Marketing 5.0

CHAPTER 1Welcome to Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity

We wrote our first book in the series, Marketing 3.0: From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit, in 2009. The book has since been published in 27 language editions around the world. As the subtitle suggests, the book describes the major shifts from product-driven marketing (1.0) to customer-oriented marketing (2.0) to human-centric marketing (3.0).

In Marketing 3.0, customers look for not only functional and emotional satisfaction but also spiritual fulfillment from the brands they choose. Thus, companies build differentiation with their values. Their products and operations aim not only to bring profits but also to provide solutions to the world's toughest social and environmental problems.

It took nearly 70 years for marketing to evolve from its product orientation to the concept of human centricity. During the decades of evolution, several marketing concepts have stood the test of time. Despite being “traditional” in nature, the segmentation-targeting-positioning concept as well as the product-price-place-promotion (4Ps) model have become universal staples for modern marketers globally.

We have always considered Marketing 3.0 to be the ultimate stage of traditional marketing. The entire building blocks of serving customers intellectually (1.0), emotionally (2.0), and spiritually (3.0) were complete. Although published a decade ago, the book's relevance has become more evident in today's era dominated by Generation ...