ABSTRACT
Although effective marketing is central to the success of any business, urban or rural, this chapter is restricted to the role of marketing in the success of businesses containing attributes which are peculiar to the rural context, and it assesses the extent to which marketing-led success in rural activities is consistent with the sustaining of the rural economy. Sustainable development has been defined as 'managing the countryside in ways. that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs' (DoE/ MAFF, 1995). Two components of sustainable development are: meeting the economic and social needs of people who live and work in rural areas, ensuring that rural businesses are as efficient and competitive as they can be; and conserving the character of the countryside - its landscape, wildlife, agricultural, recreational and natural resource value (DoE/MAFF, 1995).
