Sales Loves MarketingMacromarketing is the study of marketing at the level of whole markets and societies rather than single companies. It asks how marketing systems work, what they do to society, and how society, through laws, values and culture, shapes them in return.
What does macromarketing study?
Shelby Hunt's 1981 definition is the one most often quoted. It splits the field into three parts:
- Marketing systems. How networks of producers, sellers, buyers and regulators form and work together.
- The effect of marketing on society. For example, what advertising, packaging or pricing practices do to health, the environment or fairness.
- The effect of society on marketing. For example, how regulation, cultural values or public pressure change the way companies market.
Common research topics include marketing ethics, social responsibility, sustainability, market regulation and aggregate consumer behaviour.
Where does the term come from?
Robert Bartels first used the word in 1962, in The Development of Marketing Thought. Charles Slater organised the first Macro-Marketing Seminar at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1976. The Macromarketing Society followed in 1979, and the Journal of Macromarketing started in 1981. The American Marketing Association's dictionary describes the field as studying marketing processes, activities, institutions and results from a broad perspective, such as a nation.
What is the difference between macromarketing and micromarketing?
The word "micromarketing" has two meanings, which the old version of this page mixed up.
| Macromarketing | Micromarketing (academic) | Micromarketing (business use) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | The whole marketing system and society | One firm's decisions | A very small target group |
| Typical question | What does this industry's marketing do to society? | What should we make, and at what price? | How do we reach this one neighbourhood or segment? |
| Who uses it | Researchers, regulators, policy makers | Marketing managers | Marketing teams |
In the academic pairing, micromarketing is ordinary company marketing, the four Ps of product, price, place and promotion. Macromarketing zooms out to the system all those companies create together. In business use, micromarketing means targeting a narrow audience, closer to niche marketing or one-to-one marketing.
Examples of macromarketing questions
- How do marketing practices in an industry contribute to overconsumption or waste, and what rules would change that?
- How does sustainable packaging spread through a market once regulators or large buyers demand it?
- How do marketing systems develop in a growing economy, and who benefits?
Why should a B2B marketer care?
Most day-to-day marketing work is micro: one company, one product, one pipeline. Macromarketing explains the forces around that work. Privacy laws, green-claims rules and changing buyer expectations about ethics are society reshaping marketing, which is the third part of Hunt's definition. Teams that watch these shifts can adapt before rules force them to.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between macromarketing and micromarketing?
In the academic sense, micromarketing looks at the decisions of a single firm, such as what to make, how to price it and how to promote it. Macromarketing looks at the whole marketing system and how it affects, and is shaped by, society. In everyday business use, micromarketing also means aiming a campaign at a very small group, which is a different idea.
What topics does macromarketing study?
Typical topics include how marketing systems develop, market regulation, marketing ethics, social responsibility, sustainability and aggregate consumer behaviour, such as the environmental effects of packaging or overconsumption.
Who uses macromarketing?
Mostly researchers, policy makers and regulators. For a company, it is a lens for thinking about how its industry's marketing affects customers, communities and the environment, and how rules and public expectations may change as a result.