The Impacts of Industry 4.0 on Marketing Activities and Strategies of Iron and Steel Industry in Developing Countries: Case for Uganda

The iron and steel industry is one of the main contributors to the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of most developing countries in Africa and is key for both domestic and global markets. The holistic approach to Industry 4.0 needs a wider look at the transition taking place in the area of marketing. The paper aims at investigating the impacts of Industry 4.0 on marketing activities and strategies of iron and steel companies in developing countries by identifying which consideration factors are relevant when adopting industry 4.0 in relation to the cost of doing business, then propose strategies and possible solutions that could be considered. A research by survey method through distributes descriptive and deductive approach to collect primary data in questionnaire format. The results show statistical evidence to explain impact of industry 4.0 on marketing activities and strategies such as; effects of rapidly evolving technological capabilities, product quality, quantity, and raw material, increased supply chain and channel strategy, value addition, organizational realignments to integrate physical and digital technologies, positioning in the market, pipeline management, illicit trade practices, skills gap, research and innovation, website foundation, technology stack, content strategy, lead generation, pipeline management, and data analysis (analytic tools). Steel companies should adopt new technologies to improve productivity and standardization, and call for enhancement of regulatory mechanisms to remove incentives for illicit trade practices such as tax evasion, falsification and substandard products. How to cite this paper: Komakech, A. O., Liu, J. G., Omo, A., & Basua, E. A. A. (2021). The Impacts of Industry 4.0 on Marketing Activities and Strategies of Iron and Steel Industry in Developing Countries: Case for Uganda. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 9, 591-626. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2021.95034 Received: April 23, 2021 Accepted: May 23, 2021 Published: May 26, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


Introduction
In today's world, the current rapid changes in industrial production methods and the business environment of manufacturing companies are driven by global demand and competition. The current industrial transformation is known as the fourth industrial revolution "Industry 4.0" which some commentators also refer to as the internet of things (IoT) is on the basis of cyber-physical production systems (CPPS), merging of real and virtual worlds, was developed based on the past experiences Drath and Horch, 2014: p. 56) to links people, and all smart factory components to communicate with each other. According to (Lasi et al., 2014: p. 239), the first industrial revolution "Industry 1.0" emerged in the 18 th century when the concept of streamlining production began with mechanical production driven by steam and water power; the second industrial revolution "Industry 2.0" concept was based on introduction of mass production in early 20 th century driven by electricity development (Baygin et al., 2016: p. 1); and the third industrial revolution "Industry 3.0" concept that emerged in 1970s, was based on introduction of automation of production processes by development of computer and information technology (IT) (Drath and Horch, 2014: p. 56). Therefore, the industry 4.0 concept, is based on both technological and business aspects. That is, digital transformation of business models, value chain, products, and services Hermann, Pentek, and Otto (2016).
Technology developments have not only impacted on the production capacity of firms but also market coverage, and consumers' everyday lives. It has become a crucial aspect of business strategic planning (İnal, 2009: p. 108), The developed countries represent a good example of a growing information society driven by technology Reichheld and Sasser (1990) and Volker (2005). For a company, "information is the most precious of modern corporate resources and its exploitation is the key to competitive survival, the spotlight falls on marketing". Companies depend on technology to tack up, handle, analyse and interpret the high amount of information (Fleisher, 2008;Volker, 2005). In addition, technology has embraced globalization as companies use marketing activities to create and sustain competitive advantages (Kotler and Keller, 2006: p. 329). In particular, lization.
However, steel producing companies are well-known for keeping their production costs low by balancing their manufacturing expenses to fend off competition from low-cost, low-price competitors. But, to meet those goals, the steel industry needs to undertake an initiative of change, such as application of advanced technologies to improve productivity, reduce risks, and increase the effectiveness of resources to remain competitive both in domestic and global markets (Tassey, 2014). Such transformations do not come without challenges that greatly impact the pricing of the finished end-products, which, in turn, drastically affect brand growth. Therefore, by implementing a precise marketing strategy steel industry players can overcome such challenges. For example, Arcelor Mittal Downstream Solutions (AMDS), European leader in the distribution of high-performance steel products to B2B and B2C consumers, started e-commerce activities at the end of 2016 and launched its first web shop (online store, "e-steel") in June, 2017 (First web shop for Arcelormittal/Sqli Digital Experience, 2016) to optimize its marketing activities and increase sales.
In Uganda, several similar studies were carried-out, including: developing the iron and steel industry-Harnessing the fruits, National Planning Authority. lack of investment in technology and continuous use of old equipment causing frequent machines breakdowns resulting into low capacity utilization averaging below 55%, 3) production of low quality, quantity steel and lack of raw materials coupled with shortcoming in product standardization resulting from the inconsistent chemical composition and poor mechanical properties cannot be ignored. 4) lack of steel scrap is causing stiff competition among steel mills. In such situations, supply of poor quality scrap is unavoidable, hence production of low quality steel that is threatening the steel industry's existence. 5) workers lack required technical skills because of no proper linkages between steel companies and research institutions to compliment on work skills and quality of products. 6) irregular power supply meant continuous casting in the steel making process is in wider context, all Ugandan steel customers' demands and marketing processes since Tembo steel limited is one of the Uganda's main steel producers.  Price determination: Prices of set steel products in marketability are first of all determined by the cost of; production, delivery, and promotion. The products are charged fair prices that influence the consumer's perception of a product's value. They establish a significant relationship between price and sales performance. The price charged aids the company to generate high or low profit revenue and the most important customer satisfaction and loyalty factor depends on the interplay of the marketing mix by the marketing department.  Product value: Uganda steel customers meet the price of the chosen product value for a specific purpose to receive a product or service for a certain value. This is the direct cost of the amount of money the buyer has to pay for the product bought. Thus, price is one of the factors affecting the consumer, because it aids them to evaluate the value of the product. Therefore, there is always an inverse relationship: the higher the price increment, the subsequent sales decline.  Customized products strategy: Steel Products are made available to customers through making special orders (product customization) and the company directly distributes or delivers them. However, they also allow them to come to company outlets, warehouses, and also distribution agents. The distribution of products helps take steel products to places where consumers can have direct access to them. Although, previous literature (Table 1) deals with collective terms for technologies and concepts of the organization of the value chain Arca et al. (2011), shift from vertical to horizontal integration and innovation process Rennung et al. (2016), a holistic system of information technologies Longo et al. (2017), organization overcoming challenges is a key to adapting to its logistical means and determining its scope Neeraja et al. (2014), and manufacturing systems which  (2014) Manufacturing systems, vertical and network integration; It is aiming at making a factory work intelligently with its products and production processes, such as managing the inventory, failures in machines, maintenance, and among other aspects, are cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) Rennung et al. (2016); Sokolov and Ivanov (2015) Horizontal integration; companies focuses their activities around its core competencies and establishes partnerships to build out an end-to-end value chain. Dombrowski and Wagner (2014); Longo et al. (2017); Hermann et al. (2016) A holistic system of information technologies; allows flow of data, goods and services through the entire value chain in a controlled way. Operating with a high degree of autonomy and capacity to transmit useful information for decision making Toro et al. (2015); Moreno et al. (2017) Integration of complex machinery and devices with software networks and sensor; that help to control, predict, and improve business planning and results in a society Shafiq et al. (2015); Arca et al. (2011); Collective terms for technologies and concepts of the organization of the value chain Trends (2015); Prause and Weigand (2016) New level of organization and management of the value chain throughout the product life cycle Neeraja et al. (2014) and Ltifi and Gharbi (2015) Organization overcoming challenges; It is a key to adapt to its logistical means and determines its scope DOI: 10.4236/jss.2021.95034 596 Open Journal of Social Sciences enable a factory to work intelligently with its products and production processes Moreno et al. (2017). But, in Africa, specifically Uganda, where research was conducted, there is a gap in terms of industry 4.0 impact on marketing activities and strategies. Therefore, this study analysis is based on relevant factors of marketing activities when adopting industry 4.0 in relation to the cost of doing business considering challenges of infrastructure development and internet access. Thus, the study findings might be of great importance to practitioners, organizations, policymakers and other government agencies. The objective of this paper is to seek and understand the impacts of the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies on marketing activities of steel companies in developing countries and examine its effects in relation to the cost of doing business, in this case, Uganda. Although several media and literature pointed out Industry 4.0 as a technological transition happening at the factory level, changing the way products are manufactured. In such circumstances, marketing appears to play a marginal role in relation to production functions. From this point of view, engineers are overtaking managers. But, on the contrary, we insist that marketing is at the heart of the decision making of adopting companies. Our concept is that Industry 4.0 is a market-driven technology that enables companies to optimize the quality of customer relations, reduce risks and production costs, improve marketing capabilities and flexibility.
The main aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of Industry 4.0 on marketing activities and strategies of iron and steel companies in developing countries by identifying which consideration factors are relevant when adopting industry 4.0 in relation to the cost of doing business including; 1) the effects of rapidly evolving technological capabilities in marketing activities and strategies of steel companies implementing industry 4.0, 2) effects of evolving organizations, and 3) ecosystem-wide connections impacts. Therefore, this study analyzed industry 4.0 in a broader context, taking into account existing literature, the new pressures and demands of evolving organizations, evolution of marketing activities, including; Marketing 1.0, Marketing 2.0, Marketing 3.0, Marketing 4.0, and features of each marketing stages and the differences among them. Finally, the impact of technology on marketing mix elements.

Industry 4.0: A Brief Definition
Industry is presently undergoing transitions that are entirely concerned with a complete manufacturing process digitalization. Technologies for smart manufacturing such emerging developments of Augmented Reality (laser cutting, Autonomous Robots, Additive Manufacturing) Simonis et al. (2016), Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing and Mobile Technologies, Smart Sensor, Internet of Things (IoT) Toro et al. (2015), leading the emergence of the modern industrial digital revolution, termed as Industry 4.0 Almada-Lobo (2016). The 1 st Industrial Revolution, which took place in the late 18 th century, was characterized by mechanical production driven by steam and water power. The 2 nd Industrial Revolution that emerged in the 20 th century and led to the growth of mass production was characterized by electricity development, and in the 1970s, the development of computer and information technology that led to automation of production processes, ushered in the 3 rd Industrial Revolution.
Several authors; Arca et al. (2011), Hermann, Pentek, andOtto (2016) and Dombrowski and Wagner (2014) defined industry 4.0 in collective terms of technological scope and organizational value chains. Therefore, revealing both aspects of business and digital transformations needed to be implemented by the steel industry.
However, some authors have considered the importance of the holistic approach to Industry 4.0, which allows the flow of data, goods and services through the entire value chain in a controlled manner (Hermann et al., 2016), and Strandhagen et al. (2017), defines it as an "umbrella term" that is, referring to a number of concepts and effects on many disciplines in the industry. Below

The Impacts of Industry 4.0
The fourth industrial revolution or IoT is impacting on many areas in steel manufacturing and administration, most notably; industry value chain and new pressures and demands of steel companies implementing industry 4.0, connecting ecosystems to drive better decisions, empowering both workers and customers, causing marketing revolution, impacting on marketing activities and strategies, and marketing mix.

New Pressures and Demands of Steel Companies Implementing
Industry 4.0 Industry 4.0 transformation concerns smart supply chain, smart manufacturing process, and smart products and individuals across the entire value chain. That is, digitalization of manufacturing processes, smart manufacturing technologies (automation so as to contribute to the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the company) and reorganization (Almada-Lobo, 2016;Oluyisola et al., 2020;Longo et al., 2017). However, most iron and steel companies in developing countries continue to struggle with the imperative of organizational and ecosystem-wide change which keeps on exerting pressures and demands on their operations amid infrastructure and internet access challenges, including; 1) increased complexity of the supply chain and global fragmentation of production and demand, 2) rapidly evolving technological capabilities, 3) organizational realignments as result of digital and physical technologies integration, 4) growing competitive pressures from unanticipated sources, 5) ongoing talent/skills gap, 6) illicit trade practices and 7) rising cost of doing business.
Therefore, Industry 4.0 provides options on how some of those challenges potentially can be addressed. That is, the integration of physical and digital technology in Industry 4.0, because it has the potential to adapt and learn from  (Parrott & Warshaw, 2017). Furthermore, the breakdown of how Industry 4.0 addresses the challenges of organizational and ecosystem-wide changes are attributed to twofold: improvement in operations and growth in revenue. Steel industry managers may pursue different opportunities in both areas, depending on where the focus of a company lies. Operating and developing a business map of various activities across the three main product areas, the supply network, process and customers (Hood & Brady, 2016). The decision to either prioritize operation or growth will determine which areas may call for the greatest attention in terms of Industry 4.0 adoption and the choice of technologies that may warrant deeper investment.

Connecting Ecosystems to Drive Better Decisions
Industry 4.0 not only poses change at the broadest level in how businesses function, and products are manufactured, but also has technological capability to generate engagements between any point of a network of ecosystems and communicate with vendors, customers, investors, regulatory requirements, and other third-party experts and influencers (Sniderman et al., 2016).
This transition from linear, sequential business practices to an integrated, open structure will transform steel industry processes and lay down the groundwork for the future of how businesses work, interact, and compete.

Empowering Both Workers and Customers
Industry 4.0 is most likely to affect the working environment of a steel company, the way employees are expected to do their jobs, and how they are expected to do it. Thus, emphasizing on customization of products and services that better suit their needs could be essential.  Shifting demands for the workforce: In this Industry 4.0 era, the rise of smart automation and ubiquitous connected systems seems to herald a change in what steel companies might require of their employees: skills requirements, tasks needed to be performed, even what roles they might need. In a similar organization, data troves may be generated, as the combination of digital and physical environments that will compel employees to perform complex, variable and sometimes unpredictable tasks that involve the ability to access and understand data. However, smart digital and physical technology can be employed as instruments to develop the work of steel employees to simplify tasks. Their efforts can also go beyond that to a wider relationship in which autonomous technologies work together with individuals, each exploiting their intrinsic strengths to achieve a better result than either alone could achieve. This can enable rise to entirely new positions, just as they allow new products and services (Hood & Brady, 2016).  A more suitable, engaging experience for customers: Industry 4.0 offers new dynamics in the way modern steel sales are conducted, ranging from initial research, sales to account management, and post sales support at any  (Hood & Brady, 2016). In addition, it offers better understanding and even predicts steel customer preferences based on aggregated historical engagement and data from other customers or feed back into the research and development process to form better-designed offerings (Witkowski, 2017). Therefore, Marketing 3.0 blends emotional marketing with human spirit marketing (Kotler et al., 2010).  Marketing 4.0: According to (Kotler et al., 2017), Marketing 4.0 relates to "a marketing approach that combines the online and offline interaction between companies and consumers". On the other hand, it blends machine or artificial intelligence with other Information Telecommunication and Computing (ITC) technologies to increase productivity, while at the same time, it leverages human to human connectivity to improve the consumer interaction process. It is focusing mostly on customer interactions and increasing demands for companies to improve their channels and downstream communication approach. Table 2 shows how evolution in technology sparked the shifts from product-centric to consumer behaviour, followed by market values and new-age virtual marketing due to the emergence of new marketing applications.

Impacting on Marketing Activities
The effects of industry 4.0 of network within the IoT, services, data and people has transformed steel manufacturing processes as well as marketing activities and its shaping the future. Some notable changes are as follow:  Caused change towards interconnected consumers: In the context of information technology developments, the greatest challenge is to adjust to fast information technology driven change. To adapt to these new environments, steel companies have to undertake changes, including; implementing new technologies, reorganization, marketing strategies and people in order to increase productivity and efficiency, human connectivity, and customer interaction processes. These changes brought by the internet age or virtual reality are not only affecting businesses but also affecting consumers, business professionals, communities, and individual lives as well Kotler et al. (2017).  The change from vertical to horizontal: Globalization has facilitated smaller companies to compete with large corporations for the same customers. The ability for a smaller steel company to access products and services worldwide made it possible. The shift from vertical to horizontal innovation process, that is, the historic ways, from the company to the market, does not work any longer. Larger corporations have been forced to change strategies and draw inspiration from external sources rather than from within. That is, from consumers and the market. It is a change from vertical individualized and customer specific production operations to horizontal new age globalized value creation networks, including integrated business partners and customers, and new generation businesses and cooperation models from across the world. Useful examples, in 2006, Mittal Steel acquired Arcelor (steel) and Facebook's 2012 acquisition of Instagram (social media), in order to form horizontal strategic alliances or joint ventures to exploit a new marketing opportunity.  Marketing shift from exclusive to inclusive: The change from exclusive to inclusive ranges from technology, demographic, emergent to transparency and social elements. The current demographic economic shift is attributed to an emerging market population with younger consumers who are more productive, and have a higher economic level; it can also be seen from the technology aspect of steel companies implementing industry 4.0, investment in research and innovation has increased, new technologies and production methods. In addition, products design such as computers and mobile phones are becoming smaller, lighter, and smarter; shift from Western powers to Asian emerging powers like China and South Korea, that is, macro-economical shifts; and business itself is shifting towards inclusivity, that is, technology enables, such automation in steel production processes, and miniaturization is cutting costs of production down enabling steel companies to serve the new emerging markets in Africa; and the emergence of Internet technology has promoted globalization and transparency, entrepreneurs from developing countries can now have the opportunities to draw inspiration from their things. An individual decision making process that used to be influenced by factors such as motivation, preference, opinion or experience of others. Nowadays, it is more diverse and exogenous due to social media platforms and online communication. It is estimated that more than 2.1 billion population worldwide have active Facebook accounts (Facebook.com Internal Statistics, 2019), So, steel consumers' decisions regarding certain products and services can be influenced by opinions posted on such social media platforms. Such a shift in mode of communication between customers-companies and customers-customers is already yielding good results and will even get better with the development of smartphones and internet usage. The transparency and environment of online interaction brought by internet technology has shifted our lives from individual to social ones (Kotler et al., 2017).

Impacting on Marketing Strategies
In the last decades, the world has witnessed notable shifts in marketing strategy on how value is delivered to targeted groups or fields (Kotler et al., 2010).  Marketing the mission to consumers: This is related to human spirit marketing where steel companies successfully implant a brand's mission into consumers' minds, hearts, and spirits. It is all about undertaking initiatives to make a brand transform the way customers do things in their lives. This way, consumers are unconsciously willing to accept brand as part of their daily lives. Identify small ideas to market company product's mission to consumers, sell company brand by telling stories that move people. Remember, mission comes first, then financial benefits as the result.  Marketing the value to the employees: The traditional mindset embedded in most steel companies is that if we talk nicely about who we are, what we sell, and why we are the better, we will reap good sales. But, the impact of digitization on the economy, especially from corporate perspectives, does not apply anymore. For those reasons, some steel companies had to endure hardship with their brand not because of customers but because of failure to understand the basics. So, where do we start from? Steel companies must start from the basic by recognizing its employees as internal clients. Employees know better the company, brands, products and services and need to be empowered with the most significant values. Subsequently, employees will use their knowledge of the company, values, and principles to build a long lasting relationship with customers. improvements and, besides, when choosing channels partners such as companies, employees, public authorities, suppliers, and consumers, the steel company needs to take into consideration the core principles and values of the company for compatibility reasons Kotler et al. (2010).  Marketing the vision to the shareholders: We all know that the reasons we do business are for profit making, and shareholders are the business owners.
So, it is necessary to keep steel company shareholders updated of the new changes taking place in our lives, market and consumer behaviors. On the other hand, shareholders should also be made aware of the new marketing concepts of Marketing 3.0 and 4.0, including practicing sustainability strategies that come along with it for sake of profitability and rentability reasons.

Impacting on Marketing Mix
Technological advancements aroused the evolution of steel marketing activities.
It has simplified and accelerated the processes with the application of new tools and techniques (Jayaram et al., 2015). In this industry 4.0 era, the capability to adapt to technological developments has become one of the most valuable assets of a steel company. Therefore, it is necessary for them to re-think their marketing mix elements such as product, price, place and promotion strategies based on the new-age technologies.  Product: Developing and selling tangible or intangible products that your customers actually need is crucial to your business's prosperity (Buttle, 1989).
For quite sometime now, it has been observed that technological development comes along with different physical changes in products and services.
That is, the introduction of product standardization, bulky production, customization of products, shelf life extension, personalized products and smarter products. Bennett (2013) argues that products of being very central to any marketing activity. So, any change in product type, size, color, or specifications will ultimately affect other marketing mix especially price and promotion expense.
Steel companies and other manufacturing industries have developed their operations with technology change, high production capacity with increased speed as application of assembly line technologies in manufacturing allows business to conform to mass production (Adetayo et al., 1999: p. 691).
As the Marketing 1.0 strategy was product based, the focus was on mass production regardless of customers' desires. Every business aimed at maximizing profits by diminishing the cost of production with standardization of products.
As manufacturing technologies improved and competition increased, businesses responded by producing high quality products as a means to differentiate themselves, Marketing 2.0.
Internet technology has emerged, allowing consumers to interact with businesses globally and have alternative choices of products as well as enabling consumers to become more conscious of their particular needs and desires (Cle- codes on product packages and advertising messages so that consumers can get access to all information such as, price, availability, and quantification by scanning these codes. Besides, a breakthrough in product strategy occurs thanks to IoT technology (Zhang et al., 2012(Zhang et al., : p. 1069). IoT is a new age technology that enables physical machines to be controlled by remote sensors (Kopetz, 2011: p. 307). But, industry 4.0 is not only a technological revolution in physical products but also offers solutions for consumers to easily access information about services they desire through; web sites, search engines, social media, videos, satellite images, forums, animations, photos and blogs (Sari & Kozak, 2005: p. 261).
The introduction of interoperability technology has helped iron and steel companies in product standardization process and solves the issues arising from service companies about product feature variation. Thereof, Marketing 4.0 era is seen to have impacted on both physical goods and services (Buhalis and Law, 2008: p. 614).  Price: The interactivity, simplicity and universality of the global world brought by advancement in technology is playing a big role in product price strategies.
Advancement in information technology can not only aid steel companies to compare prices (Shift from closed to open pricing methods) with their competitors, but also aids customers to compare prices of products available in the markets (Booms & Bitner 1981;Sharma & Sheth, 2004). The price of products in the market influences consumers' decisions since they are similar in terms of quality, quantification, and price (Kotler, 2012).
The ability of iron and steel companies to access resources from any part of the world is working perfectly well to their advantages irrespective of company size, as it helps to recruit raw materials, get new market, and cheap labor, reducing the cost of doing business. Furthermore, little or no taxes at all are levied on e-commerce firms (Sharma and Sheth, 2004: p. 700).  Place: When the 4Ps initially developed, place was a term used to a greater extent to refer to shop displays, physical advertising and supplier chains.
However, with technology advancement, the distribution function of 'place' in the B2B or industrial marketing is shifting. Steel manufactures are beginning to sell their products via their websites. Hence, simplifying and enabling effective management of distribution channels (Waters, 2003: p. 29).
The emergence of internet technology and omnichannel is impacting on place  Rafiq and Ahmed (1995). However, contentious coordination among steel channel members aided by increased communication facilities accelerates sharing of business information. Hence, it ensures efficient inventory management (Tekin & Zerenler, 2005: p. 118). Also, consumers and channel members can communicate in real time at less cost. This could be one of the important competitive advantages information technology has brought to steel firms (Closs and Xu, 2000: p. 882).
Steel firms are now able to apply various lebelling technologies such as frame code, barcode, and FRID code for consumers to scan and get required information about product price, qualification, and availability. Lebelling technologies also help firms to take precautions of faults arising from employees (Sun, 2012: p. 108). The transactions are recorded at instant sales by scanning of these codes, as well, sales frequency of specific products can be apparently monitored (Moncrief and Cravens, 1999: p. 331). Data derived from these labelling technologies can be used by business firms in evaluating and managing future inventory levels.
General positioning services (GPS), is another notable significant technology development being used by iron and steel companies in management of distribution channels. This system uses satellites to tracks location of all goods/vehicles in transit.  Promotion: is a great idea to sell and display stuff in an encouraging and flattering way. It covers perspectives such as personal selling, public relationship (PR), corporate identity, advertising, and mostly every part of marketing communications Ferrel et al. (2002). During the Marketing 1.0 era, marketing communication was a one-way aimed at reaching a mass population where consumers were termed as passive listeners of mass messages of business (Chen and Hsieh, 2012: p. 543). However, development in information technology rolled in new-era for promotion, introducing interactive communication. That is, Web 2.0. Customers were able to receive personalized communication massages allowing businesses to initiate one to one interactive relationship with customers. The interactive relationship of one to one intensity increases with Web 3.0 and Web 4.0. Thus, fundamental change in marketing communication started from one-way communication in marketing 1.0; interactive communication in Web 2.0; and business advertising messages transforming from mass content to personalized content in Web 3.0 and Web 4.0 (Li and Du, 2012: p. 4).
Another major fundamental change that has occurred in the marketing communication strategy that clearly differentiates the traditional media from the new age technology of the internet and mobile is that traditional advertisements In push type advertising strategy, firms try to transmit their advertising messages by grabbing customers' attention and putting products into their minds, while on the other hand, in pull-type strategies, businesses target the right customers at the right time by advertising messages (Chen and Hsieh, 2012: p. 544).
While the customers are exposed to marketing massages in the push-type advertising strategy, customers receive marketing massages willingly in the pull type strategy (Peattie & Peters, 1997: p. 148).
It is well understood that consumers are unwilling to read irrelevant advertising messages in newspapers and magazines and they change channels the moment advertising starts on TV and radio (Kotler, 2012: p. 110). But, due to the interactive nature of the internet, it has impacted on steel manufacturing companies, consumers' buying behaviour, pricing, relationship building, segmentation, promotion, distribution, and product management (Yannopoulos, 2011).
Against that background, firms, including steel companies, alter their advertising content into viral content so that it can arouse curiosity in the customers' mind and enjoy them (Chen and Hsieh, 2012: p. 545). In addition, social media is more effective in crisis management compared to negative words of mouth businesses experienced in the past.

Research Methodology
In this research, the authors used descriptive study with deductive approach, a survey strategy to collect primary data in questionnaire format. The questionnaires were sent to participants via Wechat, whatsapp, SMS for mobile users, Facebook, and through email. One of the researchers' main targets during a survey process is to achieve a higher response rate. Therefore, prior communication were given to participants, questions were designed carefully, proper attention was given to questionnaire layout, and the purpose of questionnaire was included in a letter head (Saunders et al., 2009).

Sample
The sample for this research has been drawn from Uganda's iron and steel in- The experts, mainly marketers from the major iron and steel companies and all its affiliates in Uganda agreed to participate in the research on the condition of assurance of anonymity in the sense that statements made would not be attributed to them by name. The computer assisted quantitative analysis technique was applied to convert collected primary data in to meaningful graphs, charts, and statistics using computer software's; SPSS, Excel, and Google drive form.
The data collected and used in this study is defined with 5% margin of error (Saunders et al., 2009).
The sampling frame is Uganda's iron and steel producers and all its affiliates.
The total population is estimated to be about 30,000. According to Saunders,

Measure, Reliability and Validity
As cited by (Allahverdi et al., 1999) about the reliability and validity of the research questions, this research questions were first done by the researchers then it was submitted to an expert in the marketing management. In addition to that the researchers distributed the questionnaires to some of steel workers through whatsapp, Wechat, Facebook users and marketing managers in Uganda iron and steel companies to collect Pre-test data on the questionnaires and the procedure  (Rozell et al., 2006;Lee and Turban, 2010). The respondents were represented with the list of the challenges and then asked to indicate in a 5-Point Likert Scale questionnaire format Likert (1932). The authors evaluated the instruments using the scale for which 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = somewhat disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = somewhat agree, and 5 = strongly agree. Several studies have reported high internal consistency and validity for this scale (Rozell et al., 2006; Cronbach's alpha = −0.85).

Data was entered in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and
Cronbach's alpha coefficient test of reliability was calculated.

Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents
To obtain data about demographic information of respondents which constituted age, education level and number of employees in the company. Questions 1 -4 were administered and the following was revealed.
1) Gender of respondents: The researchers sought to investigate the distribution of respondents by gender. This was presented as in Figure 3 below.
2) Age of respondents: The researcher sought to investigate the age of the   Figure 4 below revealed that 12 (13.1%) of respondents were between the age of 18 -25 years, 18 (19.7%) were between 26 -30 years, 26 (28.9%) of the respondents were between 31 -35 years, 20 (21.9%) were between 36 -40 years, 15 (16.4%) of respondents were 41 years and above as shown in Figure 3 above. This shows that Uganda iron and steel companies and its affiliates employed adults who were experienced about marketing activities.
3) Level of Education: The research investigated the respondent's education level of the respondents. In response, the following were established.
The findings in Figure 5 below illustrate that 4 respondents had high school certificates this represents 4%, 27 respondents have diplomas representing 30% of the sample, 51 respondents had their first degree (56%), 8 respondents had master degree representing 9% and lastly 1respondent had a PhD representing 1%. This outcome implied that majority of the respondents had knowledge about the research topic and competitiveness of Uganda's iron and steel marketing job markets. 4) Respondents position in the company: The research investigated the respondent's roles in the company. In response, the following were established.  The findings in Figure 6 below illustrate that majority of respondents constituted frequency of 60 workers, 12 business agents, 11 managers and 8 business owners. This demonstrates organizational set-up of iron and steel firms in Uganda.

Descriptive Statistical Analysis of Variables
In a bid to establish the reasons, why Nowadays, in Uganda there is a need for iron and steel manufacturers to invest in new or improved technology specifically how Industry 4.0 technologies affects the elements of industrial marketing strategy including; positioning, technology stack, website foundation, content strategy, lead generation, pipeline management, channel strategy, and data analysis (questionnaire 5), and those issues raised in questionnaires 6, and 7. Respondents were asked several questions to rate on the Likert scale. The highest score was strongly agreeing (5) and the least being strongly disagree (1) to the various test statements on the industry 4.0 technologies effects of evolving organization pressures and demands such as; organizational realignments, value addition, increased supply chain complexity, technical skills gap and research, evolving technology capabilities, product quality, quantity, lack of raw material, effects of illicit trade practices, and elements of industrial marketing strategy. Results were tabulated, interpreted and analyzed in Table 3 below.

Correlation Results
The research thought to examine the relationship between the cost of doing business and variables; 1) increased supply chain complexity, 2) value addition, 3) rapidly evolving technological capabilities, 4) organizational realignments to integrate physical and digital technologies, 5) product quality, quantity, and raw material, 6) skills gap, research and innovation, 7) positioning in the market, 8) website foundation, 9) Technology stack, 10) content strategy, 11) lead generation, 12) Pipeline management 13) Channel strategy, 14) data analysis (analytic tools), 15) illicit trade practices.

Regression Results
The study analyzed the effect of industry 4.0 on marketing activities of iron and steel industry in relation to the cost of doing business basing on multiple simple regression analysis. The analysis results are shown in Table 5 above.
The regression results in Table 5, above showed that the R 2 value was 0.430 hence 43% of the variation in the cost of doing business was explained by the variations in illicit trade practices, data analysis (analytic tools), channel strategy,   that Uganda government ability to use social media for educational, political, and social campaigns such as immunization for all children below six years, youths to abstain from sex before marriage, or girls child education.

Discussions
For most of the steel producing companies their main aim is to keep production costs as low as possible by balancing manufacturing expenses to fend off competitions, and focus on marketing activities and strategies that engage with customer to build strong relationships with them (Verhoef et al., 2010). Industry 4.0 transformation has brought in new technologies with the aim of integrating objects, people and machines across organizational boundaries to form a new type of networked value chain. Therefore, this study used statistical evidence to identify which consideration factors are relevant when adopting industry 4,0 in relation to the cost of doing business in developing countries such as: evolving technological capabilities, product quality, quantity, and raw material, channel strategy, increased supply chain complexity, value addition, organizational realignments, positioning, pipeline management, illicit trade practices, skills gap, research and innovation, positioning, website foundation, technology stack, content strategy, lead generation, pipeline management, channel strategy, and data analysis. Then, make comparison between descriptive statistics and possible solutions as suggested by respondents in questionnaire 8. 1) Strong relationship between cost of doing business and rapidly evolving technological capabilities, product quality, quantity, and raw material, channel strategy and increased supply chain complexity.
The findings revealed that rapidly evolving technological capabilities, product quality, quantity, and raw material, and channel strategy (r (89) = 0.558, 0.582, 0.518, Mean = 4.43,4.31,4.20,4.23, SD = 0.956, 1.029, 1.128), P < 0.01) have strong positive relationship to the cost of doing business. This implied that there is statistical evidence to conclude that any effort taken to adopt industry 4.0 would have strong positive impact to the cost of doing business in relation to ra-pidly evolving technological capabilities, product quality, quantity, and raw material, and channel strategy. Meanwhile, increased supply chain complexity (r = 0.502 and P > 0.01) has strong positive but normal relationship to the cost of doing business.
2) Moderate relationship between cost of doing business and value addition, organizational realignments, positioning, pipeline management, and illicit trade practices.
The findings revealed that value addition, organizational realignments, positioning, pipeline management, and illicit trade practices (r (89) = 0. 476,0.467,0.450,0.442,0.422,Mean = 4.41,4.47,4.20,3.75,4.26,SD = 0.977,0.993,0.934,1.071, 0.941, P < 0.01) have moderate positive relationship to the cost of doing business. This implied that there is statistical evidence to conclude that any effort taken to implement industry 4.0 would have moderate significant impact to the cost of doing business in relation to value addition, organizational realignments, positioning, pipeline management, and illicit trade practices.
3) Weak relationship between cost of doing business and skills gap, research and innovation, positioning, website foundation, technology stack, content strategy, lead generation, pipeline management, channel strategy, and data analysis.
Results in Figure 7, and descriptive statistics results in Table 3 are in agreement. That is, Infrastructure development and internet access, investment in information technology, skills, innovation, research, and value addition and investment in new technologies are among the highest percentage approval. This confirms the problems facing African iron and steel industry and possible solutions to be considered.

The Study Recommendations
 Change from brochure-ware to modern marketing due to rapidly evolving technological capabilities: B2B buying has moved online, many steel manufacturing marketing departments still rely on a basic website and trade shows to generate leads. That is, if industry 4.0 transformation are well managed, it would significantly impact positively on the cost of doing business. Many iron and steel companies in Africa are still missing out on the value digital marketing can bring on board. The modern manufacturing marketing department is connected, optimized, transparent, and agile. It can help manufacturers understand what buyers are doing at every stage of the funnel and engage them with the right information.  Change sales channels: with this new connected paradigm, manufacturers are considering taking more business direct. If you sell through indirect channels, your traditional sales channels may not be ready or want to move into Industry 4.0 technologies. There is a significant challenge to educate a reluctant sales channel about a paradigm that promises to transform the entire industry. Therefore, steel manufacturers should access the readiness of their sales channel for IoT-based solutions, adjust their sales and marketing resources accordingly, and keep nurturing leads.  Expand content: by introducing more roles in the buying process means you need more content to educate the targeted the new audience. Your traditional audience will also need more content. In addition to capabilities, increased productivity and cost efficiencies. Thus, design engineers need to understand how the data produced can be used for decision-making and how IoT works.  New buyers, new target audiences: smart products are engineered for a connected environment won't be adopted without IT buy-in and support. Because of this, involve IT directors and managers, steel manufacturers need to market to this new audience. In addition to traditional, design engineers need to learn more about these new roles by interviewing people in these roles and creating personas a fictional representation of each role that includes customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, challenges, and goals.  Increased direct contact with end customers: In this industry 4.0 era, end customers are directly connected to manufacturers early in the buying process. This helps manufacturers learn directly from customers rather than relying on a middleman. New insights bring new opportunities for revenue streams. Connected technologies and products enable for revenue opportunities after the initial sale that were not readily available before. Unlike traditional sales where sales teams interacted with customers up until the point of sale, IoT actually lengthens the relationship by providing constant connectivity and leveraging it.

Limitations
Although the research results are expected to make a great contribution to the body of knowledge in the area of industry 4.0 impact on marketing activities, there are some limitations to their application. As the limitation of questionnaires, they were restricted by time and respondents' attitudes and Covid-19 pandemic. Some respondents tended to hide information to make them feel safer. This could be more evident. However, the researchers assured them that data could only be used for research purposes and be treated with the utmost confidentially. This motivated respondents to provide more detailed information. Some respondents could miss the objectivity of the questions and tended to provide wrong answers which made it more difficult to gain more useful information. However, respondents were encouraged to carefully respond to all items as the information could be used to improve their company's sales and marketing performance and probably their remuneration.
However, One could argue that the impact of industry 4.0 technologies and the emergence of internet technology and online marketing that has created downwards price pressure on traditional channels if adopted or prioritized by companies can be used as competitive advantage. In addition, the ability of cyber-physical systems, people, and all smart factory components to communicate with each other through the IoT and internet technology can be considered as simple enhancements of technology-enabled processes that has been lacking in the Uganda iron and steel industrial marketing activities (Libai et al., 2020). But, lack of personnel with skills and technical know-how and capabilities amid infrastructure development and internet access since 75% of Ugandan's population live in rural areas. Companies also lack of financial resources to implement the industry 4.0 projects.

Conclusion
As the result of dramatic change Industry 4.0 technological developments brings, the Uganda iron and steel companies need to adopt new or improved technologies in marketing activities. Manufacturers must perceive the positive effects because it has significant effects on end-products prices, quality and services as well as the need to open new sales distribution channels. Hence, its potential value before starting the process. In this context, address the key implications of this necessary transition including the development of the technology, customization of steel products, and solving channels deficiency. Hence, rise to customer power by use of information technology for digital optimization. Thus, steel producers should aim at creating opportunities in emerging markets, skills development, resource management, and publicity or marketing capabilities by focusing on two key areas, including:  Operation transformation: 1) to improve on productivity such maximising asset utilisation and minimising downtime, direct and indirect labour efficiency, reducing supply chain costs and synchronisation, accuracy in schedule and planning stability; 2) Risk reduction to ensure raw materials price and availability, manage warranty and effectively mitigate geographic risks.  Business growth: 1) incremental revenue to identify growth sources for core business, grow after-market revenue streams, deepen customer understanding and insights, and strengthen customer integration and channels; 2) new revenue to create new products and services, expand internationally and in emerging markets, and identify attractive merger and acquisition opportunities.  Government to introduce investors friendly policies/incentives, improve on infrastructure development and financial support to industrial research institutes, and enhance regulatory mechanisms to remove incentives for illicit trade. For instance, if there is no incentive in illicit trade then the propensity to use information technology in the market place will improve. However,