A Reflection on Marketing 4.0 From the Perspective of Senior Citizens’ Communities of Practice

Abstract

Based on an exploration of the marketing strategies employed in senior citizens’ communities of practice (CoPs), this study proposes that the concept of co-construction derived from learning theory is indispensable in Marketing 4.0, which builds on offline and online interaction between and among consumers and the providers of particular goods and services to create a sense of community. Adopting a qualitative approach, the researchers visited 15 Senior Citizens Learning Centers (SCLCs) in Taiwan, and employed semi-structured interview methods to probe selected interviewees’ insights. This resulted in the identification of four key strategies for CoPs’ marketing efforts, all of which work best if governed by a quality process known as legislating peripheral participation (LPP), which is grounded in co-construction. Specifically, it was found that an SCLC with a unique and high-quality LPP process can not only attract senior citizens’ participation, but also transform their roles from customers to volunteers. The study also assesses whether and how well the four identified strategies can be implemented simultaneously, along with their implications for Marketing 4.0 and for the management of senior citizen–specific CoPs. On a theoretical level, this study highlights the differences between the educational concept of co-construction and the Marketing 4.0 concept of co-creation: with the former being a mutual engagement that integrates buyers and sellers into a cooperative interaction. This process, which takes into account the growth of group identity, individuals’ sense of meaning, and marketing potential, is an important force in Marketing 4.0 that transforms customers into advocates.

How do companies respond to consumer advocacy behavior in their digital marketing strategies?

“…Promotion or advertising spending that is packaged to include consumer attitude will increase the consumer's interest in a product so that a consumer perceives the product as possessing high-quality features (Ha et al, 2011). If, in the process of introducing a product, a company manages to convey a message of intensive interaction between a product and a consumer, this means that a company has intervened in a consumer's mind about the importance of a product (Gau, 2019). Consumer criticisms of a product are understood not as an endeavor to undermine the company but as an indication that the consumer wishes to form a closer tie with the product (Garcia-Rivera et al…”

A Fuzzy-Based Application for Marketing 4.0 Brand Perception in the COVID-19 Process

“…Marketing 4.0 integrates online and offline systems between companies and customers, makes the brand transparent, and is a marketing approach that increases customer engagement [51,52]. Marketing 4.0 has changed over time, similar to Industry 4.0, reaching its current form following the latest updates after Marketing 1.0 (productoriented), Marketing 2.0 (consumer-oriented), and Marketing 3.0 (human-oriented) [53,54].…”

Implementation of Co-Creation by Using Students’ Mastery Of10 Skills as a New Product in Higher Education 4.0

“…This type of marketing is ideal, democratic, holistic, and altruistic, rather than just focusing on customer interest (Krauss, 2017). Mutual involvement that integrates buyers and sellers in cooperative interactions to account for group identities, individual packaging senses, and marketing potential is an important force in marketing 4.0 that converts customers into an advocate (Gau, 2019).…”