Marketing and sustainability: emerging opportunities for profitable growth; Discussion

Abstract

While the high economic growth rate in the last decade has created a new segment of consuming class, with more choice than ever in buying products and services, there is also a growing concern about the sustainability of this growth. The absence of equitable opportunities and growing disparities in incomes, living conditions and access to basic necessities have serious implications for the well being of civilised society. Many of these products and services, traditionally the responsibility of the government and voluntary organisations, have not been efficiently delivered. The poor are often viewed as receivers of aid and hence remain on the fringes of the marketing concerns of most firms. However, of late there has been an interest in marketing to the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) and several successful initiatives have shown that the poor can be served equitably and profitably by improving their income generation potential. The IIMB Management Review (IMR) Round Table on Marketing and Sustainability brings together a panel of representatives from conventional profit-making and not-for-profit organisations as well as academics to share their experiences in marketing to the poor and discuss issues such as the business potential of the bottom of the pyramid, the mapping of opportunities for income generation for the poor, product design and development, pricing, promotion, low cost delivery mechanisms and effective communication in this segment.