Now showing: PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING, 2003
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING, 2003
First things first – this is a massive book, well over eleven hundred pages, covering what must surely be nearly every element of marketing and a good many other areas besides. When picking up the book for the first time it is the size of the thing one notices, and it can be a cumbersome read for the first few chapters. The inner content of the book, however, could not be more helpful. It is a valuable resource for knowledge of the marketing world and all of its branches.
All phases of the marketing process are described, from product development (including the research that can prompt development and afterwards give meaning to a product) to consumer decision making, business to business dealings to packaging and pricing. Each area is thoroughly explored using several different perspectives and each section of the book contains a wealth of case studies to help illustrate the various diagrams and concepts lucidly referred to in the text.
For example, the surprisingly-interesting-even-though-it-sounds-boring chapter 10, Pricing: context and concepts deals with the subject in such a way that you can see how important pricing is in the promotional mix, and if handled incorrectly can kill a products chances of success. The concept is then explored on a larger scope – the universality of price as currency between buyer and seller, whether this is a politician ‘selling’ a vote or a child buying ice cream.
From here the book goes on to discuss the difference between pricing at a local level – the relationship of manufacture to intermediaries and so on to customer, and the effect of pricing on each of these. The European influence on pricing is then examined, on a national and international level. Other international elements, such as parallel pricing, are then considered. An engaging and contemporary case study is included in each chapter, which whilst fleshing out the topic more fully, also gives the reader a greater understanding of the modern world. An example of this is the case study on the large and increasingly competitive Viagra market, which I personally had no idea about before I read this book. It is this modern and innovative edge which makes the book so easy to read, unlike many other not-so-colourful textbooks.
What this book does extremely well is illustrate the links between the smaller and bigger picture. At the end of each chapter is a helpful summary page, followed by questions for the reader to ponder in order to increase his/her understanding.
As I only loaned the book from a library, I was not able to access any of the extra features (the book comes with access to a website featuring essays, videos illustrating the theories and case studies mentioned in the book) which I assume would be a very helpful addition for the reader.
All in all this textbook doesn’t really seem like a textbook – it reads more like an up-to-date magazine. It isn’t biased towards any particular political viewpoint, it reports the process objectively and in appropriate depth.