Commodity Marketing Strategies, Concepts, and Cases

Commoditization is a major challenge for companies in a wide range of industries, and commodity marketing has become a priority for many top managers. This book tackles the key issues associated with the marketing of commodities and the processes of commoditization and de-commoditization. It summarizes the state of the art on commodity marketing, providing an overview of current debates. It also offers managerial insights, case studies, and guidance to help manage and market commodity goods and services.

Part I: Fundamentals of Commodity Marketing.- Commodity Marketing: An Introduction into Key Concepts and Processes.- Commodity Differentiation: A Cross-Industry Approach.- Commodities in the Service Sector: Particularities and Implications for Marketing.- Part II: Commodity Marketing Strategies and Tools.- Commodity Pricing: Fast, Simple, Intelligent.- Price Negotiations in Commodity Markets.- A Behavioral Approach to Pricing in Commodity Markets: Dual Processing of Prices within and around Willingness-to-Pay Ranges.- Price Knowledge and Price Expectations: Their Role for Customer Relationship Marketing of Telecommunications Providers.- On Price Roles and Budget Branding.- Customer Participation and Commodity Marketing.- An Economic View on Group Buying as Marketing Approach for Commodities.- Commodities and Customer Loyalty: Squaring of the Circle?.- Updates on the Connection Between Customer Relationship Management and Commoditization.- Customer Engagement as an Approach to De-Commoditisation.- On Becoming Market Oriented in a Commodity Market: Aligning Internal Operational Capabilities with Customer Needs.- Differentiating the Indifferent: Dealing with Commoditization Paradox Through Innovation.- A Configurational Perspective on Brand Relevance in Commodity Markets.- Influencer Marketing as a Counterstrategy to the Commoditization of Marketing Communications: A Bibliometric Analysis.- Part III: Commodity Marketing in Specific Contexts.- An International Perspective on Commodity Marketing.- Non-price-Related De-commoditization: An Exploratory Study in the Refractories Industry.- CRM in the Energy Market: Customer Relationship Management in Commodity Industries Using the Example of an Energy Service Provider.- Illuminating Organizational Processes Behind the Rising Phenomenon of Industry Commoditization.- De-commoditization in B2B Markets: A Communication Perspective.

Margit Enke is a professor of marketing and international trade at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). Her primary research interests include commodity marketing, branding, communication, and services management. In addition, she is interested in understanding the impact of marketing and the role of marketing in organizations and society.

Anja Geigenmueller is a professor of marketing at Technische Universität Ilmenau (Germany). In her research, she focuses on services marketing, technology marketing, relationship management, and brand management. Furthermore, she is interested in science communication.

Alexander Leischnig is a professor of business-to-business marketing at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany). His research interests are in the fields of alliance management, sales management, relationship management, and business digitization. In addition, he is interested in configurational thinking and approaches.