the development and the extinction of the old marketing practices. The old marketing practices had always led to many Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) fail to prioritise marketing as they deemed it expensive and required many protocols to be followed before implementation of the strategy. The continuous evolution of various information technology systems has of late threatened the existence of a human being in the marketing career as the carrier is swiftly being dominated by electronic devices that can effectively be commanded to interact and respond to consumer queries promptly. To date they are conflicting views on the effect of adopting information technology in the marketing discipline. The researcher seeks to validate whether information technology can enhance the up sage implementation of relationship marketing or it has come to destroy the intimate human relations consumers have with firms in the grocery sector in Zimbabwe. The researcher adopted a survey approach in data gathering and interviews were used, convenience sampling was done mainly on SMEs in Harare selected suburbs in the grocery sector. The study was informed by Hill ( 2006) customer loyalty stages. The major target sample of SMEs was 25, however upon conducting 19 interviews, data saturation was reached and no further data was collected. The findings from the study indicated that advancement in information technology has created many marketing platforms firms use to embrace relationship marketing although the media has failed to sustainable convert the consumers into advocates and has also led firms to lose some of its old customers who are generally technology laggards. The research recommends blending of both traditional and digital information technology based marketing platforms to ensure sustainable relationships between the company and its customers. This is based on the findings that many firms have of late abandoned traditional relationship marketing platforms only relying on virtual relations where culturally in Zimbabwe a relationship is made concrete when parties meet physically.
The rise of the green revolution has shaken many firms to decide on their dominance or face the wrath of natural extinction by failure to adapt to changes in the macro environment. Green marketing has recently gained acceptance in the commercial world to the level that firms that still embrace the old conventional marketing paradigm are rethinking their marketing strategies. Green marketing seeks to ensure that businesses do not harm the environment they operate in or harm the planet earth's living species. There has been a dynamic shift in the marketing mix elements as organisations thrive to satisfy the needs of a chameleon consumer. The research was informed by Ottman’s paradigm shift from conventional marketing to green marketing. The study sought to determine the impact of green marketing strategies on firm performance and the challenges faced by small to medium enterprises in their quest to adopt green marketing strategies. A quantitative research design was adopted with a sample size of 20 steel and aluminum foundry firms. The primary research findings were that firms are aware of green marketing strategies and their impact on firm performance, although they face challenges in implementing them. The paper's results will help various small to medium enterprises in the foundry industry to rethink, redesign and re-engage to achieve innovation and industrialisation in a green economy.
Consumer purchasing in Zimbabwe has always been dominated by Bricks and Mortar shops with few online stores. When COVID 19 set in the paths of consumers in March 2020with restrictions on movement but with needs and wants to be met, many firms were forced to re think their marketing strategies which saw a rise in digital marketing in Zimbabwe. Consumers are always seen as savvy animals with ever changing needs and wants, all to be met by the firms through the supply of goods and services. Therise in consumer needs, competition and declining income levels during and after COVID 19 made firms to blend their marketing strategies and encompass the recent digital marketing strategies. This was the optional marketing strategy firms were left toembrace as Zimbabwehas a 90% mobile phone ownership per household (Maphosa, 2021). The study was informed by Theory of planned behaviour. The target population for the study was low to medium income segment of the market mainly comprising of university students. Conveniencesampling technique was used and the interviewer used respondents that were easy to reach and the planned number of interviews was 25, however 18 interviews were conducted, data saturation (Kumar, 2011) was reached and no further data was gathered. The study results showed differed perceptions from consumers based on their technological knowledge towards ICT but mainly many consumers showed willingness to embrace digital purchasing in the 21Stcentury although many challenges included fear of cyber crimes, poor network, cost of data, age of the consumer and social networks influence. The results from the study will help many organisations in drafting their digital marketing strategies using consumer based perceptions
The study sought to determine the new consumer purchase intentions on green branded health supplements products that emerged due the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19 pandemic). The research aimed at assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on consumer green brand purchase intentions, effect of green perceived medicinal brand quality on consumer purchase intentions and the extent to which green brand positioning influence consumer purchase intentions on green health supplementsproducts.The quantitative research used a questionnaire to collect data from two hundred (200)participants. The data was analysed using SPPS version 16 statistical software.The research concluded that COVID-19 altered consumer buying intentions and there was a positive effect of green brand medicinal perceived quality on consumer purchase intentions. Furthermore, it was established that green brand positioning influenced consumer purchase intentions on green health supplements products.The study recommended that for organisations to enjoy competitive advantage they should maintain the quality of their green products through adopting new technologies.
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