Guideline for Development of Marketing Strategies for Local Products of the Elderly Group in SamutPrakan Provience

Abstract

The objectives of the research were to study the abilities, problems, and obstacles in generating an income of elderly, consumers’ perception and desirable image of local products, marketing environment related to the development of local product marketing strategies, and to present the guideline for developing marketing strategies of elderly group’s local products. The data were collected from 400 elderly and 400 consumers using questionnaire and analyzed for their descriptive statistics. The interviews of successful local product entrepreneurs and officers from governmental agencies who attend to career building for elderly with the total of 22 persons about marketing environment were analyzed using content analysis. The results of the study on the abilities to generate an income reveal 3 aspects at a high level: their own readiness, management readiness, and marketing readiness. The budget readiness is at a moderate level. The results of the study on consumers’ perception and desirable image reveal that consumers know the local products but are unsure of which brands are made by elderly. The desirable images of the products are at a high level in all aspects: products, prices, locations and distribution, marketing communication, services, and organizations. The results of the study on marketing environment related to the development of local product marketing strategies reveal that the local products are unique but are marketed in an old fashion and lacked of advertisement; while the elderly are determined but lack of knowledge in business management and successors. A distribution channel of interest is via online social media. The presentation of the guideline for developing marketing strategies of elderly group’s local products suggests that local knowledge should be used to develop and create uniqueness to the products, marketing communication should be improved to make the product well known on online social media, and cooperative networks in product distribution and distribution channels should be established in order to promote the income of elderly from local products and to build a foundation for stronger economic immunity.