Mastering Management
An ambassador of marketing
Philip Kotler, an American born renowned strategic marketer, is the world’s leading author on marketing. He is the SC Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University in USA.
Kotler has been honoured as one of the world’s leading marketing thinkers. He received his MA degree in economics (1953) from the University of Chicago and his PhD degree in economics (1956) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did postdoctoral work in mathematics at Harvard University and has received honorary degrees from twelve foreign universities.
He has consulted for such companies as IBM, General Electric, AT&T, Honeywell, Bank of America, Merck and others in the areas of marketing strategy and planning, marketing organisation and international marketing.
Professor Kotler is the author of more than 40 books and 100 articles. Marketing Management, Principles of Marketing, The New Competition; High Visibility, Social Marketing, Marketing Places, Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, The Marketing of Nations, Building Global Biobrands, Ten Deadly Marketing Sins, and Marketing 3.0 are some of his renowned book.
Marketing Management
The Financial Times cited this book as one of the 50 best business books of all times. This book explains the key issues of marketing theory and practice.
Topics covered in the book include brand equity, customer value analysis, database marketing, e-commerce, value networks, hybrid channels, supply chain management, segmentation, targeting, positioning, and integrated marketing communications.
He defines brand equity as the added value endowed on products and services. It may be reflected in the way consumers think, feel and act with respect to the brand as well as in the prices, shares and profitability.
Kotler stresses the need for customer relationship marketing in the book. He said: “Losing profitable customers can dramatically affect a firm’s profits because the cost of attracting a new customer is estimated to be five times the cost of keeping a current customer happy. So, the key to retaining customers is relationship marketing.”
He also explains the importance of effective marketing communication. According to Kotler, marketing communication represents the “Voice” of the company and its brands through which it can establish a dialogue and build relationship with consumers.
Principle of Marketing
This is another widely used text book in graduate business schools worldwide. It explains how to create customer value, target the correct market and build customer relationships.
The changing nature of consumer expectations means that marketers must learn how to build communities in addition to brand loyalty.
The book is on the issues of defining marketing and the marketing process; understanding the marketplace and consumers; designing a customer-driven marketing strategy and marketing mix; extending marketing — global marketing, ethics, competitive advantage.
Every marketing plan needs to clearly define marketing mix for its products or services. Marketing mix refers to the Four Ps (product, price, place and promotion). Kotler spells out how to handle the Four Ps of marketing mix in the book for winning customers.
Customer-driven marketing strategy is about creating value for target customers. Kotler explains the major elements of a customer driven marketing strategy. This includes segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning. Marketers know that they cannot appeal to all buyers in their markets or at least not to all buyers in the same way.
Buyers are too numerous, too widely scattered, and too varied in their needs and buying practices. Therefore, most companies today practise target marketing — identifying market segments, selecting one or more of them, and developing products and marketing mixes tailored to each.
-With The Daily Star input
