Philip Kotler - Principles of Marketing

Markets are changing fast. New markets are emerging, trading blocks are

extending and communications channels about products and selling them are

changing at a revolutionary pace. The signs of this change are everywhere in this

text. Many people will use Principles of Marketing alongside its associated CD-

ROM, Interactive Marketing. An increasing number of references are now Web-

site addresses that anyone can access from their PC. Yet amid this turmoil some

issues remain the same. Products change continuously, but the great brands shine

through like storm-swept lighthouses: Coca-Cola, Nokia, Sony, BMW, Saab and

Shell, to name but a few.

Marketing is changing to meet the changing world. Marketing remains the

business activity that identifies an organization's customer needs and wants,

determines which target markets it can serve best and designs appropriate prod-

ucts, services and programmes to serve these markets. However, marketing is

much more than an isolated business function - it is a philosophy that guides the

entire organization. The goal of marketing is to create customer satisfaction prof-

itably by building valued relationships with customers. The marketing people

cannot accomplish this goal by themselves. They must work cJosely with other

people in their company and with other organizations in their value chain, to

provide superior value to customers. Thus, marketing calls upon everyone in the

organization to 'think customer' and to do all that they can to help create and

deliver superior customer value and satisfaction. As Professor Stephen Burnett

says: 'In a truly great marketing organization, you can't tell who's in the marketing

department. Everyone in the organization has to make decisions based on the

impact