The Marketing Book 5th Edition

Generalisation

Situation Specific Marketing

General marketing concepts,

approaches and theories

Industry specific marketing

Type specific marketing:

• Goods/Services


• Consumer/Industrial

Particular characteristics of

small firms marketing

Individual firm specific marketing

764 The Marketing Book

market customs and practices. Any variation or
innovation will most probably occur within the
normal expected parameters of doing business
which have evolved and become established
over time.
The variation and innovations are of course
what makes any enterprise unique. For exam-
ple, two service firms situated side by side, as is
often the case with two SME restaurants, will
still have differentiations which make them
unique. Their names will be different and these
names will conjure a difference of perception.
Their interior design and atmosphere will create
further differentiation. The attitude and appear-
ance of staff will create further difference, the
variety and quality of the menu clearly will also
have an influence. A whole host of influences
will create a specific situation which is unique to
the individual firm. It is the collective combina-

tion of all these factors which forms the basis of

an enterprise’s marketing activity and message.

Thus, while both such enterprises are influenced

by the same inherent characteristics of both their

marketing domain and their industry/market,

the decisions of the entrepreneur/owner/man-

ager will create a differentiation which is

unique.

This issue of the influence of the entrepre-

neur/owner/manager upon the decision

making of an SME is worthy of further con-

sideration, in terms of how an entrepreneur can

not only create differentiation but also how s/he

can improve the impact and efficiency of

marketing decisions and activities of the SME.

Such impact and efficiency will undoubtedly

build upon inherent and learned strengths that

best reflect the constraints and resources of

an SME.

Figure 29.1 Situation specific marketing
Source: Adapted from K. J. Blois (1974) ‘The Marketing of Services: An Approach’,European Journal of
Marketing, 8 , 137–149.