Revisiting the South African Marketing Index

Abstract

The high level of human involvement in marketing ensures that it is, and always will be, a dynamic business function. When the impact of accelerating technological developments is added, the dynamism often turns to volatility. The rapidly changing business environment necessitates regular consideration of the role of marketing in the business environment, both from an internal and external point of view. This study analyses marketing and marketing activities from a consumer perspective. It measures consumer attitudes towards the four P's and converts these scores to an overall 'attitude towards marketing' index. It also compares the results with a similar study conducted in 1990 (the 1990 study). The 1990 study reported a negative marketing index of -16.262. Older consumers in particular voiced their disapproval of marketing practices. Pricing was singled out as the most important bone of contention. The pricing and the pricing practices used by marketers were seen as often unfair and unreasonable. Advertising was also viewed rather sceptically. Retailing was the only marketing mix element to return a positive index. The results of this study show that the SA Marketing Index has declined from -16.262 in 1990 to -34.125 in 1993. The decline in the marketing index is primarily due to the considerable decline in the price index from -8.470 to -24.368, a slight decrease in the product index (from -2.719 to -9.939) and a marginal deterioration in the retailing index. The decline in the price index in particular was so severe that the improvement in the advertising index (from -6.434 to +0.606) had almost no influence on the marketing index. When the impact of demographic variables on attitudes were considered, Afrikaans-speaking consumers and those who are relatively well qualified academically, turned out to be particularly dissatisfied with marketing.