People generally underestimate the Islamic point of view when marketing and it can result in a lack of understanding of how to succeed. The Islamic marketing mix is a way for companies to cater their products and services to the Muslim population.
When it comes to marketing, people tend to misunderstand the Islamic point of view. It prevents them from marketing effectively to the Muslim populace. An understanding is necessary to ensure the desired results.
With about a third of the global population identifying as Muslim, Islamic marketing has the power to help both Muslim and non-Muslim companies succeed in the Islamic market. Its nature and structure are based on the Islamic way of life.
Now, if you fail to understand Islamic norms, beliefs, and laws, you would struggle to run a successful business. The good news is that this post takes a close look at marketing from an Islamic perspective.
Importance of Islamic marketing
Before we take a look at its basics, you need to know just how important Islamic marketing is. Marketing across different cultures requires a great deal of research. However, there have not been many works covering the topic.
Islamic marketing has the power to allow foreign companies to dominate the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, South-East Asia, and much of the world. Catering to such a huge population is a great strategy. It is likely to bear fruit.
The fact is that it is a globally important aspect of the business world. Most of the information available is based on the Quran and Sunnah. An analysis is required to come up with a strategy. It will ensure that the marketing practices you adopt cooperate with your Muslim audience.
The basics of Islamic marketing
Although Islam affects marketing, its influence and power depend on the country and industry you target. You have to think carefully about the region and industry that you want to target.
For instance, if you plan on targeting a conservative population like Egypt, you will need to stick to strict practices. On the other hand, the opposite would be true for a liberal nation like Azerbaijan.
According to Islamic history, Prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadijah were both merchants and were known for their honesty. Following the Sharia is at the heart of it all. The main focus is on ensuring ethics.
Even though the Muslim population is still quite poor, the number of consumers with considerable purchasing power has risen considerably over the years. The First International Conference to cover Islamic Marketing was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2010.
Value creation
To better understand the Islamic point of view on marketing, you must consider it as a process of value creation.
Value can be provided in different ways, such as transforming products or services to attract customers, adding symbolic meanings, interacting with stakeholders, and improving supply chain access.
When it comes to value creation, the entire community is targeted, including the living environment. It has to follow the principles of Islamic transactions as mentioned below.
1. Benefit maximization and harm minimization
The first principle requires businesses to ensure that customers receive the most benefit and do not suffer from any harm. In fact, the harm should be minimized. An example could include Dettol, as it claims to kill 99.9% of germs.
2. Riba (interest) is a non-transaction
Next, it is important to note that interest cannot be promoted in any way. This means that you cannot market a product or service that has a connection to interest. According to Islamic thought, interest is forbidden.
Other non-transactions include pornography, gambling, alcohol, and addictive drugs. These transactions are strictly denied. Companies have to ensure that none of these elements is included in their marketing endeavours.
3. Tangible effort required for creating value
To ensure that your marketing efforts are well-received by your Islamic audience, you need to create value through tangible effort. As mentioned above, it could be in the form of manufacturing, adding symbols, and the like.
4. Mutual consent is necessary
Companies have to provide customers with the opportunity to give their consent when making a purchase. Hence, they have to provide as much information about the product as possible so that customers can mutually consent to the purchase.
Mutual consent is described as a state that requires the absence of coercion. The marketing has to be honest. Nothing should be hidden from customers, especially if it would influence their decision to purchase from you.
Similarly, one also has to understand the term “Gharar” which means uncertainty, hazard, or risk. If the conditions of the product being sold are uncertain or not completely clear, it cannot be sold under the Sharia.
Real, truthful information that is devoid of speculations is required when marketing. All parties involved must gain a high level of knowledge to make sure that they make an informed decision.
5. Minimize the possibility of post-transaction dispute
Finally, the purpose of Islamic marketing is to minimize the likelihood of post-transaction disputes. This is possible by ensuring mutual consent. Customers should know everything about the product. There should be no false advertising as it would only lead to disputes later on.
Ethics
Customers are at the forefront of Islamic marketing. Your efforts should emphasize benefits to human well-being and promote a good life. Ethics require companies to maximize justice and equity for the overall welfare of society. Thus, dishonesty, fraud, and deceit have to be avoided.
Any form of customer exploitation is a serious violation of the Islamic code of ethics. Since companies today focus on profit maximization, they tend to overlook Islamic ethics. However, focusing on the welfare of your customers and society as a whole can work in your favour.
To better understand Islamic ethics at play, you can look up Islamic Finder or any similar app. It will help you gain valuable insights into how to properly market products to a Muslim audience.
Conclusion
Whenever a company decides to enter a new market, it has to make changes to its standard marketing mix. By following the insights shared in this post, you should be able to adopt the Islamic marketing mix to cater to a Muslim audience.
Although you might find the Islamic principles to be somewhat complicated initially, they make sense and focus heavily on the well-being of customers.
