Three Levels of Marketing: Random, Routine, and Reflective

James F Perry

doi:10.15388/ekon.2002.17014

Abstract

In the past, scarce resources have led us sort ourselves as if we were many kinds of beings, mostly unreflective, instead of one. Now, our very survival depends on classifying all people as human and reflective. This maturing change is already happening because high-tech weapons are not a scarce resource and the alternative is death by terrorism. The marketplace of the 21st century will profit by showing respect for consumers as reflective human beings. This paper offers a guide to the reflective level of thought and action, showing and explaining the logical and pragmatic relations between random, routine, and reflective functioning.

Highlights

Introduction to a ProblemThe problem I will address is the interaction of marketing and its context
What good does marketing do, or fail to do, in the community and the wider world? What more can marketing be than effective routines?
The vision and skill required to reflect on a routine are far more complex and difficult to achieve than the vision and skill required to function within the routine ("the box" as routines are popularly known)

Summary

Introduction to a Problem

Reflective vision and skill are vital for human functioning, and for our mutual benefit and even survival. The vision and skill to function reflectively as well as routinely can be taught and this essay will offer some tools useful for that purpose. It is to appreciate the social routine while at the same time appreciating the reflective potential of the individual It is to treat society and culture not as divine objects automatically good in themselves but rather as evolving tools for the living of a shared life adequate for our human potential. Marketers and consumers alike need to extend their vision and skills toward adapting effectively to the limitations inherent in any routine. I foresee a fundamental change in the self-concept of the consumer the world over, from random and routine to reflective being at once critical and cooperative. In this essay I offer several classic philosophical ideas to help explain how this can be done

Philosophical Perspectives on the Problem

Conclusions

James E Peny Santrauka