mkt2202.files.wordpress.com  · Web viewThis book entitled “Marketing for First Year University Students” is dedicated to the above mentioned philosophies. It is inspired by

MARKETINGFOR 1ST YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

BY

ERIC M. PHILLIPS

Table of Contents1. INTRODUCTION2. THE APPROACH3. INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING4. THE MARKETING CONCEPT

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION“ I believe imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death”……………… Robert Fulghum

Marketing is an exciting subject. A Way of Life. We humans are walking, talking Marketers.

This book entitled “Marketing for First Year University Students” is dedicated to the above mentioned philosophies. It is inspired by looking at the eyes of young students , eager to learn, eager to explore, eager to grow; but whose growth are stunted by environmental factors and by old teaching approaches.

Many college Lecturers still believe that college is about them. The reality is however different. College is about students. Nothing less. Nothing more. It is not just the degree that matters. Molding and influencing character should be the overarching goal of all Lecturers. It is not about marks or grades. It is not about driving fear into unsuspecting innocence.

As I wrote this book, with the aid of my first year students as I taught the class, I was heavily influenced by the forces I saw affecting them. Rapidly changing technology, a trillion of distractions, a period of tremendous transformation in their lives as they transitioned from High School to University; structure to non-structure in their young lives; living away from home for the first time; and a period of many choices; forced and unforced errors and tremendous uncertainty about their lives encased in the two universal questions of “Who am I?” and “What is my Purpose on Earth?”.

Teaching and learning are reciprocal things. You give what you receive. You learn by teaching. You lead by following.

My primary goal is to ensure Marketing as a course, offers a fundamental framework for the ethical development of young people making their first biggest transition in Life and that the ‘life lessons” approach taken in the approach, can be the foundation for answering many of the questions young first year students are faced with.

My greatest hope is that the approach taken in this text will result in character building and avoidance of Mahatma Gandhi’s Seven Dangers of Human Virtue, namely: Wealth without Work; Pleasure without Conscience; Knowledge without Character; Business without Ethics; Science without Humanity; Religion without Sacrifice, and Politics without Principle.

After all, it was Sri Sathya Sai Baba who reminded us “ The end of Education is Character”.

CHAPTER 2: THE APPROACHJohn. W. Gardner, the Great American Leader, once stated

“We must learn to honor excellence in every socially accepted human activity, however humble the activity, and to scorn shoddiness, however exalted the activity. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."

The essence of this book lies in its teaching and learning approach. The student learns Marketing through self-inquiry, self-analysis and self-participation. The Principles of Marketing taught at most first year university courses are introduced through the student’s mental prism by the fundamental idea……each student is a unique product, with God given talents, skills, attributes and life paths. So instead of teaching in a manner that asks the student to remember ideas or facts, the approach taken in this text book, has the following characteristics:

1. Learning through personalization for internalization.2. Learning by doing.3. Thinking more abstractly than linearly.4. Exploring natural learning “hooks”.5. The Vision Map6. The use of “life lessons”7. Exercise to nurture and promote “creativity”, and 8. Team building through leadership training.

1. LEARNING THROUGH PERSONIFICATION FOR INTERNALIZATION

The core concept in this teaching approach is “character building through self-awareness”. By the end of the course, each student will have become dramatically more aware of himself or herself by asking personal questions about themselves using the “Principles of Marketing” they are exposed to during the lecture sessions. Each student is asked to write a Paper entitled “I am the Perfect Product”. They are introduced to the idea that “they can investigate their lives, using marketing principles and concepts, and by this approach, they can more easily remember the course content, but they would also have a better and more practical understanding of Marketing.

This Paper is essentially an exercise in personal marketing research so that each student can reinforce their marketing knowledge while using basic marketing principles to better understand who they are and what their career and life expectations are they have of themselves. The Paper has the structural form shown below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary Mission StatementOrigin of NameThe Science of Name Analysis (NumerologyMy 4 Ps of MarketingMy SWOT AnalysisMy Product PortfolioWhere I am today on the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs? SBUs (Strategic Business Units)My Product Strategy and PositioningMy one year and five year career plansUse of the Four Centered FrameworkMission Statement References

A Picture and Branding statement from one of my Students

‘Rare combination of Brains and Beauty’

“I am the perfect product”An exercise in personal marketing research so that I can reinforce my marketing knowledge while using these principles to better understand who I am and what my career/life expectations of myself………….. No other human knows me better than myself

The approach taken in this text is one in which every student is asked to research and think about themselves in the context of them being “The Perfect Product”. It begins in the first class session where the Lecturer introduces himself or herself to the class. In that first session, the Lecturer sets class expectations by defining the course content and the approach taken. Since first year classes are normally large classes, the Lecturer asks each student to prepare a one-page document in which the student “markets” his or herself to the Lecturer.

It is amazing how this exercise, which culminates in the last week before exams, helps students to be fully prepared for Finals.

2. LEARNING BY DOING

Learning by doing is another key element in the approach to teaching promoted in this book. Each student will be given the opportunity to be part of a marketing team which will create a new product and compete against another team with a similar product offering. Thus, for example, the Pepsi Team will create a new beverage and compete against a Coke-A-Cola Team which will offer a new product targeted to the same market segment. The teaching strategy is one in which each Team will make contact with the Marketing Team from the Company which is the distributorship for Pepsi and Coke-A-Cola, so that they can be coached. Helping young students to establish business networks early in University life, is a strategic goal.

This hands-on approach works wonders. Students can be seen focused on using the concepts taught in class in a meaningful way. None of the Teams want to lose to the next. Their engagement in this process allows them to see how simple yet complex, how separate but interrelated are the many concepts they have been exposed to.

3. THINKING MORE ABSTRACTLY THAN LINEARLY

A central theme in this book is the teaching of, and emphasis on “abstract thinking” in every concept taught in the marketing course. Students are given a variety of examples on how to think abstractly; how to think “outside of the box”; and how to see beyond the obvious. A typical example is the discussion of what a simple addition is. They are asked….what is 1+ 1.Most will readily answer 1 + 1 = 2. They are however presented with three options 1 =1 = 2

1 +1 = 11

1 + 1 =?

In essence, 1 + 1 =2 is linear thinking while 1 +1 = 11 is abstract thinking. The students are also taught that 1 +1 can be either 2 or 11 depending on whether one is buying or selling respectively as one wants to maximize their advantage depending on the situation.

Abstract thinking is used in day to day life much more than one realizes. Religious principles such as Hope, Faith, and Heaven are in essence abstract thinking. Hence, we do it all the time without realizing it and abstract thinking is what allows mankind to overcome overwhelming odds.

Religious examples are also used to emphasize the difference between linear and abstract thinking.

Reminder: The two religious Men.

One day, two religious Men were performing missionary work in the jungles of Africa. One was a Linear thinker. The other, an Abstract thinker. As they were heading back to camp one evening, they came face to face with a huge Lion. After quietly speaking with each other about what to do, there was a difference in opinion. The Linear thinker said “Let’s run”. The Abstract thinker said “Let’s Pray”. In the meanwhile the Lion started to rapidly run towards them with a huge roar. The Linear thinker started a serious sprint that even Jesse Owens couldn’t beat him in a 100-yard dash. The Abstract thinker immediately got on his knees and started some serious praying. All of a sudden, the Lion stopped dead in its track and became silent. The Abstract thinker, on hearing the silence, opened his eyes to “take a peep”. He saw the Lion on his hind legs, with his other two legs in front of him, clasped together. The Abstract thinker asked the Lion, “what are you doing?’. The Lion replied, quite casually, “I am saying grace before meal. Of course, neither survived the Lion.

The use of abstract thinking in the classroom is essential for first year University students, many of whom have had little re-enforcement of a thinking habit they have. By emphasizing this dimension of learning, the marketing course exposes them to abstract thinking as a natural way of examining the principles of marketing they are being taught.

4. EXPLORING NATURAL LEARNING HOOKS

All of us have been exposed to the alphabet at a very early age and it became the “core” learning hook of our schooling. A for apple, B for Bat, C for Cat, can perhaps be heard in most English speaking countries throughout the World.

This teaching of Marketing in this text book, also uses the alphabet as a natural way of helping students to remember “core marketing principles” without the need to cram. Thus, each student in the course is asked to create a Marketing “alphabet”. C for “cognitive dissonance”, S for “SWOT analysis”, M for “marketing myopia”, P for “Product positioning ‘ etc. At the end of each teaching session, the Lecturer summarizes the concepts or key principles discussed and ask the student to place in their “Marketing” alphabet, for revision. The alphabet includes key names such as A for “Alvin Kotler”, T for “Theodore Levitt”, as it is important that these icons of Marketing theory are remembered by students of Marketing.

Another technique taught is one learnt as a young person in chemistry classes. Students are urged to use sentences to help in memory. The sentence “ Here Lies Berry Bill Caught Napping On A Friday Night ” is used as an illustration.

H = HeliumL = LithiumB = Beryllium B =BillC = CarbonN = NitrogenO = Oxygen F = Fluorine N = Nitrogen

Once this basic statement helps to frame the Periodic Table, then by knowing that each of these elements are the first elements of their class, the entire 92 element Periodic table is easily remembered.

5. THE VISION MAP

The vision Map is a construct I have developed over the years to assist me in taking notes at important meetings. With proper use, it allows a very easy visual map of key points as well as highlights actionable points. As I have used this technique, I have been able to use it for more and more applications.

For note taking, the strategy is to denote the eight most important issues or pieces of information that are critical

THE VISION MAP

The Vision Map can be used in 12 different ways. Different color inks can be used to denote the importance of notes taken. For example, I tell my students to use black ink to denote salient points from a class lecture. One point for each of the eight quadrants. Green ink to identify two possible exam questions from each class session. Red ink for information to be researched once at home. Blue ink can be used for questions o follow up with the Lecturer. Etc.

The Vision Map also can be used to depict natural quadrants. East, west, north, south. Political, economic, social, cultural.

There are many combinations with the Vision map. The primary goal of course is to nurture abstract thinking. Nurture graphical presentation of information that can be easily viewed. Preparing for exams can become much easier when this spatial mapping of information, using color, and other natural quadrants.

6. USE OF ‘LIFE LESSONS”Throughout the course and in the text, students are presented with “life lessons”. For example, during the sessions on Marketing Research and Marketing Intelligence, students are asked to do an exercise on their “family tree”. This type of exercise helps them to research not only their family history, but asks them to ask themselves how their lives have been influenced by family members, and how their names link them back to their ‘identity” and family expectations of them. They are then asked to reflect on their career choices based on the knowledge they have gathered during their research. A personal SWOT analysis, for example, may also be very revealing, in this context. This information is also incorporated in their 1-year and 5-year career plans. In the career planning exercise, students are confronted with the thought process of personal living by being asked “what would your career plan be if you knew you had only one year to live’. Comments like “I would make peace with my mother “or “I would stop kicking the dog and stop to smell the roses” are often heard. Students are then asked to integrate these one-year plans into their five-year plans and are exhorted to live their one-year plans on a daily basis.

7. EXERCISES TO NURTURE AND PROMOTE “CREATIVITY”

Throughout the course, students are asked to be creative, to express their personality and to explore their hidden talents. A typical exercise is to ask them during the very first week as they are given the exercise of introducing themselves, to create their own “business card”. It is often surprising what results from such an exercise. Below are two examples.

8. CHARACTER AND TEAM BUILDING THROUGH LEADERSHIP TRAINING9. As part of the development of each First Year student, the lecture material is interspersed

with discussions of the Lives of a few great Men and Women such as Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa. Nelson Mandela’s eight (8) leadership lessons based on his Life story are discussed. .

1. Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it.2. Lead from the front — but don't leave your base behind.3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport.5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile7. Nothing is black or white8. Quitting is leading too

With Mother Teresa, her work and life are used as an example in “I am the Perfect Product” and her quotes are used where appropriate. This can be in the discussion of Maslow’s hierarchy which in this text is used to define the Global Market of all Products and Services.

CHAPTER 3: INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING What is Marketing? This is a common question asked in all Marketing courses.

Marketing one of the most natural human activities we are daily engaged in.

It is fundamental to the way we live and the manner in which we live.

Marketing is within us, a part of us, and what we do on a twenty-four seven (24/7) basis.

We eat, sleep and breathe Marketing.

Why?

Because each one of us human beings is a unique product.

All 7 billion plus of us.

As the famous Brazilian author, Paul Coelho once said ““Each human being is unique, each with their own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure, and desire for adventure”.

Each one of us is different and each one of us is a “unique product”.

We are the world’s most complex and engaging product.

We even speak and think. Something no other global product does.

Daily as we have relationships, we try to impress.

To advertise.

This is even more acute when we are seeking the hands of another in marriage.

We wear our Sunday best to impress.

Athletes constantly try to brand themselves.

We are a society of People fully engaged in showing others the “best “of us.

Strangely or not so strangely, Men advertise differently than Women.

Perhaps, the different sexes even think differently.

Witness the pain across a man’s face when he is persuaded (forced) to go shopping with his wife, girlfriend, daughter or acquaintances.

See them however in ecstatic joy if they are with their friends at a football game or other male-bonding activities.

I have always believed, and have yet to be convinced otherwise, that women dress for men.

No.

Women dress for other Women.

Females seem to be always in competition and the excuses are classical.

“I want to make you happy, Dear” or “I want you to feel proud of Me”.

This is Marketing at its human best.

Twenty different dresses for twenty events, with twenty hair styles, twenty different shades of nails, and twenty sets of matching accessories………….cannot be simply to impress Men who oftentimes don’t even care what women have on.

Or off.

Yes. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, as John Grey Ph.D stated in his book in 1992.

Each of us is a “brand”.

Our name defines us.

Where we are born may define the type of product we become.

We are Americans or Asians or Europeans, or Brazilians or Jamaicans. Yes Mon.

To some extent, and as articulated by Majorie Clayman of Clayman Advertising Inc., “Marketing is building your brand, convincing people that your brand (meaning your product/service/company) is the best and protecting the relationships you build with your customers.

There are many definitions of “marketing”.

Some have said “Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers”.

But marketing is much much more than that.

Marketing is involved in most of the things we do, consciously or unconsciously.

The American Heritage dictionary states “Marketing is the act or process of buying or selling in a market”.

Marketing can also be considered to be everything you do to place your product or service in the hands of potential customers.

It includes many functions, areas of knowledge and diverse disciplines like sales, public relations, pricing, packaging, and distribution.

For the traditional teachers of marketing theory, the definition of “marketing” has been provided by such icons and marketing theory giants as Dr. Philip Kotler who said marketing is

“The science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit”.

Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. Marketing also defines measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit potential.

Marketing pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services.”

Dr. Philip Kotler’s evolving definitions of marketing from 1981 to 1991, shown below; illustrate how the concept of marketing has changed with time.

Today Dr. Philip Kotler highlights that marketing is “meeting the needs of your customer at a profit.”

Adcock et Al had a very simple and powerful definition of marketing. They said marketing is having “the right product, in the right place, at the right price, and at the right price”.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing, based in the United States, defines marketing as “The management process which identifies, anticipates and supplies customers’ requirements efficiently and profitably”.

The word “profit” has been fully integrated into the parlance of marketing definitions over the last decade. And this is very important because the fundamental reason why businesses exist……is to make a profit.A caution here to entrepreneurs who are often in love with their ideas, and they should be. After all, why would anyone commit their energy, life savings, and no small part of their sanity to anything less than a consuming passion. Because entrepreneurs are passionate about their idea,

product, or service, they innocently assume other people will feel the same. Here's the bad news — it just doesn't work that way!

People have their own unique perceptions of the world based on their own belief system.

The most innovative ideas, the greatest products, or a superior service succeed only when you market within the context of people's perceptions.

The Pet Rock created by Gary Dahl showed the power of marketing, even with a product that wasn’t created with high technological content.

Dahl came up with the idea of a pet rock in 1975 after a conversation with friends about cats, dogs, and birds being too much trouble and costing too much money. He said a pet rock was an ideal pet - easy and cheap.

Dahl spent the next two weeks writing the Pet Rock Training Manual - a step-by-step guide about taking care of it and how to train it. He went to a builder's supply store and found a Rosarita Beach Stone that sold for a penny. He packed the stone in a box shaped like a pet carrying case along with the book.

The Pet Rock was introduced at a gift show, where the store, Neiman-Marcus ordered five hundred. After a news release showing Gary surrounded by boxes of his Pet Rocks, Newsweek did a story and within a few months was shipping ten thousand Pet Rocks every day. He even appeared on The Tonight Show twice.

By Christmas that year two and a half tons of rocks had been sold, three-fourths off all the newspapers in America had run Pet Rock stories.

A million rocks sold for $3.95 apiece in just a few months making Gary Dahl an instant millionaire.

The story of the Pet Rock is a never-ending source of inspiration to create new crazes that sweep the nation and make millions for the genius who thought of them.

This information on the Pet Rock is from the Encyclopedia of POP Culture, by Jane and Michael Stern. Harper Perennial Press 1992.

Another modern definition of Marketing is that it is “The process by which decisions are made in a totally inter-related changing business environment on all activities that facilitates exchange in order that the targeted group of customers is satisfied and the defined objectives accomplished”.

THE TRADITIONAL DIAGRAM TO EXPLAIN A MARKET SYSTEM

Below is the traditional diagram students are exposed to doing most introductory marking course.

A market, it is often said, is an arena there are sellers and buyers. Where products or services are available to be bought at a price. There are three essential elements. A product or service for sale. A seller of either of these. And a buyer of the said product or service.

TYPES OF MARKETS

Of course, there are many types of markets. Today, it is common to hear people speak about the global market. Globalization has turned the world into a global Village.

Locally, in the Caribbean, there is the Trinidad market. The Jamaican tourist market. The Antiguan market. The Surinamese market. And recently, there has been much talk about CSME, the Caribbean Single Market and Economy. CSME is comprised of a market made up of fifteen CARICOM Member States: Antigua and Barbuda; The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Monserrat; Saint Lucia; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; and Trinidad and Tobago.

CSME or The CARICOM Single Market and Economy “Is intended to benefit the people of the Region by providing more and better opportunities to produce and sell our goods and services and to attract investment. It will create one large market among the participating member states”.

CARICOM Associate member States Anguilla (July 1999); Bermuda (July 2003); British Virgin Islands (July 1991), Cayman Islands (2002) and Turks and Caicos Islands (July 1991) are also part of this larger (integrated) market.

Of course, the most famous market is the EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA comprised of European 27 Member States and 24 official languages. With a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants]or 7.3% of the world population, the EU, in 2012, generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of 16.584 trillion US dollars, representing approximately 20% of the global GDP when measured in terms of purchasing power parity(PPP).

A “market” therefore can be defined in many ways and forms. There are “ethnic” markets; “organic markets”; “digital” markets; and of course the current largest market in the world……….the United states of America.

In 2011, the world’s 10 largest markets were as shown below, somewhat different form 10 years ago.

However, the world 10 largest nations, population wise, were not the same as the world’s largest markets. This is the difference between market potential and market size. Even within the global

market, depending on how a marketer wants to sell his product or service there are many ifferent market segments to choose from.

SELLERS OF THE WORLD’S MOST PRECIOUS PRODUCT

BUYERS OF THE WORLD’S MOST PRECIOUS PRODUCT

A DIFFERENT CONCEPTUAL VIEW OF A MARKET

The global market is comprised on millions of products and services and billions of buyers. Regardless of what the product or service is , it meets one of the needs on Maslow’s hierarchy as shown below. Maslow’s hierarchy then represents the global market. Each of Maslow’s tiers can be seen in terms of a segment of a larger market, that is, a specific set of needs . This is called market segmentation which can be defined as the technique used to enable a business to better target it products at the right customers.  It is about identifying the specific needs and wants of customer groups and then using those insights into providing products and services which meet customer needs.

This approach to defining a “a market” is in line with the book’s intention to facilitate abstract or spatial thinking by marketers.

Can you name a product or service that is not covered by Maslow’s hierarchy?

Take the indispensable watch.

A watch can appear as a product satisfying a need in many levels of the Maslow’s hierarchy.

A poor person may buy a cheap US$10 watch. Someone whom is better off may buy a US$50.

A very wealthy person may buy a US$50,000 watch.

The product is a physical watch that provides the service of telling time.

All products and services are created to satisfy a need. Maslow’s hierarchy is a framework of all needs. ….biological needs; physiological needs; safety needs; belongingness and love needs; esteem needs; cognitive needs; aesthetic needs; self-actualization needs ; and transcendence needs.

CHAPTER 4: THE MARKETING CONCEPTAlmost everyone who does a course in Marketing remembers the 4Ps. Commonly referred to as the “marketing mix”, the 4 Ps are

1. Product.2. Price3. Promotion (advertising)4. Place (distribution channels).

It was Adcock and his co-workers in 1995 who made what is today the classical definition of marketing……the right product , in the right place, at the right time, and the right price.

Today, of course, there are many more sophisticated definitions as marketing has evolved and become more complex in a global marketplace with sophisticated competitors.

Another marketing “icon” and one of the most recognizable, Philip Kotler, showed the evolution of marketing in two of his definitions in 1980 and 1991.

In 1980, Kotler stated “Marketing is the human activity directed at satisfying human needs and wants through an exchange process”.

By 1991, Kotler embellished this statement and said “Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they want and need through creating, offering, and exchanging products of value with others”.

In October 2007, the American American Marketing Association Board of Directors approved the following definition:

“Marketing is 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”.

Still another definition is “Marketing is the process by which decisions are made in a totally inter-related changing business environment on all activities that facilitates exchange in order that the targeted group of customers is satisfied and the defined objectives accomplished”.

Marketing is thus much more than the 4Ps as Marketers have to take into consideration the environment in which they operate: political, economic, sociocultural and technological (PEST).

In Chapter 3, we discussed that a marketing system is comprised of buyers and sellers and of communication between the two groups: sellers through advertising; buyers through information gathered by the sellers (marketing research).

This is further developed in the hands of keen marketers as the 4Cs.

In today’s marketing parlance, the 4Ps have been expanded to become the 7Ps. The “Seven P Formula" is used to continually evaluate and reevaluate a firm’s business activities.

These seven are:

1. Product.2. Price.3. Promotion. 4. Place.5. Packaging.6. Positioning and7. People.

I personally prefer a 7Ps approach that includes POWER instead of PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.

Companies like Coke Cola and Pepsi have a dramatic impact because of brand recognition and financial strength. These brands have huge competitive advantages in obtaining shelf or floor space as well as prominence in most outlets.

TYPES OF MARKETING

Humor is often very helpful in memorization. And of course, the internet is full of incredible people sharing incredible ideas and jokes. The definitions below were found on the Laughing Housewife Blog:

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party.You go up to her and say, “I am very rich. Marry me!”That’s Direct Marketing.

2. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. One of your friends goes up to her, points at you and says, “He’s very rich. Marry him.”That’s Advertising.

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m very rich. Marry me.”That’s Telemarketing.

4. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You get up and straighten your tie; you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her; pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say, “By the way, I’m very rich. Will you marry me?”That’s Public Relations.

5. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. She walks up to you and says, “You are very rich.”That’s Brand Recognition.

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, “I’m very rich. Marry me.” She gives you a nice hard slap to the face.That’s Customer Feedback.

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, “Let’s dance”. You show her the moves. You take her on unassuming dates on bicycle, talk a lot, dance some more. Slowly, she realizes you’re rich. By the time you say “Will you marry me?”, She’s been waiting for it. That’s Content Marketing.

SUMMARY

Marketing is a “way of life” for all human beings. We ourselves as individuals are indeed “products”.

The many definitions of marketing each tell a story. All are correct . All give their own insights into the world of marketing.

The traditional way to look at a “marketing system” is to depict sellers and buyers who exchange value and who communicate with each other through advertising or marketing research.

This Marketing Text book depicts a “market” through the adoption of Maslow’s Hierarchy.

In today’s new economy, companies and entrepreneurs are creating new offerings that are technologically superior to those of the past years. We are also in the Information Age and as such nowhere in the world is too far to reach buyers with carefully crafted messages.

Customers are also more sophisticated and demanding today. Choice is the order of the day.

The mastery of marketing in its various dimensions is a critical component of failure or success.

CHAPTER 5: INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING