Marketing Principles Expository Essay

  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Marketing principles refer to those principles that govern marketing. To be successful in marketing, a business organization should identify its customers’ needs and fulfill them (Bose 2000). The companies that will be discussed in this paper are McDonalds and the Bloomingdales.

1a) Numerous marketing definitions have been put forward with each definition straining on different issues. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CMI) defines marketing as a management procedure accountable for recognising, anticipating and fulfilling consumer wants profitably.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) has developed a new marketing definition which reveals the wide role of marketing in the contemporary society. It defines marketing as an action for establishing, conversing, delivering and trading in goods and services which are useful to consumers, clients, associates and the whole society (Bose 2000).

Marketing is all about satisfying the needs and wants of the final consumer. A need is a primary necessity that a person wishes to fulfill including food, protection, clothing and love. A want is an aspiration for a particular good or service so as to meet the principal needs. Considering the market and particularly the targeted customer needs and wants is essential for the success of marketing.

A business organisation should come up with a marketing tactic that aims at the desired groups. It is a primary idea of marketing that business organisations endure and flourish through fulfilling the needs and wants of consumers. A business organisation should equate its capacities with the wants of the consumer.

Organisations suffer from competitor pressures, and fluctuations in the political, financial, social and technical surrounding. A business organisation should thus put into consideration the needs and wants of its customers. Success of any business organisation is reliant on fulfilling the customer wants (Pickton 2010).

The vital inspiration of marketing is value and satisfaction whereby a firm offers a valuable product to its customers who are ready to pay so as make the business progressive putting into consideration the associated opportunity costs.

Value must be observed from the consumer’s perception since different consumers value different product characteristics. There are different types of consumer value. These include form, place, time and possession utility.

In form utility, the good or service is made accessible to the final customer in a useful form while, in place utility, goods are delivered to the consumer at a place where he needs them. Time utility entails the notion of delivering goods to the final consumer at the right time. Possession utility entails the idea that a customer can do all his shopping from distinct manufactures in one shopping stall.

There is a changing emphasis when it comes to marketing. During the ancient times, marketing was an addendum whereby it was done after product design and manufacturing. Today, marketing is attaining a new eminence whereby it is the initial thing a business starts with before even introducing a new product to the market. In the past, marketing was understood as an influential activity intended to persuade the customer to buy a certain product.

Lately, marketing has shifted towards a relational form. Marketing in the modern society is focused towards providing quality goods by comprehending what the final consumer needs and then consequently putting that knowledge into use. The aim of marketing today is to establish an enduring association between the customer and the business organisation and the business organisation and shareholders (Schiffman & Leon 1997).

The exchange relationships in marketing involve both buyers and sellers. This involves getting customers what they want without considering the fact that this may involve developing totally new products.

Exchange relationships in marketing are focused towards benefiting both consumers and the wider society. They are founded on faith and dedication towards developing customer value. The cooperation resulting from these exchange relationships generates a competitive advantage due to satisfactoriness and sufficiency.

If the context of exchange relationships in marketing is used in a manner that is right to the principles, and as a truthfully relational type of social organisation for the exchange of goods and services, then marketing can in due course improve the consumer’s way of life (Paul 1966).

Marketing concept is the idea that business organisations should assess the needs of consumers and then make verdicts to fulfil those needs better than their competitors.

It holds that for an organisation to be successful, and then it should be more efficient than its opponents in incorporating marketing actions towards identifying and fulfilling the needs and wants of their potential consumers. It depends on marketing research to identify market divisions, their extent and wants.

Adam Smith states that the wants of producers should be well thought out when it comes to fulfilling the consumer needs. The marketing concept is divided into production and sales concept. The production concept holds that a business organisation should focus on those goods and services that it can produce more proficiently.

According to this concept, the supply of goods and services with low costs increases consumer demand. In the sales concept, business organisations produce goods and services while at the same time persuading customers to purchase them through sales promotion and personal selling (Bose 2000).

The marketing concept is based on four pillars, which include target market, consumer wants, profitability, and integrated marketing. The pillar of the target market states that there is no business organization that can function in every market and meet every consumers needs. It cannot always perform well in a wide market.

The pillar of consumer wants explains the fact that the key to proficient marketing is recognizing the consumer needs and satisfying them in a more effective manner than the competitors.

This pillar classifies marketers into responsive and creative marketers. A responsive marketer satisfies a stated need while a creative marketer realizes and generates solutions that consumers did not request for but to which they excitedly respond.

When all departments in a business organization cooperate to serve the consumers welfare, then the product is the pillar of integrated marketing. This takes on two different degrees with the first degree being that the several marketing functions including sales promotion, product placement, and research must cooperate. The second degree is that this must be properly coordinated with the other sectors of the organization.

The last pillar is profitability which states that the goal of marketing is to assist companies achieve their objectives. Marketing managers in any company have to analyze the productivity of all available marketing strategies and verdicts and select the most profitable verdicts for a lasting survival and expansion of the business (Pickton 2010).

The evolution of marketing is related to competitive strength resulting from the instant and remote surrounding of a business organisation. In the past, competitive strength had minimal standards and the production context arose. This was founded on sequential production and immense product supply.

After some time, the product concept arose, aimed at augmenting income by increasing extra characteristics to the product, making it more appealing to the consumers. The sales concept was established as a rejoinder to the product concept phenomenon.

This aimed at boosting the sales attempts by increasing the organisations profits. In the 1950s, the marketing concept came into being. This was founded on the needs of the market but not on the accessible stock. Up to today, marketing attempts to orient all the actions in a company to consumer satisfaction, achieving profits in return.

In the 1960s, competitiveness in marketing activities continued increasing, and the marketing concept continued to expand so as to respond to these transformations. This concept introduced new techniques of fulfilling customer wants from troublesome inventions originating from within the company (Bose 2000 ) .

Business orientations refer to the primary services provided by a business to its customers. It exists in four forms which include the expert, the product, self service and the good. Business orientations are divided into both customer and competitor orientation.

A business organization that carries out production and marketing with the goal of meeting the wants of its potential customers is said to be both customer and competitor oriented. It does this both efficiently and effectively. The utilization of market led notions in the nonprofit department in an organization needs a basic shift in company philosophy.

Societal issues and emergent philosophies include product, selling, and marketing. Product philosophy deals with a business organization being knowledgeable about its products while selling philosophy entails a business organization selling goods and services it wants. The philosophy of marketing indicates that a company must focus on fulfilling the wants of consumer as well as achieving its goals.

The limitations of the marketing concept arise when a company fails to define its services in relation to consumer wants and when the work force in an organization does not admit the accountabilities for consumer satisfaction. Another limitation of the marketing concept is that the business world is not ideal. The marketing concept is only a steering post whose execution relies upon a range of factors influencing the organization (Paul 1966).

Marketing audit is an essential component of the marketing planning procedure. It is performed both at the beginning of marketing and at some point during the execution of the plan. It puts into consideration both the interior and the exterior influences of marketing. It also elucidates the opportunities and risks involved in marketing and permits the business manager to make changes where necessary.

SWOT analysis is a tool used in marketing audit for the internal and external surrounding. It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing a business organization. Environmental analysis is based on the external surrounding only (Pickton 2010 ) .

Integrated marketing is the harmonization of all marketing tools, opportunities, purposes, and sources within a business organization into a plan that makes the best use of the effect on the final consumers at a reduced cost. It regulates consumer associations that drive the value of products.

A marketing-oriented organization is focused on being close to its clients and at the forefront of its competitors to pull its customers towards it. There are four key features, which identify this organization. These include shared values whereby all verdicts in this organization put the needs of the customers first and share the ordinary values of better- quality goods.

The organizational framework of such an organization has few components and its principles are not complex. The strategy of this organization is long lasting, plastic, and participative. Finally, this organization puts into consideration the anticipations of the shareholders before making significant verdicts.

McDonald’s is the leading chain of fast food production restaurants in the world providing food to about 6 million consumers every day (Bose 2000 ) . In my own opinion, it is a marketing- oriented organization, which makes use of a civil marketing tool. It exhibits all the characteristics of a marketing oriented organization as explained above.

1b) The benefits to McDonalds of adopting a marketing oriented approach include increased customer satisfaction and customer retention. The customers are more satisfied and, therefore, stick to buying food in this company. The costs associated include costs involved in customer care, costs of marketing focus and maintaining total quality.

2a) Business organizations need to understand the surrounding they are working in to gain a competitive advantage over other organizations. This marketing environment is categorized into micro and the macro environment. The micro environment comprises of all the aspects within the business while macro environment comprises of all aspects, which cannot be controlled by the business.

The micro environmental factor affecting McDonalds that will be discussed in this paper is suppliers. This have a very low negotiating power when it comes to pricing since McDonalds require a set number of food components and the only bargaining power is in the drink sector especially between Coke and Pepsi (Paul 1966).

The macro environmental factors affecting McDonalds that will be discussed in this paper is economic and technological factors. In economic aspects, consumers in the UK prefer joints dealing with fast foods to the posh hotels. This minimizes their expenses and boosts the sales of McDonalds.

The other macro environmental factor is technology. Numerous technological advancements and especially the EPOS connection with distributors, software of logistic arrangements and dependence on cashless techniques of payment have increased marketing in McDonalds.

2b) Segmentation entails determining the existing customers who have distinct wants. It is the identification of sectors of the market that are distinct from one another. It allows a business organization to meet the needs of its final consumers in a better manner.

For instance, some customers insist on performance and alacrity while others are interested on safety. It calls for recognizing customers and fulfilling their wants better than the other business competitors. McDonalds offers different products to different markets. The two products that will be discussed in this paper are the French fries and soup. McDonalds has a huge reputation for family affable foods, which are reliable, and of good quality.

The family and especially the young, is, therefore, one of the market of its products. The product offered mostly to the young ones in the family is French fries. Another product is the soup, which is only found in its branch in Portugal. This is targeted for the aged in the society (Paul 1966).

McDonalds could use the appropriate segmentation criteria by using psychographic criteria whereby consumers are classified according to their way of life. Actions, interests, and points of view are the tools used for measuring the people’s way of life. It could also use demographic criteria, which is based on variables such as age, gender, occupation, and religion.

Behaviouralistic segmentation is based on customer reaction towards goods and services. Variables in this criterion include brand reliability, willingness to buy and the level of usage. The final segmentation criteria I would propose for McDonalds is geographic which involves region, size of the town, population density and the type of weather (Paul 1966).

Macro segmentation focuses on the features of the buying organization. It breaks the market into organization size, geographic position, purchasing power, and type of organization. It divides a business organization into extensive categories hence assisting an overall product strategy.

Micro segmentation involves a higher level of knowledge and is necessary for the execution of the implementation concept. It deals with aspects that affect the daily operation of a business organization. The most familiar criteria in micro segmentation involve the features of the decision-making departments.

For a company to obtain the anticipated profit, then both macro and micro segmentation have to work together (Bose 2000 ) .

There are variables used in segmentation. Demographic variables are used to depict personal figures such as income, sex, level of learning, customs, geographical position and family size. Another foundation for segmentation is behavior. Some customers tend to attach themselves to their best brands even when there is a better quality one in the market.

Some are profound users of a certain commodity while others are radiant users. The benefit sought is another segmentation variable. This bypasses descriptive variables, which are demographic. For instance, some customers use toothpaste to enhance their oral well-being while others use it for freshening their breaths (Bose 2000).

The benefits of segmentation include better satisfaction of consumer needs since it develops different goods and services for each segment. It also increases the profits for each organization in that customer/consumers have different earning levels and thus differ in their sensitivity in pricing.

Through segmentation, businesses can increase standard prices and consequently augment profits. Segmentation leads to expansion of the company. The company also retains its clients by selling products that are attractive to customers at varying life stages.

Business organizations need to convey their marketing information to a pertinent consumer audience. Through segmentation, it is easier to reach the target consumer frequently and at a low cost. Through cautious segmentation, business organizations can attain competitive advantage hence become the favored alternative to consumers and suppliers (Crane 2010).

2c) Once a business organization has effectively recognized the segments in the market, then what follows is targeting this segments with goods and services that intimately match the wants of consumers in that segment.

Targeting strategies include niche marketing, undifferentiated marketing, and selective marketing. Niche marketing deals with targeting one specific well-recognized group of consumers within the market. This targeting strategy is disadvantageous due to the limited capability of sales expansion and economies of scale.

The endurance of the business organization may be critically affected if sales start declining. Undifferentiated marketing deals with trading on only a single good. It is based on the presumption that the wants of consumers are similar if not alike. The business organization benefits from the fact that it can manufacture goods on a large-scale hence low costs involved.

It is, however, disadvantageous in the fact that the final consumers are less concerned in standardized goods. Selective marketing entails focusing on each segment with a good whose marketing mix is developed to match the wants of customers in a segment. It increases consumer fulfillment and creates a greater level of consumer allegiance. This targeting strategy, however, leads to perplexity amidst consumers due to the presence of many brands in the market (Adcock & Bradfield 1997).

Positioning is a marketing strategy that seeks to make a product occupy a different position relative to other competing products in the consumers mind. It is applied by business organizations by straining on the distinguishing characteristics of their products or developing an appropriate image through sales promotion. Once a product is positioned, it is hard to reposition it without interfering with its trustworthiness (Crane 2010).

One of the key constituents of the marketing mix is price. This is a significant strategic matter since it is connected to product positioning. In addition, pricing influences other marketing mix components such as product characteristics, channel verdicts and advertising. Marketing mix is, therefore, a significant place in the marketing mix.

2d) Buyer behavior entails the physiological procedures that buyers go through in identifying needs, finding techniques of attending to those needs and making purchase verdicts. McDonalds should put into consideration buyer behavior to know which foods should be supplied in higher quantities than others.

Aspects that are important to McDonalds for a student consumer buying lunchtime snack include choice and preference whereas for a Parent organizing a birthday celebration for a young child the important aspects include beliefs and communication (Adcock & Bradfield 1997).

3a) A competitive advantage is referred to advantages of a business organization over its competitors achieved by providing consumers with better quality goods either through price reduction or by offering greater benefits to the final consumer.

McDonalds sells hamburgers, chicken sandwich, fries, desserts, and soft drinks. McDonalds establishes competitive advantage by adopting differentiation and cost leadership strategies.

These strategies put into consideration the abilities of McDonalds in terms of production and distribution of its products. The consumer anticipations are assessed during delivery and estimate the chances of new entrants entering the market (Crane 2010).

3b) McDonalds gives vigilant contemplation to the residency of its restaurants. During their marketing investigations, they consider the populace of a specific area, infrastructure, and demographics to ensure that there is maximum customer publicity.

3c) Prices set by McDonalds reflect their objectives and market conditions. Prices in McDonalds are always related to the personalities and beliefs of the organization managers.

The company studies the market and observes the way certain foods are performing. This is how they establish if a certain food is going to be encompassed in the foods they offer. This is also how they determine if they are going to keep on preparing a certain food product.

Foods with low or no profits are discontinued from the production process. They also put into consideration market conditions in terms of rival progress and pricing to determine their own victory measures. To enhance sales and win consumer confidence, McDonalds makes good food and sales it at an affordable price compared to its competitors (Crane 2010).

3d) Promotion is among the pillars of McDonalds. The promotion that McDonald uses is through a spokesperson by the name Ronald McDonald. He is quite entertaining to the young and offers a kind of home feeling to the McDonald customers.

3e) The additional elements of the extended marketing mix include people, process, and physical evidence. This has been added because marketing in the contemporary society is customer oriented and the service department of the financial system has taken over economic actions.

Physical evidence is important since it makes consumers to come into direct contact with the foods prepared in McDonalds. Processes assist in making marketing effectual.

For instance processes for dealing with consumer complaints and recognizing the needs of consumers. People as an extended marketing mix ensure that the clients are loyal to the business organization. This 3p’s ensure that the customer wants are given precedence (Adcock & Bradfield 1997).

4a) The chosen organization that will be discussed in this paper is Bloomingdale’s. This is the most widely known clothing store in America and a national vending brand.

It has 36 stores in 12 nations. This company has sections in 15 of the principal section stores in America and has returns of $1.1 billion each year. Brothers Lyman and Joseph Bloomingdale own it. It started when these two settled on selling skirts on their Ladies Notion Shop.

This has attested to be to a certain extent a hit for feminine shoppers. Afterwards, this company grew to sell an array of women and men fashion. One product that is supplied by Bloomingdales is trousers. The two different market segments that this product is aimed at are both men and women.

The theory of the marketing mix involves the 4p’s that is product, promotion, place, and price. The two separate marketing mixes that could apply to this two different market segments include product and place. Product as a marketing mix involves ensuring that the trousers provided by this organization fulfill the requirements of the two different customers.

Their appearance is also supposed to be attractive to the customers. Place is the other important marketing mix. Different companies use different techniques to reach their consumers. For instance, Bloomingdale’s uses a franchising system which allows it to work in a broad range of ecological situations and with different market segments.

4b) Bloomingdale’s markets its products to both businesses and consumers. Business marketing involves marketing the goods and services to other business organizations who in turn resell these goods. Consumer marketing is aimed at the final customer.

Business marketing pays attention to rational verdict making rather than the expressive verdict making in consumer marketing. Few consumers in business marketing lead to fewer business clients. The principal strategy difference between business and consumer marketing is advertising the benefits for the organizations clients while at the same time also advertizing the benefits for the businesses customers (Adcock & Bradfield 1997).

4c) Domestic marketing is done in the marketer’s resident country while international marketing is done in a foreign nation. International marketing suffers from the problem of language barrier, which is not an issue in domestic marketing. Cultural differences are also present in international marketing.

Bloomingdales needs to consider factors such as customs, traditions, demographics, social behaviors, geographical locations, and regulations when marketing. It is recommended that this organization carries out investigations on all the nations it wishes to target. If done successfully, international marketing is a boost to business organizations (Adcock & Bradfield 1997).

Adcock, D., & Bradfield, R., (1997) Marketing: principles and practice . London: Financial Times Pitman.

Bose, C. (2000 ) Modern Marketing – Principles & Practice .PHI Learning Calif: SAGE.

Crane, G. (2010) Marketing for Entrepreneurs: Concepts and Applications for New Ventures . Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications

Paul, J. (1966) International Marketing: Text and Cases New York: McGraw-Hill

Pickton, D. (2010 ) Marketing: An Introduction . London: SAGE.

Schiffman, G., & Leon, G., (1997) Consumer behavior . Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall

  • Critical Evaluation of Marketing Strategy
  • Marketing Implementation
  • Starbucks and McDonalds
  • Business Environment: McDonalds
  • Marketing: McDonalds and KFC
  • Contemporary Management
  • Managing a business: A senior managers role in material management and management of the external environment
  • Downsizing 10 per Cent of the Staff
  • The Hawthorne Studies
  • The 2012 London Olympic Games Human Resource Management
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, June 4). Marketing Principles. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marketing-principles/

"Marketing Principles." IvyPanda , 4 June 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/marketing-principles/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Marketing Principles'. 4 June.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Marketing Principles." June 4, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marketing-principles/.

1. IvyPanda . "Marketing Principles." June 4, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marketing-principles/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Marketing Principles." June 4, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marketing-principles/.

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy .

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy .

Library Home

Principles of Marketing

(27 reviews)

essay on marketing principles

Copyright Year: 2015

ISBN 13: 9781946135193

Publisher: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Elaheh Saffari, Marketing Instructor, PhD, Old Dominion University on 6/27/24

This Principles of Marketing textbook has 16 chapters, and most key topic areas are discussed relatively thoroughly. It also offers a nice integration of some topics that might normally be neglected, e.g., satisfaction metrics, account planning, etc. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This Principles of Marketing textbook has 16 chapters, and most key topic areas are discussed relatively thoroughly. It also offers a nice integration of some topics that might normally be neglected, e.g., satisfaction metrics, account planning, etc.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and unbiased. I did not come across any areas that were not accurate. Most contents are explained adequately for concept delivery.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The textbook provides a solid foundation in basic marketing principles. Also, It would benefit from addressing topics such as the growth of virtual retailing, the impact of broken supply chains, challenges in distribution channels, inflation, and advancements in digital marketing. Additionally, incorporating discussions on content streaming, social media, and the innovative uses of VR, AR, and the Metaverse in marketing would make the textbook even more valuable.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is easy to read and understand. Definitions & examples are clear.

Consistency rating: 5

Overall, the textbook maintains a consistent framework, with a logical flow and chapter sequence that aligns well with classroom instruction.

Modularity rating: 5

The text consists of 16 chapters, each divided into multiple subsections for flexible reading. It is easy to read, with good spacing and helpful graphics. Video links provide breaks, aiding students in studying for exams.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are effectively presented and structured. The text begins with broad definitions and concepts before delving into detailed explanations of each subject.

Interface rating: 5

The functionality of the text seemed to be working. Web links, images, and figures allow for easy direction-finding.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The textbook lacks cultural relevance, as it doesn't include many examples or photos that represent diverse races, ethnicities, or backgrounds.

Overall, this is a commendable textbook that effectively covers fundamental marketing principles. However, there are some areas that could benefit from further attention. For instance, the inclusion of topics such as customer interaction with AI, and the impact of technology on customer purchase experiences and business operations would be valuable. Additionally, incorporating discussions on virtual reality, robotics, and augmented reality would enhance the text by addressing contemporary trends in marketing and consumer behavior.

essay on marketing principles

Reviewed by Monisha Gupta, Assistant Professor, Marshall University on 1/2/23

The author of the book has shared that this is an adaptation of a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA). The book has 16 clearly defined chapters, each chapter raises a specific aspect of marketing and... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The author of the book has shared that this is an adaptation of a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA). The book has 16 clearly defined chapters, each chapter raises a specific aspect of marketing and concludes by raising discussion questions and activities. The textbook covers most of the marketing topics that should be included in an introductory course. However, given that the book is dated it is missing some emerging and emergent topics in marketing such as global marketing, data analytics, digital marketing, and the use of social media tools, to name a few. The author has at the outset clarified that the book does not follow the tenets of the 4 Ps of marketing. However, substituting terms such as products or services with terms like “offerings “requires a much deeper understanding of consumer needs, wants, or behavior. This might require a higher level of understanding which might not be in line with the student profile who opts for this course. The author has restructured the traditional 4Ps of the marketing mix and introduces that marketing is composed of four activities centered on customer value: creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value. Also, the suggested activities created for each chapter are outside the scope of the chapter’s content. For instance, page 24, after Chapter 1 suggests activities such as “ Explain how the marketing goals, strategies, and markets for the nonprofit differ from a for-profit organization” or “Evaluate personal value equation”. These concepts have not been discussed in chapter 1 and are tackled later in the book by the author. These activities might not need more discussion and clarification before students can actively contribute to the solutions. Overall, the book covers most foundation-level content, but the choice of the author’s distinctive terminology might be a concern for students. Moreso, when they progress from this course to advanced levels of marketing and have trouble aligning the core concepts and keywords.

Not an issue, the content is accurate and provides reference sources.

The OTL textbook is well documented and breaks up the content into smaller and comprehensive blocks of information. If relevance is measured based on the traditional acceptance and present outlook it might fall a little short. The book lacks this by disregarding some key changes in the marketplace such as the pandemic and its impact on consumption cycles, and the emergence of a large service industry. This has reshaped the consumer’s and marketers’ choices of development processes, channel partners, pricing strategies, promotional methodologies, use of social media tools, etc. These aspects need to be addressed in more detail with recent examples for students to appreciate the relevance.

The author has outlined the content in great detail, making it easy to read and understand the textbook. Easy conversational language and links, for example, appeal to students who can find a great deal on the electronic medium.

The chapters in the textbook are organized in the same consistent manner in the entire book. This is helpful for the readers and instructors to follow a format.

Modularity rating: 4

The text is easily and readily divided into smaller reading sections that can be assigned. This lends itself to assigning modules by chapters and units within the chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I have been teaching this course for the past 4 years and have found that explaining what a marketing plan is and then studying the various stages helps the students appreciate the various phases in this process. This textbook has taken a completely different approach by explaining the marketing plan at the end. While the topics are the same the structure impacts the flow and, in my opinion, the ability to hold the student’s interest. I suggest moving Chapter 16 to Chapter 3 followed by Chapter 5.

Interface rating: 3

The textbook was last updated in 2010, making all images, figures, tables, and video clips mildly outdated. The power of audio-visual aids is very powerful, and the quality is becoming better and better. To keep the students engaged the author might like to consider using technology for simulations, video assignments, etc., these can be useful for the students.

I found no grammatical errors, the content is well-written and easily understandable. The language used is conversational and something the students should find easy to navigate.

Global and international marketing are the mainstays for today, these aspects have not been addressed in the textbook. It warrants at least a chapter on world cultures, the emergence of MNCs, and geo-demographics relevance. It is important to acknowledge that demographic profiling needs to incorporate cultural diversity. The textbook has all US-based industry examples and consumer responses, ignoring the diverse consumer profile even within the US.

Overall, it is a great attempt to provide such detailed material for the students. Given that it was uploaded in 2010 the book needs to be updated to include more current and global marketing aspects. The textbook was created for an entry-level course in marketing. I enjoy the way the author shares the various career options available for marketing majors. However, the student profile who takes this course includes students who major in finance, and journalism. PR, management, etc. It would be relevant for them to see how these skills are transferable and useful in other work fields. The suggested activities need to be more application based and limited to the content of the preceding chapter. More global and culturally applicable examples need to be included.

Reviewed by Rich Metzger, Adjunct Professor, Massachusetts Bay Community College on 11/24/22

The OTL textbook covers the basic principles necessary to form a marketing foundation. The content should be updated to reflex the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic marketing environment. I felt some topics needed more discussion, and explanation, such... read more

The OTL textbook covers the basic principles necessary to form a marketing foundation. The content should be updated to reflex the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic marketing environment. I felt some topics needed more discussion, and explanation, such as a breakdown by age and characteristics of the population.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The OTL textbook is relevant and is a good guide to basic marketing principles but could be better. I prefer the OTL textbook to include recent marketing techniques and strategies used in today’s difficult business environment. This ranges from the advent of the non-store or virtual retailing, broken supply chains, damaged distribution channels, inflation, digital marketing, content streaming, and social media, just to mention a few new topics.

I found the OTL textbook easy to read and understand. Good comprehension level and in the use of examples, figures, and images to illustrate or compliment the text.

The OTL textbook’s material is laid out in a logical sequence, culminating with the last chapter dedicated to the Marketing Plan.

Chapters progress in a logical manner, allowing the reader to digest the material and prepare for the next chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The organization, structure, and flow of the material are fine, but my concern is the lack of an index and a single depository for key terms and chapter highlights.

Interface rating: 4

The images, figures, tables, and video clips need to be revisited for relevancy. The use of these visual aids helps the reader better understand the topics being discussed.

The content is well written, very limited if any grammatical issues. To make the textbook more relevant, consider using socially accepted pronouns, which in turn would elevate the textbook to today’s sociality expectations.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

A chapter on world cultures and the different business nuances and practices (ethics) would be beneficial to a student learning about marketing.

As this is my first experience dealing with OER, I wanted to be fair and open to the possibilities presented by this new resource. For comparison purposes, I used my adopted textbook vs the OTL textbook. My goal is to decide if I could adopt the OTL textbook. Similarly, the adopted textbook and the OTL textbook are for a 100-level course. Both textbooks offer entry-level content, relevant material, easy to read and comprehend, more than enough chapters to fill a semester, Contents, Chapter titles, Learning Objectives, topics, images, figures, examples, video clips, Discussion/Review Questions, Activities, and both textbooks offer a test bank. The OTL textbook has Key Takeaways for each topic presented in a chapter, and the adopted textbook has a section in the back of the textbook titled Chapter Review, which contains Learning Objectives and Key Terms. Differences, the adopted textbook has a price point, an OTL textbook lacks an Index, and the adopted textbook offers PowerPoint Slides, Instructor’s manual, Rubrics, and Case Studies. I was unable to find an Instructor’s Resources section for the OTL textbook, but the OTL textbook provides students with financial relief. I believe I could adopt this textbook with a minimal number of self-adjustments.

Reviewed by Victoria Shaw, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Anderson University on 3/11/22

The book does a good job of highlighting basic marketing principles. However, I do find it lacks the basics of e-commerce (just basic industry terms like SEO), global marketing principles (especially B2C), and using tools like PEST analysis for... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The book does a good job of highlighting basic marketing principles. However, I do find it lacks the basics of e-commerce (just basic industry terms like SEO), global marketing principles (especially B2C), and using tools like PEST analysis for external assessment. I think the chapters on B2B behavior and Sales while good, may not be the most value-add for the students in class.

No glaring errors at first glance.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Imagery is very dated. The chapters use the four basic P's, though the latest books tend to introduce up to eight.

Overall, seemed clear and comprehensive. I think the book would have benefitted from multiple, additional visuals to clarify complex topics.

Consistency rating: 4

Seemed consistent across chapters

I liked the way the topics were broken into micro concepts - makes it easy to assign the portions I find most relevant and supplement when needed.

Structure was logical and sequential.

A bit text heavy at times but errors.

No grammatical errors on first read.

I think the author missed the opportunity to bring marketing to a more global context.

This is a great principles textbook overall. My only complaint is because of some omitted or abbreviated topics, an instructor may have to supplement a bit more in order to ensure the curriculum is up to industry standards. But in a larger class where schedules only allow for selected topics to be covered, this would be a very good start.

Reviewed by Amy Strunk, Lecturer, James Madison University on 11/29/21

Basic marketing concepts are covered with sufficient depth, but newer concepts are missing (like digital marketing). read more

Basic marketing concepts are covered with sufficient depth, but newer concepts are missing (like digital marketing).

Some of the information is dated: for example, most would agree that we are not in the relationship era of marketing, but the textbook states that we are in an undefined era (which would have been true 10 years ago).

The book uses “creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value” as elements of the marketing mix/strategy rather than the 4 P’s, and actively argues against the 4 P terminology, which is controversial.

The book also uses "offerings" instead of "product". The authors argue for it effectively, but I don't know anyone in the marketing world who uses that term in the real world.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

References are dated: - Foursquare (college-age students in 2021 will have no idea what this is) - Some images are out of date (retrieved in 2008) - Mission statements on p. 27 are outdated and reference links are broken. - References to iPod in the time of iPhones

These references will continue to grow stale.

The content is pretty straight forward. Definitions are clear.

The book is consistent in its own frameworks/terminology (stubbornly so).

Modularity rating: 3

Some of the longer sections could benefit from headings and subheadings.

I would recommend that market research come before the "Creating Offerings" section since that process is so integral to product (or "offering") development.

Interface is sufficient.

Some small issues, for example, using the term “Droid” smartphones on page 6—should be Android.

I did not notice any concerted effort to include diverse backgrounds in this text.

Marketing is changing rapidly thanks to technology, and this book is too outdated to address issues like data privacy and hyper-targeting.

Reviewed by Matthew Lunde, Assistant Professor, Pittsburg State University on 6/4/21

the textbooks is very thorough in covering all the topis needed in a principles of marketing class. It even adds a chapter that is not in many other textbooks: "The Marketing Plan." However, my only criticism is that it does not touch on a huge... read more

the textbooks is very thorough in covering all the topis needed in a principles of marketing class. It even adds a chapter that is not in many other textbooks: "The Marketing Plan." However, my only criticism is that it does not touch on a huge topic area nowadays in marketing: sustainability (sustainable marketing and sustainable competitive advantage).

The content is objective, thorough, and accurate. It uses statistics and example businesses and situations effectively to help teach younger college students the fundamentals of marketing.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is up-to-date as best as it can be. Whenever any textbook uses statistics, years, numbers, and other figures, it can date the textbook; however, the content is written in a way that it will last for multiple years to come.

Clarity rating: 4

There is some jargon, but the jargon used is needed to help teach the fundamentals of marketing to new students.

It is great how all the terms in the chapters are easy to find and to read because each term is bold.

Yes, the book is broken down into manageable sections for a younger college student to read and interpret effectively and efficiently.

Yes. This textbook is laid out very well. However, one thing I would add in the chapter titles would be "retailing."

Good! Nothing to add here!

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The book is written well, free of grammatical errors. However, I see "he or she" is used. Nowadays, for inclusivity, the right pronoun to use would be "they."

However, I see "he or she" is used. Nowadays, for inclusivity, the right pronoun to use would be "they."

Reviewed by Felix Flores, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 4/17/21, updated 5/26/21

The textbook sufficiently covers areas and ideas of subjects and is easy to navigate. I would find it useful to include and discussed an example of an actual marketing plan. read more

The textbook sufficiently covers areas and ideas of subjects and is easy to navigate. I would find it useful to include and discussed an example of an actual marketing plan.

The textbook's content is mostly accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

Some of the links and examples may be dated but contribute to the chapter's main ideas. There are, however, some links that do not work or could be replaced with newer examples. I would recommend reviewing all of the provided links.

The textbook is written in a clear manner.

The textbook is mostly consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The textbook is easily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course.

The topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion.

The text is free of interface issues or navigation problems.

There may be a small room for improvement in terms of grammar.

I believe the textbook is mostly culturally relevant.

I believe that you can effectively teach a Principles of Marketing class with this textbook, on its own, and especially in combination with other OER textbooks/resources. It will require, however, checking all of the links and updating some examples.

Reviewed by Diane Edmondson, Adjunct Professor, Trine University on 4/16/21

Overall, this textbook covers a majority of the marketing topics that should be covered in a Principles of Marketing class. Since the book is somewhat dated, there is limited coverage on both digital marketing and social media as well as marketing... read more

Overall, this textbook covers a majority of the marketing topics that should be covered in a Principles of Marketing class. Since the book is somewhat dated, there is limited coverage on both digital marketing and social media as well as marketing analytics. These two topic areas have revolutionized the marketing field. However, this marketing textbook contains all of the other key marketing concepts such as the 4 P's of marketing, strategic marketing, target market strategies, consumer and business buying behavior, and how to craft a marketing plan.

Overall, this textbook is accurate and error-free. It does not appear to be biased in any way.

Overall, this textbook is still highly relevant. It is missing some more detailed information related to digital marketing, social media, and marketing analytics as these have drastically changed the marketing field over the past decade; however, the content covered is still relevant to both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets.

One of the best things about this book is that it is easy to read. The text is written in a way that students should not have a difficult time understanding the concepts being covered. There are multiple examples given for each major topic to help students better understand the material. Terminology is defined to aid understanding.

Overall, a consistent framework is used throughout this textbook. The flow and chapter ordering of the textbook makes natural sense with how it would be taught in the classroom.

The text is made up of 16 chapters; however, each of the chapters is then broken up into multiple subsections. This allows the text to be easily and readily divided into smaller reading sections, based on the desire of the instructor and/or reader.

The chapter layout of this textbook is similar to many other Principles of Marketing textbooks. Topics are presented in a logical and clear manner, which aids readability and understanding.

Overall, the images, charts, tables, and figures were clearly displayed without any distortion. There are a few navigation links that no longer function; however, these are minimal in number.

The Principles of Marketing textbook appears to be free of grammatical errors.

There are a variety of diverse examples throughout the text. None of these should be viewed as culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

Overall, this textbook is well written and covers most of the major marketing topics. The few topics not covered are primarily because these became dominant marketing elements after this textbook was published originally.

Reviewed by Ricardo McCoy, Adjunct Professor, Trine University on 3/3/21

I have been facilitating marketing, analytics, sales, and consumer behavior classes since 2009 and this textbook does a good job of covering all of the marketing mix. Most important, the content is updated and relevant. The layout is... read more

I have been facilitating marketing, analytics, sales, and consumer behavior classes since 2009 and this textbook does a good job of covering all of the marketing mix. Most important, the content is updated and relevant. The layout is user-friendly and easy to read.

Based on similar marketing text books I have read, this textbook is accurate and contains content that someone who is unfamiliar with marketing concepts will easily understand. The use of examples throughout the textbook is a good way to help a beginner to marketing understand the subject matter.

I like how this book understands how marketing has changed and explains variables in the environment that is effecting this change. This can be seen in Chapter 1 concerning some of these changes:

Ethic and Social Responsibility Sustainability Service-dominant logic Metrics A Global Environment

It is good to see that the textbook is up-to-date and recognizes that marketing must adapt to these changes. Some of the marketing textbooks I read in the past do not recognize these changes.

Overall, the information throughout the chapters was easy to understand. I like how examples were used throughout each chapter. My only recommendation is to add more illustrations consistently throughout the textbook. Based on my experience, most students like to see illustrations (visualize). I think this helps him or her to understand the subject matter.

Overall, the content throughout the textbook is consistent. However, I notice that some of the chapters have more illustrations than other chapters. I think that using more illustrations (and examples) would make the chapters more user-friendly.

P.S. Links to additional resources would also be a good addition.

The sequence throughout the textbook “flows” from section to section. I like the synergy from chapter to chapter. This helps the student to understand how various factors of marketing work together.

I like how Chapter 1 gives a brief description of marketing while summarizing what will be discussed in the preceding chapters. I also like the “key takeaways” at the end of each chapter. The "review questions" are brief, yet add to what was discussed throughout the chapter. This is good to see.

The overall functionality of the textbook is good. The font size and white space makes the content easy to read. I like the use of color throughout the textbook. For example, the use of green for the “Key Takeaway” and blue for the “Review Questions”.

Although it is difficult to check all the content, I did not see any typos or “wordy” sentences. I like how the content “talks to” rather than “talks at” the student.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This is a difficult question to answer because I did not see anything that was insensitive or offensive. Ideally, the content would continue to embrace diversity and inclusion. This is important because we live in a global economy.

I think that Chapter 5 (“Marketing Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning”) should be followed by Chapter 10 (“Gathering and Using Information: Market Research and Market Intelligence”). Both of these chapters are closely related. To properly perform segmentation and targeting, you must understand analytics / gathering information. I was also looking to see slightly more insights on digital analytics in Chapter 10.

Reviewed by Markus Biegel, Adjunct Faculty, California State University, Dominguez Hills on 8/12/20

I compared it to the McGraw Hill book that I have been using for the past 4 years and the topics (Chapters Topics and Sub-Topics) are pretty identical just in a slightly different order. When looking into how in-depth the book goes, it is not... read more

I compared it to the McGraw Hill book that I have been using for the past 4 years and the topics (Chapters Topics and Sub-Topics) are pretty identical just in a slightly different order. When looking into how in-depth the book goes, it is not quite as comprehensive as the McGraw Hill book. However, it is easy to read.

Marketing always is a bit subjective. I think the book does a great job covering all the important topics as unbiased as possible.

This is a basic marketing course focused on teaching students the fundamentals, the book does a good job at that. Given the current COVID situation, a lot of things have changed in business but not the fundamental theories and practices of the profession. Because of that the relevance of the book is current in my opinion.

The text has a logical flow. There is certainly room for improvement from a formatting standpoint. I think it makes it easier for students to learn key terms and key concepts when they are highlighted on the sidebar (similar as in many mainstream textbooks).

Certainly consistent and comprehensive in all the key terms that this book should cover for Principles of Marketing.

The text is very easy to read. There is good spacing in between the paragraphs and graphics/images help further give the mind a reading break. I also think it is great that links are included to videos, this helps students get a "reading break" which is essential when cramming in a few chapters to study for an exam.

Very well organized text. I just wish the key terms and key concepts were featured separately in an almost duplicate fashion on the side of the main text. I think students are used to using these highlighted areas to study for exams.

Didn't notice any problems with the interface. Could have perhaps used better images here and there but overall does the job.

I am not an English professor and this is my second language but I did not notice any grammatical errors. I am sure there are some, including mistyped words but every book I have used had a few of those.

One of the key concepts in Principles of Marketing is target marketing which certainly can be interpreted as offensive to some people. However, I think the book does a great job at explaining the concept. Again, marketing leans into being somewhat controversial based on the subject matter and business practice.

Can't beat a free book. Seems like a great resource to use for students.

Reviewed by Kirti Celly, Professor, California State University, Dominguez Hills on 8/10/20

Principles begins with a question to spark curiosity for the novice student of marketing. Organized into 16 chapters, it takes a traditional strategic planning, consumer and buyer behavior, research and 4Ps approach that addresses all major areas... read more

Principles begins with a question to spark curiosity for the novice student of marketing. Organized into 16 chapters, it takes a traditional strategic planning, consumer and buyer behavior, research and 4Ps approach that addresses all major areas and ideas in a core marketing class. Given the importance of ethical decision making, it needs to add/bolster content on ethics in marketing and add an index/glossary.

Accurate content with image sources and references. I have not tested all these links.

Since the focus is core content, it is written in a nuts and bolts manner and will stay perennial. Consistent with the conditions of use, the text’s simplicity allows for it to be modified easily.

Written professionally and in simple sentences, this makes for accessible, adequate and easy to understand content. Marketing concepts are defined simply and succinctly throughout.

The key take-aways and review questions after each section of a chapter are supplemented by end of chapter discussion questions and activities throughout. This fits nicely with Bloom’s learning taxonomy.

This is a key feature of this book and one most appreciated by my students.

Another key feature of this book, and one appreciated by my students.

Other than a few formatting and pagination issues, nothing to note. Any links I used worked. For the manner in which I use this book as basic material for my classes, not having an excess of photos and images in the body actually works well. Having URLs for case examples also facilitates easy revision and adaptation for various local and regional teaching and learning contexts.

Simple, easy to read, accessible. I did not notice any grammatical errors.

This is less about this book than about the way in which most business textbooks are written. It is in no way offensive; in fact, its style and variety of examples promotes inclusion and it is adaptable to alternate cultural contexts through a shift in frame to include broader contexts.

Our students appreciate having an accessible zero cost course materials course with adds ons from me, the press, and other OER, and low cost or no cost AV materials and marketing math. Thank you.

Reviewed by Sheryl Spann, Marketing Instructor, Oregon State University on 7/28/20

The textbook begins with the question “What is Marketing?” to assist students new to the field of marketing to understand the real definition of marketing versus their perceived ideas of marketing. This is a great place to start as many students... read more

The textbook begins with the question “What is Marketing?” to assist students new to the field of marketing to understand the real definition of marketing versus their perceived ideas of marketing. This is a great place to start as many students either believe that marketing is strictly sales or do not have a full concept of the many aspects of what encompasses marketing. The text covers most of the key areas of marketing such as consumer behavior, market segmentation and target marketing and the principals relating to product, pricing, placement and promotion. Marketing research, new product development and marketing communications is also covered at a basic level. However, based on my experience in the classroom, a few suggestions are in order. I would add three additional chapters on international marketing, market expansion strategies and ethics and social responsibility. The chapter on professional selling could be removed or covered within chapter one as a portion of the explanation on the aspects of marketing. Lastly, I would add more current marketing articles, one-page cases and small group discussion questions to each chapter. For marketing majors, I would add an appendix at the back of the book discussing the various career opportunities in marketing.

The book content is accurate with terminology and marketing concepts accessible for a university level student. The textbook also cites sources for most of the provided information.

In addition to the textbook content for teaching marketing principals, there are many real-world examples offered to improve student understanding. Although most offer longevity, there is a need to augment current examples with more recent examples including company or product examples representing cultural diversity.

The text is easy to read with a combination of informal and professional language for appropriate student learning and understanding.

The text is internally consistent and provides actual examples of the principals covered as well as review questions to ensure student comprehension. This approach is inline with other “Principals of Marketing” textbooks.

The course material is listed in modular fashion to easily transfer to canvas. However, since “Principals of Marketing” is usually the first marketing course for majors and the only course for this topic for non-majors, I would place the chapter on “Strategic Planning” right before the last chapter on “The Marketing Plan”. As indicated in the “comprehensiveness” section of my comments, I also believe that a few topical chapters such as “International Marketing” should be added to the book to improve its overview of the topic.

In general, the topics are presented and organized in an effective format. The text starts with overarching definitions and concepts and then moves toward providing more details on each topic. I believe that the “Strategic Planning” chapter should be moved to the end of the book before “The Marketing Plan” to ensure that students have the foundation needed to better understand this topic plus use its strategic perspective in the development of a marketing plan.

There did not appear to be any interface issues for this book. All video and web page links also worked well.

The text did not have any grammatical errors.

Although cultural examples were included and relevant, additional cultural diversity elements would improve the book. Also, it is important to include examples that are more current to provide better student discussions of this important marketing topic.

Overall, this textbook is a suitable option for an entry level college course on “Marketing Principals”. Adding chapters on “International Marketing”, “Market Expansion Strategies” and “Ethics & Social Responsibility” as well as updating some of the chapter business examples, case studies and discussion questions would be very helpful plus keep this book “current”. Lastly, including a greater overview of the marketing aspects of cultural diversity plus marketing career options would cause this book to stand out among textbook options for this topic.

Reviewed by Zahra Tohidinia, Assistant Professor, Framingham State University on 6/12/20

The text offers a very good review of key marketing principles and provides a comprehensive introduction to the main concept. I would suggest combining the textbook with relevant current marketing articles and cases. read more

The text offers a very good review of key marketing principles and provides a comprehensive introduction to the main concept. I would suggest combining the textbook with relevant current marketing articles and cases.

The content is accurate and the textbook cites sources for most of the provided information.

The content is relevant to marketing. There are a solid number of examples throughout the book. The content related to digital marketing/social media could be expanded, but overall the content is relevant and robust.

The text is easy to read and provides a good balance of informal and professional language.

The structure of the text is consistent and the book gives example-based explanations of the main concepts. There are review questions at the end of each section as well as discussions and activities at the end of each chapter.

The text is easy to navigate. The book is divided into smaller segments. A hyperlinked (clickable) table of contents makes it really easy to move between different chapters and their corresponding sub-segments.

The topics are presented and organized in an effective format. The text starts with overarching definitions and concepts and then moves toward providing more details on each topic.

The links to the videos that I clicked on worked and each opened a new tab. As mentioned before, the hyperlinks make it very easy to navigate between different sections. In some cases, the image headings were separated from the actual image because of page breaks which can be revised in later editions.

The consumer behavior chapter does a good job with embedding cultural variables into the discussion. This could have been integrated more effectively in the other chapters; especially the chapters involving marketing research and intelligence, as well as market segmentation and positioning

This book covers the main concepts of marketing very effectively. This textbook combined with current articles and relevant cases could serve as a comprehensive set of materials for introductory marketing courses at the undergraduate level.

Reviewed by Christian Gilde, Business Faculty, University of Montana - Western on 1/31/20

The textbook has enough depth and addresses all the major parts of the marketing discourse, such as the environment, marketing strategy, consumer behavior and segmentation, and marketing research, as well as the product, place, price, and... read more

The textbook has enough depth and addresses all the major parts of the marketing discourse, such as the environment, marketing strategy, consumer behavior and segmentation, and marketing research, as well as the product, place, price, and promotion variables.

The explanations, terminology, and concepts in the text are accessible and accurate.

The textbook contains applicable examples of marketing that will help the audience learn and appreciate the marketing realm. Most pieces and examples in the book have longevity. A few applications might need to be updated to make the text more timely.

The text is accessible and will help guide the students through the different dimensions of marketing.

The given text follows a certain presentation canon in terms of marketing terminology, concepts, and applications that can be found in textbooks of similar nature.

Many textbooks in marketing follow a certain modular pattern. This same pattern can be found in this text, with each chapter being split into sections for which particular assignments and experiential learning activities are designed.

As far as the organization and structure of this work are concerned, the marketing text is in line with a good number of other principles texts. The structure, flow, and positioning of the different marketing topics within the individual chapters is logical, with the objectives in the beginning and a re-visitation of the key points and review questions at the end.

A few minor grammatical and structural errors can be found in the text.

The cultural illustrations are relevant, to a certain extent. However, it might be useful to update some of these items.

The material in this text is suitable for a basic marketing course. Overall, I would recommend using this text for entry level marketing students.

Reviewed by Kelly Atkins, Associate Professor, East Tennessee State University on 10/21/19

The text contains the expected chapter topics related to Principles of Marketing. In my opinion, there is too much information about Professional Selling (Chapter 13) for the topic of the text. In my opinion, Chapter 11 should include a... read more

The text contains the expected chapter topics related to Principles of Marketing. In my opinion, there is too much information about Professional Selling (Chapter 13) for the topic of the text. In my opinion, Chapter 11 should include a discussion of the basic Communications Model as well as some more modern communications models.

The text content appears to be accurate, error-free and unbiased. In my thorough review, I found nothing to the contrary.

The text contains many relevant, current examples of marketing concepts as well as some images of marketing examples and nice video clips of marketing examples. Some examples in Chapter 2 are from 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009. These 10+ year old examples are too old to be relevant to students who are only 20 years old. I like the application of marketing concepts to the world of business and to personal branding.

The “voice” of the text is conversational yet professional. The terms used throughout the text seem to be in alignment with other Principles of Marketing textbooks I have used previously.

The text seems to be internally consistent. I saw nothing to indicate otherwise.

The text is organized effectively in most ways, but I have a recommendation. Chapter 3 should be divided into more sections. There are too many learning objectives and key takeaways for section 3.1.

There are significant organization problems in Chapters 4,8 & 13. Each of these chapters is out of order. For example, Chapter 4 is presented in the following sections: 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, then 4.1, 4.2, 4.3. The same is true of Chapters 8 & 13.

The way the pages are presented with extra lines on many pages, with figure titles on different pages than the actual figure, or with figure numbers on a different page than the figure itself. See Figures 1.3 and 1.4 in Chapter 1 as examples.

I did not notice any grammar problems in the text (and I typically find lots of grammar problems when I am editing).

In my opinion, he text is culturally sensitive.

• I really like the “key takeaways” and “review questions” at the end of the sections instead of a summary at the end of the chapter. • I would add key terms at the end of each section because the terms and definitions seem to get lost within the chapters. • The “activities” at the end of the chapter are unique and creative. I would use these ideas for my classes.

Reviewed by Donald Chang, Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 4/29/19

The textbook provides basic coverage of main concepts found in most principles of marketing. Overall, the discussion throughout the book tends to be less comprehensive. In some areas, the author glossed over without providing sufficient details.... read more

The textbook provides basic coverage of main concepts found in most principles of marketing. Overall, the discussion throughout the book tends to be less comprehensive. In some areas, the author glossed over without providing sufficient details. To introduce basic concepts, it might be sufficient. For deeper understanding and analysis, it will require additional reading and research by readers. For example, in the very beginning, the author claimed "... about 1950 to 1990, businesses operated in the marketing era" without providing supporting materials to bolster the claim. The discussion also skipped a commonly known period when emphasis on selling was prevalent, skipping from product concept to marketing concepts, while ignoring the discussion on social responsibility in the 80s.

Accuracy is not a major issue for this book. Most contents are explained adequately for concept delivery.

Most basic concepts in marketing, e.g., product life cycle, buying process, pricing strategies, are mostly time free, thus, stay relevant regardless of changes in the marketplace. Examples used are apparently out of date, e.g., iPad. Many of the examples are prior to 2010 so that examples need to be updated to be relevant to today's students. Most basic content is consistent with other textbooks, just on a shallow side.

For marketing, the key strategic decisions are in segmentation, targeting, positioning, and differentiation. It would be probably more appropriate to place strategic planning close to the chapter on segmentation, targeting, and positioning. With so much content in marketing to cover, a standing-alone chapter on professional selling is uncalled for. After all, personal selling is only one of the element of promotion and most companies prefer to train their own sales force, thus very company/product specific, not something could be covered effectively in a principles of marketing textbook. It also incorrectly over-inflates the role of sales in marketing curriculum. Most students, business and non-business, do not see professional selling as their career aspiration either, if they have the choice.

There is an obvious omission in international marketing. The author's claim that global coverage is built in throughout the textbook cannot be observed. Without having a devoted chapter in international marketing, some basic concepts in international management are not presented. The same is for sustainability, ethics, and social responsibility. The author seemed to understand their importance, but not important enough to have their own sections. On the other hand, the author had no issue in having a chapter in professional selling without clear justification for its inclusion. These are obviously the author's own selection bias and personal preferences, not necessarily what students ought to learn from the course.

The writing is good for average college students. It is mostly easy to follow.

The book used "offerings" when referring to products and services consistently throughout the book. Each chapter is presented with discussion questions, activities, key takeaway, review questions with consistent structure and writing style.

The book is organized in a module-like manner, with most materials being free-standing, allowing a section to be borrowed for another marketing course as needed. As the writing is on the succinct side, there is rarely a long writing blocks without division.

While the book is structured well overall, the placement of strategic planning in the very beginning (Chapter 2) is probably off. Students need to know about the subject more before jumping into strategic planning. Other than chapter placement, the overall organization is adequate.

There are no known serious interface issues that are present. Graphs, charts, pictures are clear and easy to see and follow. A few enhancements to market the headings and sub-headings could be added to better break up sections. As examples, "Video Clip" on page 272, 273 could be better presented. The headings are easily overlooked as presented. At times, the reader might not be aware that the topic has shifted to a new one.

The book is grammatical correct overall.

There are no obvious concerns of being culturally insensitive or offensive.

The book is a possible alternative for average high school and college students if the goal is to learn the very fundamental concepts in marketing. For students who look for deeper understanding, this is not the right book for them as much discussion is on the shallow side. The author's own opinions can be found throughout the book without adequate supporting materials. Therefore, it is subject to the author's self selection bias. For marketing major students, I would expect students to learn more than what are presented in this book.

Reviewed by Nicole Lytle, Faculty Lecturer, LaGuardia Community College on 4/24/19

This resources covers all the relevant topics traditionally covered and necessary for an introduction-level course. The material is presented in comprehensive way. read more

This resources covers all the relevant topics traditionally covered and necessary for an introduction-level course. The material is presented in comprehensive way.

I found the text to be accurate, and in line with current marketing practices and pedagogical materials.

The resource is current, but some examples are a bit dated. The instructor using this resource should check all links and examples before assigning.

The resource is clear and easy to understand.

The terminology and framework are consistent with current concepts and expectations of an introductory level course.

The text is well organized; it also lends itself to skipping around and changing the order of the material as the instructor sees fit.

Topics presented are in a logical manner - learning objectives, terms, examples/diagrams, key takeaways, and review questions.

The interface is clear and easy to navigate - clicking images isolates them, which is a good tool for some visual learners.

The resources is not culturally offensive, but it also misses the mark for cultural inclusion.

Reviewed by Duane Bernard, Lecturer, Gettysburg College on 3/12/19

The text book covers all of the typical topics for this level of marketing. If there is any criticism it is that some topics are covered very sparsely. For example, the topic of subliminal messaging is given a few sentences. While it is not... read more

The text book covers all of the typical topics for this level of marketing. If there is any criticism it is that some topics are covered very sparsely. For example, the topic of subliminal messaging is given a few sentences. While it is not necessary to cover this in detail, the explanation provided may not be enough for students to understand what it is. I even had a student that commented on the lack of substance in some areas.

I did not come across any areas that were not accurate. It is written well.

The examples are somewhat dated. While it is perfectly fine to present historical examples, the "new" examples need to be updated. In addition, some of the links are broken.

I have not seen any issues with the understandability of the text. I have also not had any negative comments from students.

The text is consistent with its terminology.

The text is easily separated into subunits. I do not use it as a standalone assignment for reading, as I also have many cases and simulations. I have only directly assigned certain sections for homework. This works well.

The book follows the usual formatting and organization of most of these textbooks.

The only issue I have encountered is some broken links that refer to videos. I have not encountered any other issues.

Grammatical errors have not been found.

I have not detect any offensive content. I have not seen a lot that would be inclusive of other backgrounds.

This book is great as a supplement to other course materials such as cases and lecture. I believe its limitation is that it could go into more depth in many sections.

Reviewed by Lori Rumreich, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Marian University on 3/5/19

This book provides comprehensive coverage of marketing principles equivalent to other textbooks. There is very nice coverage of supply chain and logistics beyond many other principles books. The marketing plan section at the end is very useful.... read more

This book provides comprehensive coverage of marketing principles equivalent to other textbooks. There is very nice coverage of supply chain and logistics beyond many other principles books. The marketing plan section at the end is very useful. Overall there is a lot of content to choose from in this text that makes it easy to select what is needed. A searchable pdf in the downloaded format makes it easy to find content.

The content is accurate and unbiased. Some content may be out of date but with the rapid change happening in much of marketing, especially digital/social, that is to be expected.

The rapid pace of change in marketing, especially digital marketing/social media and media in general make it difficult for textbooks to stay up to date. Updates to these sections should be easy to make. The majority of the text is up-to-date and relevant. The use of review questions and key takeaways for sections are very helpful and reinforce learning of each concept.

This text provides practical and real world examples that are interesting and relevant. Writing style is clear and accessible. The use of pictures and the use of color for highlighting tables, charts, special sections, etc. add to the clarity and readability.

There is a consistent style throughout the text. Clear objectives are at the start of each section, key takeaways and review questions are at the end of each section. This creates a very consistent style that is easy to follow and should help with learning.

It would be nice to provide sub units or groups of chapters within a theme or section of marketing but this is not a requirement. Chapters can be easily divided where needed.

I would prefer that market research to be closer to the front of book. Market research is a first step in understanding customer needs, product features, markets, segments, promotion and ad concepts, etc. It seems out of place near the end of the text. Otherwise, the organization is logical and clear.

The searchable pdf version is very easy to navigate and use. The links to videos and other external content are accessible. All content appears clear and free from distortion. Having multiple formats, pdf, kindle, etc., available is a plus for this text.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The text appears to be culturally relevant. There is good diversity in the photos shown in the text.

Reviewed by Rosemary Prince, Teaching Faculty III, Florida State University on 12/6/18

The concepts covered in Principles of Marketing - 2015 are appropriate for an introductory level course. The discussion of the 4 Ps as creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging provides an interesting perspective. An index and glossary... read more

The concepts covered in Principles of Marketing - 2015 are appropriate for an introductory level course. The discussion of the 4 Ps as creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging provides an interesting perspective. An index and glossary are not included which would be beneficial.

The concepts, definitions and strategies are accurate and unbiased.

The general principles addressed are relevant. Examples should be updated and some links are no longer available. As noted in the learning objectives Social Media keeps changing and the text needs to be updated. Additionally, e-marketing should be expanded given the changes since 2010. The reference information provided with websites resources and examples and framework of the textbook allows for updating with more recent clips, research, templates, etc.

The text is very clear and terminology is easy to understand.

The framework is consistent with the concepts presented in an introductory level marketing text.

The text is presented in units within each chapter that can be separated and or combined with other units for specific learning assignments or extracted to supplement learning.

The topics in the text are presented in logical order for an introductory marketing text. The layout of the textbook including learning objectives, sequencing, terminology, key takeaways, questions and activities is well organized.

Downloading the text as a PDF, the images and charts were clearly visible. The navigation was straightforward and easy. The links to videos were accessible; however, some were no longer available.

Minor grammar errors were noted.

Updating the video examples would provide a more inclusive text.

Reviewed by Melodi Guilbault, Senior University Lecturer, NJIT on 5/21/18

The book covers all content generally covered in a Principles of or Introduction to Marketing course. The issue is that the content is old. The content is based on a text written in 2010. For example, there are only a few short paragraphs on... read more

The book covers all content generally covered in a Principles of or Introduction to Marketing course. The issue is that the content is old. The content is based on a text written in 2010. For example, there are only a few short paragraphs on social media. There is a clear Table of Contents but I did not see an index or glossary.

The content appears to be accurate. I did not note any errors or any bias. But the content is dated.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 1

The content is dated. The content is adapted from a text written in 2010. There have been significant changes since 2010. Although there are a few more recent links most of the links are from before 2010.

The text is easy to read. Students should find the writing easy to follow. Terminology has been clearly explained.

The way the chapters are organized is consistent throughout the text.

The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned. This is generally done by chapters and units within the chapters.

The topics are presented in the same order as many Principles of or Introduction to Marketing texts.

I could not get any of the videos to open. Other than that I was able to easily navigate through the chapters. The hyperlinks took me to the appropriate text but it would be helpful to have a return button.

The text did not appear to contain any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

I did not note any direct effort to be inclusive in the examples provided.

I like the use of the alternative to the 4Ps. I find the 4Ps to be a dated paradigm and it was refreshing to see a different approach.

Reviewed by David C Taylor, Assistant Pofessor, University of Houston on 3/27/18

A very good comprehensive introduction for marketing. Also would serve as a great refresher text for upper-level marketing courses. read more

A very good comprehensive introduction for marketing. Also would serve as a great refresher text for upper-level marketing courses.

The text is very general, but provides accurate descriptions and overviews of concepts and marketing theory.

We could see more on e-marketing or the evolution of social media over traditional advertising. That said, as a primer on the subject of marketing, this is a great tool in lieu of students having to make a purchase.

Clear, easy to read and understand.

Consistency is strong and consistent across chapters.

I don't think molecularity is practical with an general overview text, unless you wanted to utilize some of the chapters as refreshers in broader topic on marketing.

organized consistently and flow is as with other marketing texts

I did not experience any difficulties

No major grammar issues were identified.

Again, a good primer, or refresh for an upper-level marketing course.

Reviewed by Mary Tripp, Business Faculty, St. Paul College on 2/1/18

The textbook covers the material found in the majority of introductory marketing textbooks. The topics covered are appropriate and the scope meets the basic needs of a principles of marketing course. A searchable index would add to the... read more

The textbook covers the material found in the majority of introductory marketing textbooks. The topics covered are appropriate and the scope meets the basic needs of a principles of marketing course. A searchable index would add to the usefulness of this textbook. A table of content exists but unfortunately no subject index or glossary is provided.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Overall the accuracy of information, based on the publication date, is acceptable. The textbook is listed as published in 2015 on the Open Textbook Library site. However, the internal publication date is 2010. The internal date seems accurate based on the examples and citations used throughout the textbook. The books examples are all about 10 years old. In the world of marketing, that is a problem. The textbook has some grammatical and spelling errors but nothing that would prevent usage.

The textbook is listed as published in 2015 on the Open Textbook Library site. However, the internal publication date is 2010. The internal date seems accurate based on the examples and citations used throughout the textbook. The books examples are all about 10 years old. In the world of marketing, that is a problem. The subjects of pricing, product, and distribution would be easy to update in the text and/or provide supplements in the classroom. However, the promotion related chapters are very out of date in today's tech driven e-marketing and social media marketing world. If this book had been available in 2009 as an open resource, I would have used it. In 2018, it is unlikely that I would use this resource.

The clarity of the book is great. It is written in a straight forward manner that students would easily understand. The minor grammatical and spelling issues do not hinder the reader.

The consistency of the book meets expectations in regards to terminology and framework.

Each chapter has between 3-8 subsections that allows the material to be easily read by students.

The flow of the chapters is a positive element of the textbook. The organization of the book follows the same structure as many of the principles of marketing textbooks. The table of contents could be restructured to group chapters into subunits for greater student comprehension but it is a small detail.

The interface of the book demonstrated no problems other than the links to videos did not work.

The book contained minor grammatical errors but at a level that the average student would not notice.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

The cultural relevance of the textbook needs attention. There are not many examples/photos that demonstrate a variety of races, ethnicity, or backgrounds.

1. The cover page and the initial first pages are dull and uninspiring. 2. Overall the textbook is visually dull and students would find the lack of visual interest to be a negative. 3. The examples and references are all at least 10 years old. 4. The text contains only three pages on social media. Not nearly sufficient in today's social media driven environment. 5. The textbook lacks examples of nonprofit organization.

Reviewed by Kristin Hagan, Associate Professor, Northern Virginia Community College on 6/20/17

This text includes all of the major learning objectives covered in an introduction to marketing class. The main topics include the definition of marketing, strategic planning, consumer behavior, the 4 Ps, offerings, marketing channels, selling,... read more

This text includes all of the major learning objectives covered in an introduction to marketing class. The main topics include the definition of marketing, strategic planning, consumer behavior, the 4 Ps, offerings, marketing channels, selling, and overview of a marketing plan. The Table of Contents is easy to access; it serves as a helpful search function. The text is missing a glossary of terms; adding one could be beneficial to readers.

Definitions, principles, and concepts presented in the text are correct. In accordance with marketing principles, the facts presented in the text are true to point. The material was presented in an unbiased way and was primarily free of any grammatical errors.

The examples used in the text are up-to-date and relevant. The large number of real world examples given help the reader understand the learning objectives being presented. Revising these examples and other pertinent information in the text would not be an impossible task.

The layout and formatting of the material is clear and concise. The content of the book uses a lot of extended sentences that could be shortened to help the reader better understand the material. The terms and jargon used is relevant and up-to-date.

The text is extremely consistent in its terminology and framework. Its layout is consistent which makes each new chapter and section easily recognizable. Each chapter has review questions and key summery section which reiterates key points and acts as checkpoint for student.

The layout of the text is very modular. Each chapter is broken down into a minimum of three sections which makes the information very learner-friendly. Each section has a defined learning objective and review material at the end of the section.

The text is organized in a logical way where concepts taught at the beginning of the book are built upon later. The information presented flows well throughout the text. The Table of Contents is extremely beneficial and makes key topics easy to locate in the text.

I did not notice that the text featured any interface issues such as navigational problems, unclear images, or other distortions that would confuse the reader. The images and figures presented in the text are clearly visible to the reader. All images and figures can be enlarged if the viewer clicks on the displayed image.

There were few grammatical errors in the text.

This text presents real life examples relevant to mainstream culture and business in America. Depending on the audience, more culturally diverse examples may be more suiting. The text does a fairly good job of using conational business examples however, some of the images of people could be diversified.

The audio clips located throughout the online text are a nice edition that students reading a traditional textbook can not experience.

Reviewed by Oksana Grybovych, Associate professor, University of Northern Iowa on 12/5/16

The text would greatly benefit from a table of contents, glossary, and an index. Otherwise, most content areas are discussed rather thoroughly - even though, as the previous reviewer mentioned, the text is lacking in its application towards... read more

The text would greatly benefit from a table of contents, glossary, and an index. Otherwise, most content areas are discussed rather thoroughly - even though, as the previous reviewer mentioned, the text is lacking in its application towards services and experiences marketing. Speaking of the latter, there is no discussion of marketing experiences as offerings even though this approach is very common these days.

This text seems to target the North American audience, and readers from elsewhere might not readily relate to the examples provided. The authors could also incorporate more examples from a nonprofit sector.

Most chapters are very relevant to the current marketing practices. However, the authors could consider including or expanding more on the subjects of sustainability (e.g. social corporate sustainability) as well as experience marketing.

Key concepts are well defined, but the structure and formatting of the text are somewhat confusing.

The text is structured around the framework that is outlined by the authors in chapter 1.

There are 16 chapters in the text, each of them is broken up into sections. Such structure makes it very manageable for the instructor to use the text in a typical North American semester.

Some of the chapters could be moved around to allow for a better flow of the contents.

The authors could consider moving all references to the end, as well as including a table of contents that the students could navigate (click on the headings), glossary, and an index.

Very few spelling/grammar errors.

It appears that this text is mainly designed for North American white audience, hence is lacking in its cultural relevance.

Overall this is a very good introductory text, I was happy to see the authors incorporate many important topics that are frequently omitted in other texts. At the same time, a few more important topics could be added, the formatting/ structure of the text revised, and more culturally relevant content added.

Reviewed by Chris Blocker, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University on 1/7/16

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond is a very comprehensive text, which addresses the full gamut of topics that an instructor might want to cover. It also offers nice integration of some topics that might normally be neglected, e.g.,... read more

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond is a very comprehensive text, which addresses the full gamut of topics that an instructor might want to cover. It also offers nice integration of some topics that might normally be neglected, e.g., satisfaction metrics, account planning, and other topics.

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond articulates the core principles of marketing with accuracy and precision. There is a tight linkage (typically through use of web links) to established definitions (e.g., AMA) and conceptual frameworks (e.g., Product and Market Entry strategies) that have come to reflect the established body of marketing knowledge.

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond contains relevant and up-to-date themes based upon emerging paradigms (e.g., Service Dominant Logic) that are synthesized across the chapters.

One of the strengths of Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond, which relates to its comprehensiveness, is the clarity offered for all the concepts presented. Key concepts are well-defined and presented in a plain language that is readily accessible to a wide audience.

Although, no unifying framework is offered to connect the chapters, there is an underlying common conceptual core offered within the Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond

Another key strength of Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond is the modularity. Chapters are broken up numerically and into "bite-size" chunks such that instructors would have an easy time assigning aspects of a chapter to modules.

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond follows the common flow of the vast majority of Principles texts by beginning with the organization and high-level strategies, then digging into consumer/buyer behavior, and finally, unpacking the marketing mix.

Navigation is easy for Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond; however, some issues with fonts and size of text within images rendered some distractions

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond is well written and in an accessible style.

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond is not offensive in any way and does offer quite a few diverse examples. However, there is a heavy reliance on North American company examples, such that individuals in other cultures might have difficulty with some.

Principles of Marketing by Tanner & Raymond does a really nice job of offering a comprehensive and relevant marketing text that can easily be modularized by instructors. The authors have effectively integrated up-to-date examples that students will find interesting as well as integrated media (e.g., audio clips) and real life profiles (profiling an analytics manager at BNSF) to produce an engaging text.

Reviewed by Marina Jaffey, Instructor & Program Leader Marketing, Camosun College on 10/9/13

This American Principles of Marketing text covers all the key areas & ideas normally included in a first year College/University Introduction to Marketing course. There are 16 chapters in the text and most key topic areas are discussed... read more

This American Principles of Marketing text covers all the key areas & ideas normally included in a first year College/University Introduction to Marketing course. There are 16 chapters in the text and most key topic areas are discussed relatively thoroughly, with the following exceptions: 1. Pricing 2. Retailing and Distribution as it relates to services Rather than structuring the text around the 4Ps or traditional Marketing Mix, the authors follow the premise that marketing is composed of four activities centered on customer value: creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value. The text does not include a Table of Contents, Contents in Brief, or Glossary and/or Index.

Marketing concepts are defined/explained/discussed accurately. All the examples are American, so not as relevant for Canadian students. Similarly, the Environmental Scan and ethical/legal segments are all based on American trends and laws/business practices. In general, the examples tend to focus on large corporations. More examples from medium/small businesses, as well as not-for-profits, would help to provide a broader perspective for students. Based on the scale below: content is accurate, but has a very American bias.

The content is up-to-date, with the exception of: 1. The three chapters on marketing communications. Marketing communications has been and is continuing to change rapidly, and as a result, it is difficult for text books to remain current. Having said this, I believe that it would be relatively easy to make regular updates to the marketing communications chapters. 2. Although the Distribution chapter is up-to-date, it is lacking in its coverage of distribution as it relates to services, as well as retailing. 3. Perhaps most importantly for Canadian students, is the fact that all the examples and all sections that relate to legislation/business practices in the current text are American. It would be more time consuming to up date the text to reflect the Canadian marketing environment.

Clarity rating: 3

Concepts are explained clearly in the body of the text. Ideas to increase retention are: 1. Include more visuals. The current charts/graphs are small and difficult to read. Many of the figures lack sufficient detail. Visuals serve to summarize concepts at-a-glance and help students to understand/recall a concept. 2. Provide a variety of examples to illustrate concepts. 3. Make better use of formatting to ensure students can see quickly key concepts and definitions on a page, for instance, make better use of headings & subheadings and include key concept definitions in the margins of the page. 4. In addition to the summaries at the end of each section within a chapter, include a final end of chapter summary.

Yes, the text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The text presents the marketing mix in terms of four activities or components of marketing: creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value.

There are 16 chapters in the text which corresponds nicely with a typically 14 week semester. The order of the chapters in the text is as follows: Ch. 1 - What is Marketing? Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning Ch. 3 - Consumer Behaviour Ch. 4 - Business Buying Behaviour Ch. 5 - Market Segmenting, Targeting, & Positioning Ch. 6 - Creating Offerings Ch. 7 - Developing & Managing Offerings Ch. 8 - Using Marketing Channels to Create Value for Customers Ch. 9 - Using Supply Chains to Create Value for Customers Ch. 10 - Gathering and Using Information: Marketing Research & Market Intelligence Ch. 11 - Advertising, IMC, and the Changing Media Landscape Ch. 12 - Public Relations & Sales Promotions Ch. 13 - Professional Selling Ch. 14 - Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Empowerment Ch. 15 - Price Ch. 16 - The Marketing Plan It would be easy and straight forward for an instructor to change the order that these topics are covered in a semester, should he/she wish to do that.

Two changes I recommend are: 1. Put ch. 15 - Price right after ch. 7 - Developing & Managing Offerings. Pricing is a very important marketing concept, and it makes most sense to discuss how to price products/services/offerings right after they are covered in the text. 2. Move ch. 10 - Marketing Research to right after ch. 2 - Strategic Planning. Ch. 2 covers environmental scanning, so it is important for students to learn how to research trends and find information required for planning. Otherwise, the order of the chapters is fine.

Interface rating: 2

I have been working with a print version of the text. A suggestion to make navigation through the print version easier would be to include a Table of Contents, Contents in Brief, and Index/Glossary at the end. Images/charts are small and difficult to read in the print version. Many subheadings sit alone at the bottom of a page. Need to format so that a subheading appears with some or all of the body copy. Also, some chapters begin on the same page that the previous chapter ends. It would be better to start a new chapter on a new page. In several instances, whole pages were simply lists of sources. It is important to cite sources, however it would be better to include these lists of sources at the end of a chapter, rather than in the middle of a chapter.

There are relatively few grammatical or spelling errors. Please see complete list of errors in attached document.

Although the text is not culturally offensive in any way, I believe there could be more examples that reflect a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. The text mentions that there is a profile of a marketing professional at the beginning of each chapter - this is not the case (no profiles are included). Including profiles of marketing professionals from a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds would be one way of addressing this weaknesses. It would also be appropriate to profile different types of organizations to illustrate marketing concepts/business practices amongst different cultural groups. As mentioned earlier, this is an American text so all examples are American.

Overall this text covers all the key topic areas relevant to a first year college/university overview marketing course. Most topics are covered in an appropriate amount of depth, with a few exceptions including pricing and services marketing. Learning Objectives are included at the start of each segment within a chapter, but not at the start of a chapter. Learning Objectives are all at the lowest two levels of Bloom's Taxonomy - Knowledge (i.e. Describe...) and Comprehension (i.e. Understand...) http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/blooms-taxonomy.html The Review Questions and Key Takeaways which appear at the end of each segment within a chapter and the Discussion Questions and Activities at the end of each chapter are generally good and provide students with ways to test understanding and apply relevant concepts. This is an American text, so an instructor would need to provide his/her students with a variety of Canadian examples, as well as Canadian content related to environmental scanning and business practices. All Introduction to Marketing texts offered by publishers provide extensive support materials for instructors and students. I'm not aware of any support materials that come with this text. There are formatting issues which have been mentioned earlier in this review, that would need to be addressed. This review originated in the BC Open Textbook Collection and is licensed under CC BY-ND.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter 1: What is Marketing?
  • Chapter 2: Strategic Planning
  • Chapter 3: Consumer Behavior: How People Make Buying Decisions
  • Chapter 4: Business Buying Behavior
  • Chapter 5: Market Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning
  • Chapter 6: Creating Offerings
  • Chapter 7: Developing and Managing Offerings
  • Chapter 8: Using Marketing Channels to Create Value for Customers
  • Chapter 9: Using Supply Chains to Create Value for Customers
  • Chapter 10: Gathering and Using Information: Marketing Research and Market Intelligence
  • Chapter 11: Integrated Marketing Communications and the Changing Media Landscape
  • Chapter 12: Public Relations, Social Media, and Sponsorships
  • Chapter 13: Professional Selling
  • Chapter 14: Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Empowerment
  • Chapter 15: Price, the Only Revenue Generator
  • Chapter 16: The Marketing Plan

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Principles of Marketing teaches the experience and process of actually doing marketing – not just the vocabulary. It carries five dominant themes throughout in order to expose students to marketing in today's environment:

Service dominant logic — This textbook employs the term "offering" instead of the more traditional First "P" — product. That is because consumers don't sacrifice value when alternating between a product and a service. They are evaluating the entire experience, whether they interact with a product, a service, or a combination. So the fundamental focus is providing value throughout the value chain, whether that value chain encompasses a product, service, or both.

Sustainability — Increasingly, companies are interested in the impact they are having on their local community as well as the overall environment. This is often referred to as the "triple bottom line" of financial, social, and environment performance.

Ethics and social responsibility — Following on the sustainability notion is the broader importance of ethics and social responsibility in creating successful organizations. The authors make consistent references to ethical situations throughout chapter coverage, and end of chapter material in most chapters will encompass ethical situations.

Global coverage — the authors deliberately entitled Chapter 1 "What is Marketing?" Whether it is today's price of gasoline, the current U.S. presidential race, or Midwestern U.S. farming, almost every industry and company needs strong global awareness. And today's marketing professionals must understand the world in which they and their companies operate.

Metrics — Firms today have the potential to gather more information than ever before about their current and potential customers. That information gathering can be costly, but it can also be very revealing. With the potential to capture so much more detail about micro transactions, firms should now be more able to answer "well, what this marketing strategy really worth it?" And "what is the marketing ROI?" And finally, "what is this customer or set of customers worth to us over their lifetime?"

Contribute to this Page

Logo for M Libraries Publishing

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Chapter 1: What is Marketing?

1.1 Defining Marketing 1.2 Who Does Marketing? 1.3 Why Study Marketing? 1.4 Themes and Organization of This Book 1.5 Discussion Questions and Activities

Principles of Marketing Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

1.1 Marketing and the Marketing Process

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • 1 Define and describe marketing.
  • 2 Describe the benefits of marketing to the organization, its interested parties, and society.
  • 3 Explain the marketing process.

Marketing Defined

When you ask a group of people, “What’s marketing?” most people will answer “advertising” or “selling.” It’s true that both of these functions are part of marketing, but marketing is also so much more. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” 6 That’s kind of a mouthful, so let’s see if we can simplify it a bit.

At its most basic level, marketing is made up of every process involved in moving a product or service from the organization to the consumer. It includes discerning the needs of customers, developing products or services to meet those needs, identifying who is likely to purchase the products or services, promoting them, and moving them through the appropriate distribution channels to reach those customers. Marketing, quite simply, is about understanding what your customers want and using that understanding to drive the business.

Marketing can also be defined as the set of activities involved in identifying and anticipating customer needs and then attempting to satisfy those needs profitably. 7 But what does that really mean? Let’s break down that definition:

  • Identifying customer needs . This is typically where marketing research comes in. Methods of marketing research will be covered in a later chapter, but market research helps a company develop a detailed picture of its customers, including a clear understanding of their wants and needs.
  • Anticipating customer needs . After analyzing the data collected, marketers can predict how products might be changed, adapted, or updated.
  • Satisfying customer needs . If marketers have done their homework correctly and clearly understand their customers’ needs, consumers will be pleased with their product purchase and will be more likely to make additional purchases.
  • Profitably . Profitability is a relatively simple term; it’s when a company’s revenue is greater than its expenses. In terms of marketing, the road to profitability means adding value to a product so that the price customers pay is greater than the cost of making the product. 8

Marketing in Practice

Reconciling segmentation and diversity.

We live in a multicultural world where diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is no longer the “right” thing to do; rather, it’s imperative. This is particularly true in marketing, because as the consumer population diversifies, brands have to authentically reflect a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences in order to effectively connect with consumers. Therefore, marketers must increasingly respect individual preferences, celebrate differences, and promote customization of products and services to meet customers’ needs, wants, and preferences.

At the same time, to profitably produce and sell a viable product or service, marketers must identify potential customer groups and types with certain characteristics in common—i.e., market segmentation. Segmentation requires assigning individuals to predefined categories with predictable behaviors, based on standardized assumptions.

How does segmentation differ from stereotyping? How can segmentation support diversity?

Read the following articles to further explore these nuances:

  • Chron: “ Difference Between Stereotyping & Market Segmentation ”
  • Retail Dive: “ Segmentation is dead !”
  • Spectrem Group Blog: “ Why Segmentation Is OK in Market Research Not Life ”

Keep these questions in mind as you explore Unit 2 of this book, where you will learn more about Market Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning before exploring the considerations of Marketing in a Diverse Marketplace .

How Marketing Benefits the Organization, Its Interested Parties, and Society

Before we go on, let’s consider all the people and groups that an organization needs to consider and serve. Interested parties are those persons or entities that have an interest in the success or failure of a company. These parties can be categorized into two types: internal and external, as shown in Figure 1.2 . You may see these people and groups referred to as “stakeholders” in business writing and other media.

Internal interested parties are entities that reside within the organization and that affect—or are affected by—the actions of the company. These entities include employees, owners, managers, and investors (shareholders). When we think about marketing, marketers often tend to look outward. They build strategies to engage customers and show them what the company has to offer.

You might think that marketing would be primarily directed toward those outside the company, like customers, but marketing is also directed toward internal groups. Internal marketing involves promoting the objectives, products, and services of a company to its internal constituents—particularly employees. 9

Think about a recent interaction you have had with a business employee. It could be the server who took your order at lunch or the sales associate at a big box store who showed you the features of the new laptop you were looking to purchase. Which interactions left you with a positive experience? Chances are that your evaluation of the experience is based on the interaction you had with the server or sales associate. That’s a function and benefit of good internal marketing, employees who are motivated and empowered to deliver a satisfying customer experience.

External interested parties include those outside the company, such as customers, creditors, suppliers, distributors, and even society at large. External groups don’t have a direct say in the company’s decision-making process. However they are vital to the success of the company because companies can only succeed with the support of others.

How does marketing benefit external parties? First, consider what marketing does for consumers. It draws out their needs, creates new demand, locates untapped opportunities, and determines the possibilities of selling new products. Second, marketing creates form, time, place, and possession utilities for the company’s goods and services. Utility refers to a product’s usefulness to customers so that they are convinced enough to make a purchase. In other words, when you hear “utility” in marketing, think “usefulness to customers.”

Marketing creates several different types of utility:

  • Form utility . Form utility refers to how well an organization can increase the value of its product in the customer’s eyes by making changes and altering its physical appearance. 10 For example, when you want a donut or a pastry, you don’t want to buy the ingredients to make it; you want a donut in its final form so you can eat it. That’s where the bakery and form utility come into play. The bakery combines flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients to make the cakes, donuts, and pastries that you purchase.
  • Time utility . Marketing creates time utility when it makes products and services available to customers so that they can buy it when it is most convenient for them. Consider how many stores are open evenings, weekends, or even 24/7 to make it convenient for customers to shop there!
  • Place utility . Marketing creates place utility when it makes goods or services physically available, convenient, and accessible to customers. Consider the ease a company like Uber Eats adds to your life when you’re craving tacos in the middle of the night and you don’t feel like getting dressed and driving to go get them. You can have your food delivered to you!
  • Possession utility . Marketers facilitate possession utility by ensuring that a product is relatively easy to acquire. For example, many automobile manufacturers offer low (or sometimes no) interest rates on car loans to make it easy for you to walk out the door with a new set of car keys. Possession utility also encompasses the pride or satisfaction you get from owning a new product, such as a great-fitting pair of running shoes or a smartphone with all of the features you’ve been wanting.

Marketing’s primary benefit to society is that it drives the consumer economy. Marketing leads to increased sales and revenue for a business which enables them to expand operations, create more internal jobs and external jobs for partners like suppliers. Marketing also contributes tax revenue to local, state, and federal governments, ultimately leading to overall economic growth.

The Marketing Process Defined

The marketing process refers to the series of steps that assist businesses in planning, analyzing, implementing, and adjusting their marketing strategy. Do an internet search for “steps in the marketing process,” and you’ll immediately see that some websites outline a 10-step process, whereas others propose a 4-step or 6-step process. For our purposes, we’re going to use a 5-step process.

Steps in the Marketing Process

The 5-step process (see Figure 1.3 ) involves understanding the marketplace and customers, developing a marketing strategy, delivering value, growing customer relations, and capturing value from customers. 11

Step 1: Understand Both the Marketplace and Customers

Before you can start the marketing process, you need to have a good idea of what your marketplace looks like. This means answering some basic questions about your customers, like who they are, their income and purchasing power, and how much they’re likely to spend (particularly on your products or services). If you decide to sell at lower prices in order to attain higher unit sales volume, your marketing strategy would look very different than if you decided to sell fewer products at a higher price.

Another way to approach this is to create separate brands and compete in both arenas. Consider Volkswagen . You might immediately think of the VW Beetle or the Jetta, but the company’s brand portfolio extends beyond VW passenger cars and SUVs. It’s also the parent company for Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, and others, and these vehicles sell at very different price points than VW passenger cars. 12

Step 2: Develop a Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy refers to a business’s overall “game plan” to focus its limited resources in order to reach prospective customers and turn them into paying customers, hopefully for the long run.

It’s said that there are two basic types of marketing strategy: a product-driven, “build-it-and-they-will-come” strategy and a customer-driven strategy, in which you analyze prospective consumers and then—and only then—create something that they want or need. We’re going to focus on the latter strategy. What happens in a customer-driven marketing strategy is that the company shifts the focus from the product or service itself to its users. Customers’ needs are the central focus and the point of beginning, not an afterthought. Your primary goal in a customer-driven marketing strategy is to determine what users want and/or need and then satisfy those users. Instead of being product-centric, it’s about being customer-centric and developing a mutually beneficial relationship with customers. 13

In a nutshell, it’s about establishing a connection and a relationship. It’s about understanding who your customers are, what their needs and wants are, and how you can best meet those needs and wants. It’s about knowing your target market better than your competitors do and creating a strong value proposition for those users—a promise of value that communicates the benefits of your company’s products or services. In short, it’s what makes your product or service desirable to potential customers, helps them understand why they should buy it, how your company’s product or service differs from those of its competitors, and how your offerings are superior to similar offerings from your competitors. 14

Step 3: Deliver High Customer Value

Customers have myriad buying options and alternatives today. Given that, how can a company attract and—even more importantly—retain its customers? The answer is relatively simple: you give them value for their money. By definition, customer value is the ratio between the perceived benefits and costs incurred by the customer in acquiring your products or services.

The mathematical formula is simple:

But “value” from the customer’s perspective is a complex term, because we’re really considering four different values types:

  • Functional value: what the product “does” for the customer in terms of solving a particular want or need
  • Monetary value: what the product actually costs relative to its perceived worth
  • Social value: how much owning the product allows the customer to connect with others
  • Psychological value: how much that product allows the customer to “feel better” 15

Value is increased by boosting the benefits (in the form of product, place, or promotion) or minimizing the price.

Step 4: Grow Profitable Customer Relations

The bottom line is that profitable customer relationships are the “secret sauce” of any business. This step in the marketing process is where marketers acquire, keep, and grow customer relationships. Successful marketers know that acquiring customers is one of the hardest (not to mention one of the most expensive) elements of marketing. However, when you know clearly who those potential customers are, you can more effectively determine how to reach them, thus maximizing your marketing dollars.

It isn’t enough to have a one-and-done sale. You want repeat buyers, so marketers need to remind customers about the company’s products and/or services and how those products and services have met their needs and improved their lives so they make repeat purchases. Marketers need to consider how to reach customers about their offerings and make it easy and convenient for those customers to make continued purchases.

When customers have a positive relationship with a company or its products or services, they’re more likely to become repeat buyers. Satisfied customers are also more likely to be interested in buying additional products or services from your company, and they tend to recommend products to others, further reducing the company’s costs of getting new customers. 16

Step 5: Capture Customer Value in the Form of Profits

The goal of successful customer relationship management (CRM) is creating high customer equity —the potential profits a company earns from its current and potential customers. It’s a relatively simple concept: increasing customer loyalty results in higher customer equity.

Increasing customer equity is the goal of marketers because it’s a bellwether for financial success. Think about it in simple terms: the higher a company’s customer equity, the more profit the company generates, and the more valuable that company (and its products or services) becomes on the market. 17

Careers In Marketing

Marketing jobs.

In every chapter of this book, you’ll find this Careers in Marketing section. It’s meant to outline various jobs so you can be well informed of all the things marketers do. These sections will outline various job roles, what you do day-to-day, qualifications needed, and sometimes even salary information.

If you’ve decided you want a job in marketing, it’s important to know what kinds of jobs exist and what’s expected in each role. Google and YouTube searches will bring you all kinds of information. It’s recommended that you check out the insights from people in these roles and maybe even connect with them to ask them questions. Please do your homework, and determine what you like to do with your day, what you’re good at, and how to build a network to find the right job for you.

Here are a handful of resources to get your thinking started:

  • HubSpot: “ How to Start Your Marketing Career When You Know Nothing About Marketing ”
  • Setup: “ The Marketing Career Path: From Entry-Level to Chief Marketing Officer ”
  • Coursera: “ Your Guide to Landing an Entry-Level Marketing Job ”
  • Skillshare: “ 12 Entry-Level Marketing Jobs You Can Pursue Right Now ”
  • Indeed: “ Entry Level Marketing Salary in the United States ”

Whatever job role you choose, marketing is a creative, interesting, and at times exciting role where you can make a real impact on people’s lives. Enjoy!

Knowledge Check

It’s time to check your knowledge on the concepts presented in this section. Refer to the Answer Key at the end of the book for feedback.

  • Form utility
  • Time utility
  • Place utility
  • Possession utility
  • Marketing creates value.
  • Marketing is made up of every process involved in moving a product or service from your organization to the consumer.
  • Marketing includes distribution decisions.
  • Marketing is about building relationships.
  • customer equity
  • the value proposition
  • customer value
  • the marketing process
  • Developing a customer-driven marketing strategy
  • Delivering high customer value
  • Growing profitable customer relations
  • Capturing value from customers

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/1-unit-introduction
  • Authors: Dr. Maria Gomez Albrecht, Dr. Mark Green, Linda Hoffman
  • Publisher/website: OpenStax
  • Book title: Principles of Marketing
  • Publication date: Jan 25, 2023
  • Location: Houston, Texas
  • Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/1-unit-introduction
  • Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/1-1-marketing-and-the-marketing-process

© Jan 9, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

BUS203: Principles of Marketing

Course introduction.

  • Time: 31 hours
  • College Credit Recommended ($25 Proctor Fee) -->
  • Free Certificate

Course Syllabus

First, read the course syllabus. Then, enroll in the course by clicking "Enroll me". Click Unit 1 to read its introduction and learning outcomes. You will then see the learning materials and instructions on how to use them.

essay on marketing principles

Unit 1: The Definition and Principles of Marketing

Many people incorrectly believe that marketing and advertising are the same. In reality, advertising is just one of many tools used in marketing, which is how firms determine which products to offer, how to price those products, and who they should be made available to. We will explore ways marketing departments and independent agencies answer these questions, whether through research, analysis, or trial and error. Once a company identifies its customer and product, marketers must determine the best way to capture the customer's attention. Grabbing the customer's attention may entail undercutting competitors' prices, aggressively marketing with promotions and advertising (like "As Seen on TV" ads), or targeting ideal customers. The strategy a marketing firm chooses for a particular product is vital to the product's success. The idea that "great products sell themselves" is simply not true. By the end of this course, you will be familiar with the art and science of marketing a product.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.

Unit 2: Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning

Philip Kotler, the grand dean of marketing textbooks, has suggested that if marketers can nail their target and position, all other aspects of a marketing campaign will fall into place. Target and position define whom we are trying to reach with our marketing campaign and what message (or position) we will use to connect. The concepts of targeting and positioning are so critical to marketing success that we now dedicate an entire unit to them.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 2 hours.

Unit 3: Customers and Marketing Research

Marketing is all about the customer. But who is the customer? If you are a car manufacturer, you have multiple types of customers. You might have governments and rental agencies that wish to buy fleet vehicles. We call these customers business-to-business (B2B). You would also have dealerships to whom you want to sell your cars; this is also B2B. Then, there are the end-users or dealer's customers. Though the dealer owns the car when it is sold, the manufacturer almost always plays a crucial role in marketing that car. Identifying your target customer can be difficult, but with the proper definitions and the right research, marketers will know their customers better than they know themselves.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.

Unit 4: Life Cycles, Offers, Supply Chains, and Pricing

Products do not last forever. New products typically cost more than existing products due to the high costs associated with production and development. Technology products best illustrate this. The fact that initial customers will be early adopters of a new product affects the marketing strategy. As the product grows and matures, the strategy changes; marketers lower the price over time. When a product is in the declining stage, most competitors leave the market, and prices are very low. At each stage, the marketing of the product is different.

When a new product is developed and offered, a company must consider what will create the product's value to the customer, whether the customer is a consumer or another business. Marketers must always ask where a new product will fit in their current lineup and how the new product will serve as an extension of an existing brand. Take the car manufacturer BMW. They make sporty luxury vehicles aimed at the upper-middle and wealthy classes.

Developing an inexpensive, lower-quality vehicle to compete with cars in another class may dilute the brand and hurt sales. However, suppose BMW were to market the vehicle under a different brand. In that case, they could diversify their product portfolio, avoid the risk of diluting the BMW brand and be able to reach new customers all at the same time. Some firms go to great lengths to disassociate their brands from one another, while others embrace a family of brands model. Appropriate decisions vary by industry and strategy. Equally crucial in delivering value to the customer through an offering is how a company sources the goods and services necessary for production and delivers the end product for customers to purchase. This process is known as the supply chain.

Finally, in this unit, we will examine issues in pricing, including the costs of delivering a product, customer and societal perspectives, the impacts of competition, and ultimately the revenues a company may generate.

Unit 5: Distribution and Promotion

Once marketers have identified the right product and determined appropriate pricing, they must decide how to raise awareness and distribute the product effectively. This unit will focus on these decisions. Distribution is a complex process involving taking a product through the manufacturing process, shipping to warehouses, distributing to sellers and customers, and returning products. Marketers must work with supply chain managers to determine the best method to route products. If marketers expect sales to be heavier in the northeast than in the west, additional resources will need to be allocated there to meet demand. There are several strategies for moving a product through various distribution channels. These vary based on anticipated demand, actual demand, and competition. Marketers must have a proactive strategy; they cannot sit on inventory and wait for orders because inventory storage is expensive, and a lack of sales is disruptive.

The final and arguably most vital aspect of marketing is the actual promotion of the product. This can take the form of giveaways, competitions, advertising, sales, and anything else a creative manager can think of. Marketers must consider several aspects. If you employ a sales staff to promote the product, how do you compensate them? If you pay a commission, how much commission will be paid per unit? Will the sales staff be given discretion on price, or do you want to send a consistent message that the price is locked in? If a new company has limited funds for advertising campaigns, might they use public relations tactics to gain free media coverage? These are just a few considerations that marketers must consider. This final unit will provide you with tools to make the best possible promotion decisions.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.

Unit 6: Launching a Marketing Campaign

Marketing is not just a matter of internal strategies and customer analysis. There are factors outside of the company that must be considered with any marketing strategy. Though marketers can control how they might respond to customer needs and expectations, they face the often-unpredictable reactions of customers to them. Maintaining customer satisfaction is essential to sustainable success. Marketers need to be sensitive to the regulatory and ethical constraints that may be placed upon them by a wide range of domestic and international industry standards and society's expectations. Companies must also face social forces that challenge their success. For example, marketers must be aware of each region's social and cultural aspects in which they choose to market a product. Even a worldwide brand such as Coca-Cola must adjust its marketing strategy for every region it enters. An awareness of the cultural factors affecting a marketing strategy can make the marketing message much more effective. Often, marketers will address social issues relevant to the lives of their audiences or society with social marketing campaigns. Finally, as a marketing campaign prepares for its launch, all the issues addressed in this and earlier units must come together in a formalized document – the comprehensive marketing plan.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.

Unit 7: Social Media Marketing

Social media refers to digital technologies which allow people to interact. The foundation stems from how people talk and behave without a standard set of rules or principles to follow. There can be a shift in social media set by the users, which causes tech developers and marketers to adjust the way they create or produce. Therefore, it is critical to understand social media and stay abreast of the trends and patterns in data. Social media buzz does not necessarily mirror society. The insights found on social media are sometimes a poor reflection of real social life. In this unit, you will understand the trends, content, communication, platforms, and marketing used across social networking sites (SNS). The next sections will guide you in understanding each component.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

Study Guide

This study guide will help you get ready for the final exam. It discusses the key topics in each unit, walks through the learning outcomes, and lists important vocabulary. It is not meant to replace the course materials!

essay on marketing principles

Course Feedback Survey

Please take a few minutes to give us feedback about this course. We appreciate your feedback, whether you completed the whole course or even just a few resources. Your feedback will help us make our courses better, and we use your feedback each time we make updates to our courses.

If you come across any urgent problems, email [email protected].

essay on marketing principles

Certificate Final Exam

Take this exam if you want to earn a free Course Completion Certificate.

To receive a free Course Completion Certificate, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on this final exam. Your grade for the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you can take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt.

Once you pass this final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate .

essay on marketing principles

Saylor Direct Credit

Take this exam if you want to earn college credit for this course . This course is eligible for college credit through Saylor Academy's Saylor Direct Credit Program .

The Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam requires a proctoring fee of $5 . To pass this course and earn a Credly Badge and official transcript , you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam. Your grade for this exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you can take it again a maximum of 3 times , with a 14-day waiting period between each attempt.

We are partnering with SmarterProctoring to help make the proctoring fee more affordable. We will be recording you, your screen, and the audio in your room during the exam. This is an automated proctoring service, but no decisions are automated; recordings are only viewed by our staff with the purpose of making sure it is you taking the exam and verifying any questions about exam integrity. We understand that there are challenges with learning at home - we won't invalidate your exam just because your child ran into the room!

Requirements:

  • Desktop Computer
  • Chrome (v74+)
  • Webcam + Microphone
  • 1mbps+ Internet Connection

Once you pass this final exam, you will be awarded a Credly Badge and can request an official transcript .

Saylor Direct Credit Exam

This exam is part of the Saylor Direct College Credit program. Before attempting this exam, review the Saylor Direct Credit page for complete requirements.

Essential exam information:

  • You must take this exam with our automated proctor. If you cannot, please contact us to request an override.
  • The automated proctoring session will cost $5 .
  • This is a closed-book, closed-notes exam (see allowed resources below).
  • You will have two (2) hours to complete this exam.
  • You have up to 3 attempts, but you must wait 14 days between consecutive attempts of this exam.
  • The passing grade is 70% or higher.
  • This exam consists of 54 multiple-choice questions.

Some details about taking your exam:

  • Exam questions are distributed across multiple pages.
  • Exam questions will have several plausible options; be sure to pick the answer that best satisfies each part of the question.
  • Your answers are saved each time you move to another page within the exam.
  • You can answer the questions in any order.
  • You can go directly to any question by clicking its number in the navigation panel.
  • You can flag a question to remind yourself to return to it later.
  • You will receive your grade as soon as you submit your answers.

Allowed resources:

Gather these resources before you start your exam.

  • Blank paper

What should I do before my exam?

  • Gather these before you start your exam:
  •   A photo I.D. to show before your exam.
  •   A credit card to pay the automated proctoring fee.
  •   (optional) Blank paper and pencil.
  •   (optional) A glass of water.
  • Make sure your work area is well-lit and your face is visible.
  • We will be recording your screen, so close any extra tabs!
  • Disconnect any extra monitors attached to your computer.
  • You will have up to two (2) hours to complete your exam. Try to make sure you won't be interrupted during that time!
  • You will require at least 1mbps of internet bandwidth. Ask others sharing your connection not to stream during your exam.
  • Take a deep breath; you got this!

Essay on Marketing: Definition, Principle and Functions

essay on marketing principles

After reading this essay you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Marketing 2. Definition of Marketing 3. Principles 4. Functions 5. Cost 6. Process 7. Orientations.

  • Essay on the Orientations of Marketing

Essay # 1. Introduction to Marketing:

Marketing has its origins in the fact that man is a creature of needs and wants. Needs and wants create a state of discomfort in persons and they tend to get objects (i.e., products) those satisfy these needs and wants. For example in the months of summer, if in an area, ice is not freely available or when eatable tend to get distasted in summer, persons feel discomfort and they satisfy their needs by purchasing a refrigerator.

The word marketing has been derived from Market which may be looked upon as an arena for potential exchanges, i.e., a place where products can be exchanged by money or anything else, e.g., a political candidate offers promises of good government to a voter market in exchange for their votes.

There are need markets, product markets, demographic markets, geographic markets, etc.

The size of the market depends upon the number of persons who have both:

(i) An interest in the product; and

(ii) Are willing to offer something (say money) in exchange of the product.

Essay # 2. Definition of Marketing:

The concept of markets leads to the concept of marketing. Marketing means working with markets, i.e., trying to actualize potential exchanges for the purpose of satisfying human needs and wants. Marketing, therefore, may be defined as human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange processes; examples of human needs and wants are food, water, clothing, education and other services. Marketing in its broad meaning includes the policy, techniques and methods necessary for selling and distribution.

Without marketing function, goods and services cannot be sold. Marketing is the total commercial and support activities of any enterprise to effect sales of company end products or services. Marketing involves planning and execution of all aspects and activities of a product so as to exert optimum influence on the consumer to result in maximum consumption at the optimum price and therefore producing the maximum long term profit.

Essay # 3. Principles of Marketing:

The five basic principles of sound marketing are described below:

1. Marketing must provide a means of classifying, assessing and integrating information relevant to a business.

2. It must provide a sound base for thinking about and studying business problems and provide methods to draw correct conclusions which form basis for action.

3. Marketing must be able to explain, predict and control the process it employs.

4. Marketing must use analytical methods such as O.R., Statistics, Computer Technology, etc., to solve its problems.

5. Marketing should allow the derivation of a number of its principles adaptable to any particular business.

Essay # 4. Functions/Objectives of Marketing:

The functions, aims and objectives of marketing are:

(i) To give direction and purpose to the marketing division as a whole as well as to its various de­partments.

(ii) To place present activities in perspective.

(iii) To discipline various future activities.

(iv) To place tactical plans correctly in the strategic setting.

(v) To set growth targets.

(vi) To establish the organisation and the methods which will be required.

Essay # 5. Cost of Marketing :

Marketing costs are generally high. The study of marketing of wheat, rice and cotton in India indicated that 50 to 60% of the total cost accounted for the marketing costs.

Reasons for high cost of marketing:

(i) There is a big gap between the points of production and consumption. This gap is bridged by an army of middle men-both merchants and agents. This results in high cost.

(ii) Moreover, society has also accepted to pay high prices in view of the valuable services that it is getting in return, from the above mentioned marketing system.

(iii) The inefficiency that creeps in various marketing functions and segments due to presence of inefficient and incompetent men, also results in higher cost of marketing.

To reduce marketing costs:

(i) Un-necessary crowd of middlemen should be avoided.

(ii) Development of chain stores, multiple shops and departmental stores are the innovations of marketing men to avoid middlemen.

(iii) People in marketing line should be qualified and experts.

(iv) Cooperatives should be developed to provide better services to customers.

(v) Government should provide fast and reliable transportation systems (railways, roadways etc.) and communication systems.

Essay # 6. Process of Modern Marketing :

Marketing is the process of discovering and translating consumer’s wants into products and services. According to modern marketing concept, marketing starts with the product-idea and ends with customer satisfaction.

Marketing process covers marketing functions as well as marketing agencies or channels of distribution. Marketing process brings together producers and consumers. Each producer (or seller) has certain goals in making and marketing his products.

An exchange (or transaction) takes place when market offering is acceptable to the consumer who is prepared to give something of value (i.e., money) in return against the product he wants to buy. In the process of exchange, both (seller and consumer) give up something and both gain something in return.

The seller gets the profit and the consumer gets utility (of product) or individual satisfaction. Thus market mechanism brings together a willing seller and a willing and informed buyer together for mutual gain.

The marketing process is influenced by:

(1) Competition,

(2) Government rules and policies, and 

(3) Mass media or communication etc. (refer Fig. 31.10).

Marketing environment (Fig. 31.10) affects both producer and consumer.

Modern Marketing Process

The marketing process involves three major activities :

1. Concentration.

2. Dispersion.

3. Equalisation.

The products which have been concentrated at the central markets are dispersed from the producer toward the consumer. The process of equalisation involves proper adjustment of supply at all centres of distribution in the light of current market conditions. The producers carry out market anticipation work. They study customer demand through marketing research.

Marketing research is the starting point in the marketing process to ascertain and identify customer needs and desires through market analysis and investigation, Resources of men, money, materials and management are employed in the marketing system to perform marketing functions and thereby achieve the satisfaction of customer demand.

Producers manufacture a number of products. Then, marketing is a matching process by which the producer provides a marketing mix (product, price, promotion and physical distribution) that meets consumer demand; thus products/goods flow from producer to the customers. When the customers buy the products, the flow of money takes place from the customer to the producers.

Essay # 7. Orientations in Marketing:

Marketing is a philosophy as well as a technology. As a philosophy, it guides whether to produce something or not to produce. As a technology it decides what should be produced, how and when products could be most effectively distributed among the customers. Hence, a producer, always, has to face the changing (mood or) conditions of the human behaviour.

As a result of the changing human behaviour, the evolution of marketing concept had the following orientations:

(1) Exchange oriented marketing:

In the early period of human history, every human being or a family had to gather their food by hunting or so and they were self-sufficient. At this stage marketing was totally absent. As the time passed, man started producing more than what he could consume.

Somebody produced wheat, other fruits, so they mutually exchanged their surplus with each other. This was nothing but barter system. The (surplus) products used to be brought at central places (called local markets) for the purpose of exchange. This was the first stage in the evolution of marketing.

(2) Product oriented marketing:

This stage came after the Industrial revolution when there was a shift from agriculture to industry and the means of transport and communications had also somewhat developed. The importance of marketing concept was realised, however, no serious efforts were made to satisfy the wants of the consumers.

It was because the product demand usually outstripped the production capacity. This concept of marketing was marked as product oriented because it lay more emphasis on the product rather than on the consumers.

In the product-oriented concept/stage, it is believed that if the product is good and reasonably priced, customer response is bound to be favourable and little marketing effort will be necessary to achieve satisfactory sales and profit.

There was a time, in India, when only two brands of cars that is Ambassador and Fiat were available in the market and (unlike today) the customer had no choice except for to buy this or that. The consumers knew these two brands of cars and therefore no promotion efforts were there on the part of producers of these cars.

(3) Sales-oriented marketing stage (selling concept):

With the passage of time, there was rise in living standards of the customers and the means of transport and communication had developed. These changes compelled to have an organised marketing procedure.

Under sales-oriented approach, it was assumed that the customers will normally not buy enough unless approached through incentive sales promotion, advertising and salesmanship efforts. But, under this concept, no efforts were made to satisfy the particular needs of the customers. In other words, more emphasis was laid on increasing the sales than on customer’s need and satisfaction.

(4) Marketing-oriented approach:

Marketing-oriented approach developed after the sales-oriented stage. In marketing-oriented approach, it is realized that the producer should determine the needs and wants of the customers and deliver the goods accordingly but more effectively and efficiently than its competitors.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product (and service) fits him and sells itself. The selling and the marketing concepts are quite often confused. However, selling focuses on the needs of the seller (i.e., the seller’s need to convert his product into cash); whereas marketing focuses on the needs (and satisfaction) of the consumers.

(5) Customer-oriented marketing:

This is a modern philosophy of marketing and it was introduced only after 1950, when production went in excess of demand and the competition became keen. Under this concept, goods are produced to satisfy the needs and wants of the customers. Only such products are brought forward which can satisfy the wants and tastes of the Consumers. Customer-oriented approach is related to the needs of the buyer.

(6) Socially-oriented marketing:

The business enterprise engaged in the marketing process itself is influenced by social environment. It consists of political, economic, social, cultural and technological forces. Marketers have to adapt with these ever-changing environment forces and fulfill the needs and desires of the society or community.

According to socially-oriented concept, marketing is a social activity, because:

(1) Marketing provides new goods and improved services to people in the society, thereby raising the standard Of living of the people,

(2) Marketing provides employment to people, and

(3) Sound marketing decreases the distribution cost and increases the National Income.

In the long run, society monitors the marketing process and controls its effectiveness. The modern business enterprise is called upon to demonstrate simultaneously higher level of economic performance and fulfillment of social responsibility i.e., high level of consumer/citizen welfare and satisfaction.

Marketing process must reflect social awareness and social responsibility in all business enterprises. Then only the survival, growth and prosperity of the marketing units can be assured.

Related Articles:

  • Essay on Sales Promotion: Top 4 Essays | Functions | Marketing Management
  • Integrated Marketing Functions (With Diagram) | Functions | Marketing
  • Marketing Functions: 12 Essential Functions of Marketing – Discussed!
  • Difference between Marketing and Selling

We use cookies

Privacy overview.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

  • We're Hiring!
  • Help Center

paper cover thumbnail

Student-inspired discussion questions for Principles of Marketing course (Revised 15 December 2021)

Profile image of Michael R Hyman

The essay/discussion questions in these 20 sets are based on questions students enrolled in a Principles of Marketing course submitted in advance of the in-class session on each topic. Key to instructions associated with each question:  = instructor comment (Discuss) = question meant to stimulate class discussion (Lecture) = question meant for the instructor to answer (notes) = end-of-question prompts for instructor response

Related Papers

ERASTUS HASHOSHANGE

essay on marketing principles

Paloma Bernal Turnes

Innovative marketing

Maurice Otube Khayota

Sagar Gogia

Stephen Gould

David Mygind

This paper is the second synopsis in a series of three. It discusses a PhD syllabus that has been chosen for tis ability to highlight prevailing issues in current marketing. The students are first familiarized with the concept of online social media marketing by introducing them to the work from Berthon et al. (2007, 2012). A marketing framework for working with social media is then drawn up on the basis of ideas from Kumar et al. (2012). The implications of social media marketing are finally highlighted through an empiric case study developed by Seijts et al. (2012). This happens all the while the core course book from Hedin et al. (2012) keeps the students abreast with market intelligence as a factor that inhibits risk.

Ladan Ladan

Michael R Hyman

mark tadajewski

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED TOPICS

  •   We're Hiring!
  •   Help Center
  • Find new research papers in:
  • Health Sciences
  • Earth Sciences
  • Cognitive Science
  • Mathematics
  • Computer Science
  • Academia ©2024

Principles of Marketing

This study paper considers two sections with the first section indicating the recent purchase that I made of one of the high-involvement products. In this case, I followed the decision-making process before buying the product. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), some processes include need recognition and searching for more product information. In addition, the other processes include evaluating the products, choosing the product and purchasing, post-purchase use of the product and evaluating the product, and lastly, disposing of the product. Therefore, this section describes how the decision to buy the high-involvement product arrived.

The first step we need to understand is the need for recognition. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), the buyer identifies a need to be satisfied. One way to identify the need is by identifying a gap in the line of needs. For instance, to identify the need for the high involvement product, I first needed to identify the gap that needed to be filled. However, marketers, there are several ways that they assist in recognizing the product. For instance, some ways include promotions and discounts, google searches, and advertisements that create awareness.

On the other hand, the second step is searching for more information about the product that is to be bought. Some of the information to be gathered include the alternatives that the product has either as substitutes or complementary products. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), one might get the information from other stores or online stores like amazon.com, among others. Therefore, the retailers and other manufacturers were beneficial in providing the information. Some of the ways they were helpful are through their website where information about the high-involvement product and its descriptions are provided.

The third step is product evaluation. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), thousands of products might be available for consumers. In this case, the providers and the marketing professional can provide several different products that offer the same services to the consumer. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), buying a high-involvement product might require evaluating a product based on preferences. However, some ways that the manufacturer or dealers might help include offering discounts and guarantees of getting the money back in cases of spoilage.

In addition, the other step is choosing the product and purchasing it. In this case, the customer might buy the product after recognizing the need and evaluating the product. For this reason, according to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), one might understand the procedure to follow, like how and where to buy the product. For the case of the high involvement product, the manufacturers and other dealers might offer promotions and discounts and provide descriptions for the products as they answer some of the customers’ questions about the product. Some of the questions might be based on the performance of the products.

The other step is the product’s post-purchase use and evaluation. In other words, every customer feels doubt or remorse after buying the product. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), most sellers might find it a problem especially when the customers feel this way. Likewise, the manufacturers and the dealers could help by extending customer services and warranties and offering other services as product support, among others. Therefore, these actions can help the customer understand the performance of the products.

The last step is the disposal of the product. When disposing of the product, the user or manufacturer must follow the proper procedure. In this case, some products might have materials that affect the environment. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), some companies are creating less corrosive products as the customers are less associated with the erosion of the environment. For this reason, the manufacturer might help the customers by buying the old products, renovating them, and selling them as pre-owned products or disposing of them correctly.

There are different ways the buyer can assess the conditions of the market. For instance, one can use micro and macro marketplace factors that affect the business. In this case, macroenvironmental factors include demographic, economic, cultural, technological, natural, and political trends. This part of the study paper focuses on the factors that impact the sales or the purchase of different forms or types of cars. In this case, we relate the car purchase to the above environmental trends or factors.

The first trend to discuss is the demographic trend. These include factors and characteristics that define people’s attitudes. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), some features related to demographic trends include income, marital status, age, education, and occupation of the people, among others. When a customer buys a car, there are some characteristics they might consider. For instance, their income level should dictate the car they buy. In this case, if an individual has a significant income, they can buy the car of their preference.

On the other hand, the other trend is the economic trend. In this case, the customer has to consider factors like unemployment, inflation, interest rates, and economic growth, like the recession periods. Thus, considering some of the economic factors, it might dictate the price of the products that the customers need to buy. When considering buying a car, these concepts should be a priority. For instance, the case of inflation means that the cost of living is high and thus ends the purchasing power of the customers. In addition, the prices of goods and services are higher; therefore, this is not an appropriate time to buy a car.

Likewise, the other trend is cultural news. It is crucial to buy products that relate to society’s culture. In other words, according to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), the product should relate to the common interests, religion, jobs, ethnic background, and geographic location of the buyer or the customer. In the case of buying the car, the consumer should ensure that the car can be bought using the income that the buyers are earning through their jobs. Thus, people should only buy cars they can manage.

The other trend is a technological trend. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), this factor is essential in ensuring that people get the information that they need to gather about a product. For this reason, the core function of technology is to ensure that some of the issues in the community are solved. For instance, when buying a car, some of the information might not be clear to the buyer; hence, they can use the platform to ensure they gather information. Some of the reasons that make the customers find such information is the safety and security of the products they buy from different manufacturers and suppliers or dealers.

In addition to the above, there is another trend that one can consider: natural issues in the community. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), natural disasters may occur at any moment and hence might create distractions to the livelihood of individuals across the community. Therefore, the customer should consider some factors to ensure that the products they buy are not damaged by the disasters hence losing their funds. In the case of the car, one should consider some of these factors and hence make them a priority before buying the product to ensure they do not suffer loss.

The last factor to consider is the political trends. One way that businesses are conducted and governed is through legal processes. For this reason, the government ensures that they create laws and regulations that govern businesses. In most cases, some of the government’s regulations are to protect the consumers from some of the businesses. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), some other laws affect banks, consumers, and businesses lending. When considering cars, some of the laws favor the production of cars, especially those produced within the state. Therefore, the cars they will buy are those produced in the state.

The University of Minnesota Press. (2015). Principles of Marketing .

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Related Essays

Essay on organizational communication, the impact of organizational culture and leadership on workplace dynamics, halal meat market in the uk, corporate strategy positioning and scope strategic planning at royal dutch/shell, financial performance analysis of boohoo.com using the core framework, professionalism in accounting-finance, popular essay topics.

  • American Dream
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Black Lives Matter
  • Bullying Essay
  • Career Goals Essay
  • Causes of the Civil War
  • Child Abusing
  • Civil Rights Movement
  • Community Service
  • Cultural Identity
  • Cyber Bullying
  • Death Penalty
  • Depression Essay
  • Domestic Violence
  • Freedom of Speech
  • Global Warming
  • Gun Control
  • Human Trafficking
  • I Believe Essay
  • Immigration
  • Importance of Education
  • Israel and Palestine Conflict
  • Leadership Essay
  • Legalizing Marijuanas
  • Mental Health
  • National Honor Society
  • Police Brutality
  • Pollution Essay
  • Racism Essay
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Same Sex Marriages
  • Social Media
  • The Great Gatsby
  • The Yellow Wallpaper
  • Time Management
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Violent Video Games
  • What Makes You Unique
  • Why I Want to Be a Nurse
  • Send us an e-mail
  • Career Advice
  • Carpe Careers

Selling Yourself on the Job Market

By  Joseph Barber

You have / 5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in.

essay on marketing principles

I am currently taking an Introduction to Marketing course on Coursera as a way to think about the whole job-search process in a slightly different way. Marketing is actually a relevant topic when it comes to the process of career development. At some point as a job seeker, you are trying to encourage another entity (an employer) to purchase your product (your skills, experiences and knowledge). To do that, you have to have a product worth buying, you have to know how to sell that product and you have to know how to sell that product to a particular segment of customers.

So far, some of the most pertinent topics covered in the course include the idea that no matter what the product is, it won’t be equally attractive to the entire customer base. In other words, some buyers will really like the product, some will respond to it fairly neutrally (they might buy it, but they might equally buy a similar product from another vendor) and some won’t find it attractive at all.

In business, it generally makes the most sense to focus efforts on the subset of the population that really likes the product (taking a customer-centric approach and using a process of segmentation), rather than just hoping that everyone will find your product equally attractive (a product-centric approach). One of the career analogies here is quite clear: sending out 50 versions of the same résumé to 50 different companies (even if the job being applied for is similar) won’t work as well as really taking the time to understand the differences among the employers and targeting the most attractive and relevant ones with highly tailored application materials.

At this point in the course, several marketing principles, assumptions and theories have been shared, and I am still processing that information. It is interesting, however, to look for other areas of overlap between those concepts and what we focus on as career advisers. Here are three market-driven principles that were shared:

  • Know your markets.
  • Customers have the final say.
  • Be the best, compared to the competition, at one of these three concepts: operational excellence, performance superiority and customer intimacy. But be just good enough in the other two.

Knowing the market is essential. The more you understand about who your customers are -- and, in career terms, these are hiring employers -- the easier it is to convince them that you have what they are looking for. If employers are the customers in this case, then they still get the final say. That means that there is little point in telling an employer about all the great work you have done, and all the super experiences you have gained, if that information does not align with what the employer is looking for.

For example, over the course of a five-year Ph.D. program, a graduate student can gain a wide range of transferable skills. However, one of the consequences of doing a Ph.D. is often a lack of practice talking about those skills outside of the context of the very specific research field the student has been working in. In an interview for a nonfaculty job, Ph.D. students and postdocs have to be careful not to answer the question “So tell me about your research” by actually spending five minutes talking about the specifics of their research. Instead, they have to be able to answer “So tell me how you did your research” in a way that is much more skills focused. In addition, having completed a five-year Ph.D. and a five-year postdoc program, a candidate might somewhat expect that those combined experiences by themselves should qualify them for a wide range of positions. That is not the case. The employer wants candidates to be able to show how such experiences make them a good fit -- and to demonstrate that level of understanding.

The idea of being the best at, say, either operational excellence, performance superiority or customer intimacy -- but just good enough at the other two -- is also relevant to job seekers as it shows there are different approaches to successfully landing a position. For instance, performance superiority might represent the research skills a student has gained. Someone with 15 published papers and two grants might demonstrate performance superiority. Operational excellence might represent the number of connections that a candidate has in different career fields or their knowledge of these fields and of what employers are looking for based on extensive research into their different career fields. Customer intimacy would represent the degree to which a candidate has actually initiated and then further developed relationships with contacts at different employers through collaborations or networking (taking the idea of knowing people to the more advanced level of having professional relationships with them).

Given that, the following scenarios demonstrate how excellence in any of those three areas can help. Someone might be hired because they are the best at what they do, even if they don’t have a lot of contacts or professional relationships with employers or know much about the business itself. (They can easily be trained in that, for example.) Another person might get hired because they have been able to craft a spectacular résumé that shows that they understand the nature of the position to which they are applying, even if they are not the best candidate in terms of their accomplishments. (The most accomplished individual who cannot articulate how their accomplishments are relevant might not get the job, after all.)

And, finally, someone else might get hired even though they are not the most accomplished and don’t have a smart-looking, tailored résumé, but because they have great working relationships with people at a specific company -- and those future colleagues can easily see themselves working with the candidate for the foreseeable future. (Fit always plays a role in hiring decisions.) You only need to be the best in one of these dimensions … but it helps if you are not terrible at the other two.

One other marketing topic that is directly relevant to the job search is the idea of brand positioning. One of the points mentioned in the marketing course is the idea that a personal brand is not what you say about yourself; rather, it represents what other people say about you. You can come up with a really snappy brand statement about yourself, a well-crafted narrative about what skills and experience you bring, but if that is not how the customers see you, then those statements won’t stick.

That is another good reason to develop a broad professional network, cultivate it carefully and tend to it frequently. It will be people in that network who create your personal brand. You can help them, through your interactions, by being able to articulate your unique selling proposition: the clear, simple and distinct benefits you bring. But beyond that, they will define your brand for you.

When it comes to branding, the goal is not only to get consumers to notice the brand but also to understand the information it represents. Just as with résumés, if there is too much information (and especially too much irrelevant information), the audience will probably block all of it out. Clear, concise and target-focused information should be at the heart of personal brands, résumés and pretty much any form of communication.

I have much more to learn about marketing, and I hope to come across more ideas for how marketing principles can help individual job seekers. I also think I will glean information from this course that institutional career centers at universities can use to better market themselves to their customers, the students and postdocs they serve. Branding, segmentation and targeting, and customer-centricity are all relevant to how career advisers can work more effectively, too.

The cover of Nicholas Lemann's book "Higher Admissions: The Rise, Decline, and Return of Standardized Testing." The cover is spare, with blue and teal text font against an off-white background.

To Test or Not to Test

Share this article, more from carpe careers.

Group of diverse young professionals standing and working together holding books, phones and clipboards

Navigating the Postdoc Office: Part 2

Victoria Hallinan and Karena Nguyen share their advice, as well as that of a postdoc and several other administrators

Two women and two men each run atop a clock (each clock with different times) as if in a race

In Search of Lost Time

As the new academic year begins, Vanessa Doriott Anderson raises some key questions to ask yourself to help you manag

Student with mortarboard standing before a big question mark surrounded by symbols of professions including medicine and business, as well as a book and a calculator

Rethinking Professional Development for Grad Students

Laura Kuizin describes how to create opportunities that go beyond the classroom and prepare students for the dynamic

  • Become a Member
  • Sign up for Newsletters
  • Learning & Assessment
  • Diversity & Equity
  • Career Development
  • Labor & Unionization
  • Shared Governance
  • Academic Freedom
  • Books & Publishing
  • Financial Aid
  • Residential Life
  • Free Speech
  • Physical & Mental Health
  • Race & Ethnicity
  • Sex & Gender
  • Socioeconomics
  • Traditional-Age
  • Adult & Post-Traditional
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Digital Publishing
  • Data Analytics
  • Administrative Tech
  • Alternative Credentials
  • Financial Health
  • Cost-Cutting
  • Revenue Strategies
  • Academic Programs
  • Physical Campuses
  • Mergers & Collaboration
  • Fundraising
  • Research Universities
  • Regional Public Universities
  • Community Colleges
  • Private Nonprofit Colleges
  • Minority-Serving Institutions
  • Religious Colleges
  • Women's Colleges
  • Specialized Colleges
  • For-Profit Colleges
  • Executive Leadership
  • Trustees & Regents
  • State Oversight
  • Accreditation
  • Politics & Elections
  • Supreme Court
  • Student Aid Policy
  • Science & Research Policy
  • State Policy
  • Colleges & Localities
  • Employee Satisfaction
  • Remote & Flexible Work
  • Staff Issues
  • Study Abroad
  • International Students in U.S.
  • U.S. Colleges in the World
  • Intellectual Affairs
  • Seeking a Faculty Job
  • Advancing in the Faculty
  • Seeking an Administrative Job
  • Advancing as an Administrator
  • Beyond Transfer
  • Call to Action
  • Confessions of a Community College Dean
  • Higher Ed Gamma
  • Higher Ed Policy
  • Just Explain It to Me!
  • Just Visiting
  • Law, Policy—and IT?
  • Leadership & StratEDgy
  • Leadership in Higher Education
  • Learning Innovation
  • Online: Trending Now
  • Resident Scholar
  • University of Venus
  • Student Voice
  • Academic Life
  • Health & Wellness
  • The College Experience
  • Life After College
  • Academic Minute
  • Weekly Wisdom
  • Reports & Data
  • Quick Takes
  • Advertising & Marketing
  • Consulting Services
  • Data & Insights
  • Hiring & Jobs
  • Event Partnerships

4 /5 Articles remaining this month.

Sign up for a free account or log in.

  • Sign Up, It’s FREE
  • Call to +1 844 889-9952

Marks and Spencer Company’s Marketing Principles

📄 Words: 2294
📝 Subject:
📑 Pages: 9
💼 Companies:

Examine the few definitions (at least two) of marketing and explain the marketing process with an example drawn from your chosen organization

Marketing is an old concept that has been defined in many different ways. Different definitions demonstrated the extent to which marketing continues to evolve with the growing knowledge and changing times (Percy, 2012). One of the definitions that still prominent is “marketing is a function of an organization and a set of process that creates, communicates and delivers value to target customers and managing relationships between businesses and customers (Percy, 2012).

Marketing can be seen as a process of exchanging buyer and seller values and developing strong customer relationships to fulfill the objective of both parties. Kotler supports these definitions in his definition. Marketing is a platform on which skills and products are exchanged between businesses and customers.

Explain the various marketing concepts and evaluate the costs and benefits of adopting marketing orientation in your organization

There are different marketing concepts that businesses adopt to achieve their goals. The choice of a marketing concept determines the success of business strategies (Cant, 2006). There are two major marketing concepts-selling and marketing concepts. A business can choose to utilize a single concept or a combination of both. The marketing orientation is a concept that has is costly to implement, but its returns can pay off (Percy, 2012).

With a marketing orientation, Marks & Spencer has focused on customizing its products to suit the demands, styles, and preferences of customers. Here, the firm strives to satisfy the needs of its customers as opposed to its own needs. Unlike the selling concept, a marketing concept focuses on identifying customers’ needs and producing products that meet the unique needs of each segment. This concept differs from the selling concept that emphasizes sales other than customer satisfaction (Brandy, 2011).

In implementing a market orientation, Marks & Spencer developed a strong selling point “Your M&S” which proved to be strong and extremely successful in creating and sustaining client relationships. It focused on creating consumer confidence in M&S brands. Implementing a marketing approach other than a selling approach in Marks & Spencer was problematic during the initial stages, but the company benefited from this strategy (Percy, 2012).

Analyzing macro and micro factors that affect business and marketing decisions

Businesses and marketing work in harmony within the same environment. This environment is divided into macro and microenvironment.

Micro-environment

A microenvironment consists of forces over which an organization can exercise control. However, it is worth noting that a business can exercise its power to some factors to some degree and within the legal frameworks provided for by law. These factors include customers, employees, capital, suppliers, and trade unions.

Employees can influence the marketing decisions of a business in the sense that the ability of an organization to meet the quality standards of its customers is a component of people and resources (Brandy, 2011). Therefore, a business may want to influence its sales through employee motivation.

Macro-environment

Macro-environment consists of externalities that affect industries and individual businesses. They are usually volatile forces that a business cannot underestimate. Politics and government policies influence policy formulations such as fiscal and economic policies, consumer and environmental protection, and transport and distribution policies.

Pressure groups such as consumer groups have a lot of bearing on business decisions that a company can make. The competition also poses a significant challenge to a business and determines what decisions a company can make to remain competitive (Brandy, 2011).

Examine the concept of segmentation and recommend segmentation criteria and targeting methods to be used for two products in your chosen organization

Segmentation is the process of dividing a market into unique sections of people having homogeneous characteristics such as preferences, likes, and tastes. This process includes considerations such as psychographics, demographics, geographic and behavioral elements that define a set of customers (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010).

In its quest for new and emerging markets, Marks & Spencer has implemented market segmentation strategies to trap and serve the forgotten markets around the world. The company has adopted three segmentation criteria to support its clothing line as it explores new markets in Russia, Central Asia, and other markets. These include geographic, psychographics, and demographics.

Styling of clothes must take into account climatic conditions in the target markets. Different markets have unique climates, a reality that M&S has continued to embrace.

The company has sought to deconstruct new markets by examining the family size, household incomes, occupation, and education. The company believes that it is through understanding the inner form of a market that a business can become relevant to the local customers.

Gender and Age

They are some of the key selling points that Marks & Spence has focused on to penetrate new markets. The clothing industry continues to experience bottleneck competition and companies such as M&S are having a rough time to beat the market and remain competitive in terms of quality and prices (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010).

Demographics : The management of Marks & Spencer recognizes the need to approach each market uniquely. For example, M&S designed conservative clothing styles for Asian markets since clothing lines that sell in the UK cannot work in Asia because of religious values that define the mode of dressing. Unlike the Asian market, the UK is defined as a liberal market that gives M&S a wide choice of styles (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010). Marks &Spencer has used these criteria to satisfy the tastes and preferences of consumers from all regions.

Identify factors that influence buyer behavior and propose a new positing strategy for the product or service of your organization

Consumer behavior refers to the buyer behavior that defines a specific group of consumers in a market. Consumer behavior is an important aspect that businesses must understand to explore a market. Where a business fails to discover the behavior of consumers, it cannot make sales and has a likelihood of falling out of the market. Many factors play a role in defining consumer behavior.

Age is a significant factor that influences the buying behavior of customers. Influences of mass media are one of the driving forces that affect the behavior to buy. As the market grows intelligent, this factor has continued to weaken. Studies show that the clothing industry is one of the hard-hit by the weakening of media to influence buying behavior. Evidence suggests that there is no great difference between tastes between different places and that the only thing that differs is the ability to influence tastes (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010).

Marks & Spencer can use their demographic marketing to exploit new and existing markets. To achieve its selling objectives, the company should approach the teenage market, which remains the most attractive in all markets (Cant, 2006). It is very important for every business in the market that should thoroughly follow the consumers’ buying behavior. The buying behavior can be viewed through the transaction that consumer makes, they can keep the checks on how much frequently one consumer comes to the store, what he/she buys from there, etc. this will help the marketers and the marketing of M&S to better provide the products and services for a targeted segment (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010).

The buying behavior can be identified by observing consumer transactions-how much and the frequency of their spending. Using this information, Marks & Spencer can understand and provide customer-driven products for a given segment. The company can use several marketing approaches such as electronic and social media, role models, and so on to drive sales from Girls clothing. They are characteristic of a group that is not choosy with impulse spending.

Using your chosen company, explain how products are developed to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage

Product development is a crucial process for any profit-making firm. Product development is a multifaceted process that builds a firm’s product portfolio that is capable of competing on the market. Marks & Spencer has developed quality standards for its products to meet the changing tastes, preferences, and likes of its customers (Stokes & Lomax, 2008). The company has focused on producing classic styles to meet the complex needs of its high-end customers, as well as low-end customers. However, this does not mean that Marks & Spencer has focused on young shoppers only, but its entire market.

Evaluate a range of distribution methods to provide convenience to a target group of customers in your chosen organization

Distribution methods are channels through which a business presents its products efficiently and effectively to its customers. In essence, they are means by which organizations make their goods available on their shelves and those of their retailers. As sales increase, most companies tend to forget or ignore distribution as the core element of growing sales even further (Stokes & Lomax, 2008).

Mark & Spencer developed a computer-based distribution channel to cope with the increased competition in local and international markets. This channel is a self-serving channel that identifies shortages in inventory. Marks & Spencer seeks to become the most trusted partner to all its franchisees. Surveys show that Marks & Spencer is working with over 20 companies across the world to facilitate their effort to penetrate new and potential markets and build brand recognition in local, regional, and international markets.

The company has devised several local and international distribution strategies to ensure efficient movement of products across its regional and global units. Third-party logistics (3PLs) and supply chain members have come out strongly as the most efficient distribution strategies adopted by Marks & Spencer (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010).

Discuss the various pricing methods used by businesses and critically evaluate the pricing strategy of your organization

Marks & Spencer’s has adopted domestic and international pricing strategies to appeal to both markets. These pricing strategies consider fixed and variable costs, competition, positioning, objectives, as well as the target market. Marks and Spencer has for so long followed a value price strategy (Stokes & Lomax, 2008). The company has focused on middle-end customers using value-based pricing in which the products are priced based on the value proportions. Its main emphasis has remained value for customers’ money.

Explain the concept of integrated marketing communication and discuss the elements of the promotional mix as relevant to your organization

Integrated marketing communications is a dedicated approach that helps firms to achieve their marketing campaign objectives through a mix of promotional methods. According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, integrated marketing communications appreciates the role of a comprehensive plan that assesses the roles of advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling to offer businesses with optimal communication effect (Stokes & Lomax, 2008).

Marks & Spencer focuses on developing a strong marketing mix to boost its sales and increase its market share and awareness. These actions have been deployed in existing and new markets. However, the company has applied this promotional mix differently based on market characteristics.

The company implemented a plan to integrate public relations, strong advertising, and sales promotion to attract its customers (Stokes & Lomax, 2008). With the growing online advertising, Marks & Spencer has cashed on this form of marketing to boost its sales.

Examine the nature of the extended marketing mix and discuss their relevance to service marketing

A marketing mix is a technique that incorporates all marketing variables necessary to a business seeking to make profits. A marketing mix, therefore, helps an organization to figure out how to achieve its objectives to exploit its target markets. A marketing mix is composed of product, place, promotion, and price. A marketing mix is commonly referred to as the 4Ps of marketing (Stokes & Lomax, 2008).

Service marketing is a technical field that requires businesses to develop appropriate marketing strategies capable of delivering sales. Since it is difficult to measure the value of services in quantitative form, service businesses must curve their market niches using accurate pricing, just-in-time delivery, and proper promotional strategies to boost sales (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010).

Evaluate the marketing mix variables for two segments of the consumer market and discuss how different it would be for business-to-business services. (B2B)

Marketing is a concept that operates as a function of several variables. As discussed, a marketing mix consists of price, place, promotion, and product (Cant, 2006). I select age and geography as two segments that a business can use to explore a market. To exploit a market segmented based on age; a business can use the promotion to present its products to a consumer market. In the clothing industry, teenage groups can be targeted using advertising media as a promotional technique to increase sales (Mcloughlin & Aaker, 2010). On the other hand, place, as a component of the marketing mix is useful when reaching out for external (foreign) geography as a macroeconomic aspect.

Marketing between businesses is completely different from marketing between businesses and consumers. A marketing strategy that involves organizations is called B2B marketing. Business-to-business marketing is not as complex as marketing to customers. Where a business markets its products through a local business, it is easy to adopt a variable mix that can attract sales (Cant, 2006).

Assuming that your selected organization is to enter the international market, examine and discuss the differences between domestic marketing and international marketing

Domestic marketing refers to activities that aim at boosting sales in home markets, while international marketing is an effort to push for increased sales in foreign markets. The market continues to shrink as many players enter the market. This has made many businesses to embrace the concept of global marketing and international markets. Domestic marketing focuses on exploiting local markets where products are customized to meet local needs (Cant, 2006). On the other hand, international marketing spans beyond local demands and has been seen as an extension of domestic marketing.

Brandy, D. L 2011, Essentials of international marketing , M.E. Sharpe Armonk, NY.

Cant, M. C 2006, Marketing management , Juta, Cape Town, South Africa.

Mcloughlin, D., & Aaker, D. A. 2010, S trategic market management: global perspectives , Wiley, Hoboken, N.J.

Percy, L 2012, Strategic Integrated Marketing Communications, Routledge, New York, NY.

Stokes, D., & Lomax, W 2008, Marketing: A brief introduction , Thomson, London.

Cite this paper

Select style

  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

BusinessEssay. (2022, December 6). Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles. https://business-essay.com/marks-and-spencer-companys-marketing-principles/

"Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles." BusinessEssay , 6 Dec. 2022, business-essay.com/marks-and-spencer-companys-marketing-principles/.

BusinessEssay . (2022) 'Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles'. 6 December.

BusinessEssay . 2022. "Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles." December 6, 2022. https://business-essay.com/marks-and-spencer-companys-marketing-principles/.

1. BusinessEssay . "Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles." December 6, 2022. https://business-essay.com/marks-and-spencer-companys-marketing-principles/.

Bibliography

BusinessEssay . "Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles." December 6, 2022. https://business-essay.com/marks-and-spencer-companys-marketing-principles/.

  • Marketing Management: Development and Strategies
  • Marketing Planning, Segmentation and Products
  • Social Media Usage in Market Research and Forecasting
  • Gandys Flip Flops Company Marketing Analysis
  • Icebreakers Company’s Marketing
  • Chery Automobile Company: Marketing Mix for USA
  • Consumer Behaviour for Future Marketers
  • Determining Customer Satisfaction: Delivery Services
  • Petstop Company: Marketing Management
  • Tepco Inc.’s Marketing and Customer Management
  • Adnams Company: Marketing Approach Redesigning
  • Channel Management and Marketing Mix Relationship
  • Consumer Innovativeness: A Marketing Approach
  • Apple Company’s Marketing Operations in the UK
  • Sportzshoo Company’s Market Segmentation Strategy

IMAGES

  1. What Is the Marketing Concept? Free Essay Example

    essay on marketing principles

  2. Marketing principles

    essay on marketing principles

  3. Basic Principles of Marketing By EssayCorp -- EssayCorp

    essay on marketing principles

  4. Principles of Marketing: Individual Assignment Free Essay Example

    essay on marketing principles

  5. MKT101 Individual Essay SP23

    essay on marketing principles

  6. Principles of Marketing Essay

    essay on marketing principles

VIDEO

  1. The Marketing DISASTER of Longlegs

  2. Technical Business Writing

  3. 🎓 Struggling with essay writing? 🚀✨

  4. Starbucks Corporation’s Value Chain Analysis

  5. What is Marketing?

  6. Marketing and Consumer Behavior in the Healthcare Market

COMMENTS

  1. Marketing Principles

    Introduction. Marketing principles refer to those principles that govern marketing. To be successful in marketing, a business organization should identify its customers' needs and fulfill them (Bose 2000). The companies that will be discussed in this paper are McDonalds and the Bloomingdales. Get a custom essay on Marketing Principles.

  2. Principles of Marketing

    Principles of Marketing teaches the experience and process of actually doing marketing - not just the vocabulary. It carries five dominant themes throughout in order to expose students to marketing in today's environment:

  3. Marketing Principles: The Four Key Concepts To Understand

    While there are many interpretations and applications today, it all started with the four marketing principles: product, price, place, and promotion.

  4. Principles of Marketing Essay

    This essay explores the fundamental principles of marketing, highlighting their significance in achieving business objectives and adapting to dynamic market environments.

  5. Essay on Marketing Principles

    Essay on Marketing Principles Decent Essays 938 Words 4 Pages Open Document Marketing Principles Marketing is all about understanding the customer and ensuring that products and services match existing and potential customer needs. Marketing is essential to a business and without it a business cannot give its customers what they want.

  6. How to Write A Marketing Essay: Full Guide

    What Is A Marketing Essay? A marketing essay is a piece of writing that explores different aspects of marketing, including market research, product development, pricing, advertising, distribution, and sales strategy. This type of essay requires the writer to be informed about current marketing trends and principles and to critically analyze a given marketing situation or concept.

  7. Principles of marketing

    The principles of marketing are immune to the prevailing economic environment; it is the practice and application of these principles which changes, especially in a recession. To counter the decrease in demand and sales, many organizations cut back on their marketing budget and resources. These challenges, along with volatility of market place ...

  8. Chapter 1: What is Marketing?

    Chapter 1: What is Marketing? 1.1 Defining Marketing. 1.2 Who Does Marketing? 1.3 Why Study Marketing? 1.4 Themes and Organization of This Book. 1.5 Discussion Questions and Activities.

  9. Preface

    OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation. As an educational initiative, it' s our mission to transform...

  10. 1.1 Marketing and the Marketing Process

    When you ask a group of people, "What's marketing?" most people will answer "advertising" or "selling." It's true that both of these functions are part ...

  11. Principles of Marketing Essay

    Better Essays. 1405 Words. 6 Pages. 4 Works Cited. Open Document. Principles of Marketing. The Marketing Mix 1: Products, Brands & Their Distribution. Question 1: Explain what Fournier means by "having a relationship" with a brand. Establishing a relationship with a product brand sounds like a strange thing, we often have numerous ...

  12. Marketing Principles Essay

    Marketing Principles Essay Better Essays 1968 Words 8 Pages Open Document Marketing Principles Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of goods, services, and ideas to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisation objectives. Marketing has many ways that products are sold.

  13. BUS203: Principles of Marketing

    Unit 1: The Definition and Principles of Marketing. Many people incorrectly believe that marketing and advertising are the same. In reality, advertising is just one of many tools used in marketing, which is how firms determine which products to offer, how to price those products, and who they should be made available to.

  14. The Marketing Principles And Practice

    The Marketing Principles And Practice. Marketing is a mix of all activities which affect the alterations to possession of products or items. Many experts have defined marketing in different terms. Some believe that marketing is a complete system of relating business actions in order to plan, fix a price, promote or advertise the product or ...

  15. Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Marketing Principles

    This report will outline and critique the various principles of marketing, noting the advantages and disadvantages of each. The theories that will be covered are; 4Ps, marketing, ambush marketing, buzz marketing, market segmentation, targeting and positioning, Ansoffs matrix, PESTEL analysis, porters' five forces and micro-environment factors.

  16. Essay on Marketing: Definition, Principle and Functions

    After reading this essay you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Marketing 2. Definition of Marketing 3. Principles 4. Functions 5. Cost 6. Process 7. Orientations.

  17. Marketing Principles Essay Examples

    Principles of Marketing This study paper considers two sections with the first section indicating the recent purchase that I made of one of the high-involvement products. In this case, I followed the decision-making process before buying the product.

  18. Student-inspired discussion questions for Principles of Marketing

    The essay/discussion questions in these 20 sets are based on questions students enrolled in a Principles of Marketing course submitted in advance of the in-class session on each topic. Key to instructions associated with each question: = instructor

  19. Principles of Marketing

    Principles of Marketing. This study paper considers two sections with the first section indicating the recent purchase that I made of one of the high-involvement products. In this case, I followed the decision-making process before buying the product. According to the University of Minnesota Press (2015), some processes include need recognition ...

  20. Using marketing principles as a job seeker (essay)

    I am currently taking an Introduction to Marketing course on Coursera as a way to think about the whole job-search process in a slightly different way. Marketing is actually a relevant topic when it comes to the process of career development. At some point as a job seeker, you are trying to encourage another entity (an employer) to purchase your product (your skills, experiences and knowledge ...

  21. Principles of Marketing & Management Essay Example [Free]

    Business essay sample: Demographics is a powerful tool for marketing strategy development because it helps identify the target segments based on critical characteristics, backgrounds, and needs.

  22. Marks and Spencer Company's Marketing Principles

    Business essay sample: Marketing is a platform on which skills and products are exchanged between businesses and customers. This work describes the marketing principles of the Marks and Spencer company.

  23. The Principles Of Personal Selling Marketing Essay

    Personal selling is the face-to-face interaction between a sale's person and a prospective customer to persuade the customer to make an order. the importance personal selling being the most effective marketing tool today is as follows. When the value of the product is high. When the product is a custom made. When there are few customers.