Open Access

The transition towards a circular economy in the white goods sector increasingly relies on Re-X offerings such as remanufactured, refurbished, and upgraded products. While significant research has addressed supply-side challenges, demand-side aspects—particularly marketing and sales alignment—remain underexplored. This thesis addresses this gap by developing a marketing strategy framework that supports the adoption of Re-X products within an upgrade-oriented circular economy, complemented by a tailored sales compensation approach. Based on a systematic literature review and established marketing and incentive theory, a structured marketing strategy is derived that links strategic goals, target market characteristics, value propositions, and marketing-mix elements. In addition, key principles for designing sales compensation schemes are formulated to align salesforce behaviour with the promotion of Re-X offerings while safeguarding new-product sales. The proposed framework is validated through an expert interview, confirming its practical relevance and highlighting areas for refinement. The results demonstrate that demand for Re-X products can be strengthened through coordinated marketing activities and incentive structures that address consumer awareness, perceived risk, and behavioural barriers. The developed framework provides manufacturers in the white goods sector with a structured and adaptable basis for integrating marketing and sales activities into circular business models and supports the broader adoption of upgrade circular economy principles.

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