Demystifying the Islamic Consumer Segments

The rise of the Islamic Marketing has attracted the attention of the marketers to bring Islamic perspectives in their marketing actions. There are four major pillars (i.e. Spiritualistic, Ethical, Realistic, and Humanistic), which must be focused while transacting with the Muslim consumers. This chapter synthesizes the literature available in Islamic marketing by contextualizing the need of segmenting the Muslim consumers. The chapter lists the need to segment the Muslim consumers and tries to establish a linkage with the ethical practices in Islam to create a basis for segmentation. The chapter concludes that it would be a massive overgeneralization if Muslims were assumed to be one uniform group. In fact, as noted in the essay, several differences exist within this multicultural community. It is of importance that companies acknowledge these differences, understand the possibility of numerous segments within the Muslim community.

Islam and Consumption

Today Islam is world's second largest religion but has the highest growth rate among all the top religions. In a few decades, the Muslim population will be the largest consumers on this planet. This chapter tries to bring forth the interpretations of Holy Quran and Ahadees as is along with the current consumer behavior of Muslims using different products. There are different schools of thought based on the understanding of the religion. There are gaps in the actual meaning and the portrayal of the message, along with different interpretations of the theories around Islam. Like every other aspect of life, religion too has its existence in areas which are beyond black and white, in shades of grey, and here lies the marketing potential to fill up this void by understanding the Muslim consumer behavior.

Consumers' Purchasing Behaviour for Fresh Meat from Modern Retail Stores and Traditional Markets in Malaysia and Indonesia

This chapter seeks to compare and contrast the purchase of fresh meat between modern retail stores and traditional markets in both Malaysia and Indonesia. In-depth focus group discussions with the main food shoppers in the household reveal that the halal status is the most influential criterion in store choice for fresh chicken meat. Other important criteria include freshness, quality, a competitive price, convenience, an on-going relationship with the retailer, the variety available, and a pleasant shopping environment.

A Simplified Method for Understanding Judgment and Decision Making of Muslim Consumers

The large number of Muslims in the world provides many attractive market segments. This then raises the question on how marketers can best understand the judgment and decision making of Muslims toward designing appropriate campaigns that could effectively target their communities. This chapter reviews general human judgment and decision making and proposes a simplified method for understanding this market through identifying the one reason that drives consumer decision making. One-reason decision making is common among consumers. It consumes little information to reach a conclusion, but has similar accuracy with other methods that consume more than twice the amount of information. For marketers, this simplified method would help them penetrate those markets about which they have little understanding. And for marketers who do understand a market, this method can help them in designing their campaigns more efficiently. Simple intervention strategies to attract Muslim consumers are discussed at the end of this chapter.

Practical Applications in Marketing Strategies and Consumer Behaviour in an “Islamic” Context

The focus of this chapter is on marketing practices in an Islamic world. The chapter consists of two main parts: it begins by investigating the basic contradictions of the term Islamic marketing and continues by offering insights derived from a broad knowledge base of theory, research, and practice in the field of marketing in an Islamic context. It leads readers through the four fundamental elements of marketing—product, price, place, and promotion—using examples and short cases from the business environment in countries that call themselves Islamic. Such a journey can equip practitioners with the tools necessary for operating in more efficient and effective ways in Muslim countries.

The Perspectives of E-Commerce in Arab Region

E-commerce is the technology of realizing business transactions via electronic media. The Internet has presented this media to the degree that business is being more and more made through it. This chapter examined issues such as the scenarios, employment, and recognition of e-commerce, etc. in the Arab Region. Moreover, an extensive literature review has been conducted towards various features of e-commerce. The outcomes of the research, which are presented in this chapter, may shed light to better appreciate the present day e-commerce expansion issues in the Arab Region, which may be beneficial for both practitioners and scholars.

Marketing Communications in the Islamic Perspective

Because the Muslim market is so large, its potential has become a focus of many studies. However, few companies have managed to crack into this huge and lucrative market. This chapter attempts to define the problems and obstacles faced by companies attempting to cover this market and understand where they have failed. Furthermore, the chapter then provides guidelines towards avoiding and overcoming these obstacles while simultaneously turning them into opportunities. In this chapter, it was found that the mistakes commonly made are due to the coding of the messages, the lack of trust of companies, as well as an overuse and degrading of the Halal brand. It also finds that by establishing trust and relationship with the Muslim consumers, as well as by spreading awareness of the Muslim needs and culture among the employees of the company, these issues can be successfully tackled.

Accepting a New Nano-Tech-Based Technology in the Fruit Storage Industry

Nanotechnology is increasingly being employed in the areas of food production and packaging. While there exists considerable research that analyses consumer trust and perception of nanotechnology use in the food sector, the B2B sector has widely been neglected. This research project analyzes the influence of perceived quality and psychological factors in adopting a new nano-based technology that increases storage life of fruits and vegetables. The research context is Iran and neighboring countries. The results show that customer acceptance of using nanotechnology is influenced by both quality dimensions (performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, perceived quality) and psychological dimensions such as perceived risk and trust. The research also reveals individual differences in accepting nano-technology, depending on the function held by the employee. The authors interpret the results from a culture perspective.

Marketing Financial Services and Products in Different Cultural Environments

In this chapter, an analysis is presented of the conditions for effective marketing of financial services/products in different cultural environments. It is argued that financial services/products are not like other conventional goods and services/products: they exhibit special characteristics (i.e. intangible and risky). Thus, they should not be marketed to all financial consumers alike for they incur risks that are unsuitable for all consumers. Any associated capital loss may lead not only to consumer reaction but also might impair the normal operation of the financial market as a whole. Marketing efforts owe to take into consideration these characteristics and risks and effectively integrate marketing strategies with the carefully regulated issuance and distribution of financial products/services. Effective marketing of financial services requires a concerted effort on behalf of governments and financial service/product providers. Finally, marketing efforts must take into consideration the cultural environment within which marketing takes place.

Islamic Marketing

The ultimate objective of this chapter is to provide a new conceptualization that encompasses Islam as a religion, Islamic culture, and Islamic politics to provide both academicians and practitioners with a multidimensional understanding of interrelated factors in Islamic marketing. It illustrates how cultural factors and political associations intersect with Islamic teachings and rules to shape the Muslim consumer behaviors and decision-making process; consequently, business and marketing strategies aimed at targeting Muslim consumers are either threatened or reinforced.