Chapter Summary:
In this first chapter, we lay the groundwork for our study of the field of marketing with a look at marketing’s key concepts and the important tasks marketers perform. Coverage includes a close examination of the definition of marketing. A dissection of the key terms in the definition shows that marketing’s primary focus is to identify and satisfy customers in a way that helps build a solid and, hopefully, sustained relationship that encourages customers to continue doing business with the marketer. We also show how marketing has evolved from a process centered on simply getting as many people as possible to purchase a product to today’s highly complex efforts designed to build long-term customer relationships. Additionally, we’ll see marketing is not only necessary for individual organizations, it also carries both positive and negative influences at a broader societal level. Finally, we look at the key characteristics that define successful marketers.
Index of Key Issues Covered:
- Marketing Defined
- The Marketer’s Toolkit
- Marketing’s Role
- Criticisms of Marketing
- Ethical and Social Concerns
- The Successful Marketer
Links to Cited References:
- For information on the carbon footprint concept and how this impacts business decision-making see: Carbondfund.org Foundation. https://carbonfund.org.
- “Google Analytics.” Google. https://analytics.google.com/analytics.
- “Google Code of Conduct.” Investor Relations – Alphabet. https://abc.xyz/investor/other/google-code-of-conduct.html.
- “Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.” Canadian Marketing Association. https://www.the-cma.org/regulatory/code-of-ethics.
- “Support GMO Labeling.” Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. http://www.benjerry.com/GMO.