Relationship marketing. This is one of the more interesting marketing dissertation topics because it involves analysing why customers stay loyal to a company or product. This topic focuses not on initial customer acquisition or one off sales but keeping consumers returning in the long run. This is why so many companies offer loyalty cards. The idea is that every time a customer uses your service or shops with you, you are so pleased that you offer them an incentive to keep shopping with you. For instance, a coffee shop might offer a card that stamps your card every time you buy a cup of coffee. This might mean that after buying five cups of coffee at that shop, you would receive the sixth cup free of charge. This offer is a bargaining point between business person and consumer. In effect, it is saying if you stay loyal to me, I will repay you with free cups of coffee. A dissertation that encompasses relationship marketing could be “Do loyalty cards make a difference to how customers choose to shop.”
Branding. When we hear about branding we automatically think of logos or catchy business names but that is only the surface of branding. It goes much deeper. If a cleaning company has a logo of a cat dressed in an overall and holding a mop this should not just suggest that the company cleans as a service. This should promise that when you hire this company, the place that they have cleaned will positively sparkle. That is what branding fundamentally is – the promise of what the company delivers. This is turn creates customer expectation. Positive branding should create the buzz that shouts “Everyone knows that this company is the best cleaning company around”. Branding is also used to sell celebrity and from that any products that they put their names to. When choosing between marketing dissertation topics, branding can be an inspirational subject to research. For instance, “David Beckham, brand or fallacy?”
Direct Marketing. This is an interesting concept because it is directed at a target market as opposed to the masses and it does not use an advertising middle person either. In other words, if you are a member of Ancestry.com, you might get emails from them selling their DNA services. The company understands that you have an interest in family history following the paper trail so they presume that they can sell you a DNA test on top of your subscription to them. This way, they are aiming at a target audience and not having to pay for advertising in that particular instance. If while looking through marketing dissertation topics, you find you particularly like this one, you could, for instance, research, “Can direct marketing actually lose customers?”
Marketing Cultures. If you have an interest in different cultures then you might find that when choosing between different marketing dissertation topics, this is the one for you. This is particularly interesting because when companies are marketing internationally, they have to be so careful. The reason for this is that different cultures have different expectations when it comes to behaviour. For instance, in the USA it is considered normal to be rude about a rival company. However, in China and Japan it is not done. Therefore, if a company had a worldwide campaign and offered the same type of marketing in both the USA and China, the company could actually lose clients instead of gaining them. Furthermore, signs and gestures often mean different things amongst varied cultures. This could offer up an inspiring dissertation topic. A dissertation on this topic could include “How semiotics can corrupt a product image if marketing cultures are not adhered to.”
Advertising. This is a message that is sent through various mediums to try to persuade folks to buy a product or service. Advertisements are literally everywhere. Television is bombarded with them as are magazines and the internet. Stand in a city centre and they are on the bus shelters, they are on the side of buses and on billboards too. In other words, this is a huge topic. It is also an intriguing one. As far as marketing dissertation topics go, there is a never ending list of ideas to choose from. For instance, “Is it impossible to eradicate sexism from advertisements and thus improve sales?”
Consumer Behaviour. This aspect of marketing is definitely for you if you enjoy psychology. This topic explores why people make decisions about every aspect of their lifestyle. If you are searching through marketing dissertation topics and you want to research why women choose a particular eye cream or why vegetarian food is suddenly popular, you should consider writing your dissertation on this topic. For instance, you might wish to research “Does the traffic light system on cereal packets affect how parents choose to shop for their children’s breakfast?”
Marketing trends. If you love blog posts, podcasts, social media and Instagram then researching the best way to market through trends is probably the category your dissertation should fall in. This is a very fast moving form of marketing as the word trend suggests. Therefore, when you are reading through possible lists of marketing dissertation topics, you may consider either critically analysing the latest trend or researching why certain aspects of trend marketing fail. An interesting subject for a dissertation topic might be the way in which certain brands offer their own magazines, YouTube channels or podcasts. Originally, companies relied on outsiders for their marketing; an interesting trend seems to be doing it in house.
Online Marketing. Online marketing has many different aspects to it. For instance, SEO marketing is search engine optimization. This means that articles are written with keywords in them that the website holder knows their potential customers type in search engines such as Google. Companies also practise email marketing where customers are tempted to give their email address so that they can get a free booklet or article that will give them advice. The company that run the website then email the customer regularly trying to get the customer to purchase products or services from them. There are many other ways of online marketing but it would be impossible to list them all in an article of this size. However, it is a fascinating topic for a dissertation. For instance, “Has SEO marketing changed the way we get information?”
Social Media Marketing. Social media is one of the most controversial forms of marketing because the bad press can be as heavy as the good press for them. There is also a form of snobbery against them with many people seeing them as down market. However, whether you love them or loathe them, they seem to work for many companies. Therefore, if you are interested in Facebook and Twitter, then you may have found your marketing topic. There are many more social media marketing platforms and you may prefer to research one of those instead. For instance, “Does invasive marketing on social media sell us products or seal their doom?”
