Kotler Marketing Tutorial

Author: Philip Kotler (USA) and others
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: Philip Kotler is hailed as the father of modern marketing. His marketing textbook, one of the classic MBA teaching materials, is widely welcomed by college students, MBAs, and managers. The new fourth edition adds content such as marketing communication, sales management, marketing logistics, product and brand strategy, etc. Additionally, all tables, illustrations, examples, and references in the book have been comprehensively updated. Supporting materials such as chapter objectives, opening examples, "Marketing in Action" showcases, chapter summaries, and key terms further deepen the understanding and grasp of marketing. With this book in hand, marketing is in your grasp. This is the classic work of "the father of modern marketing," Philip Kotler. He introduces the theory and practice of marketing in an accessible manner. The new fourth edition supplements the book with new cases on international marketing. Professor Kotler and Professor Armstrong have worked together to make the complex field of marketing highly practical, easy to learn, and engaging. This book is especially suitable as a marketing textbook for MBAs and managers in China.
Excerpt: Johnson & Johnson is one of the companies that consider social interests. Recently, it was ranked as one of the most respected socially and environmentally responsible companies in the United States in a poll conducted by Fortune magazine. Johnson & Johnson's concern for social interests is reflected in a document called "Our Credo," which emphasizes honesty, integrity, and human values. According to this credo, Johnson & Johnson would rather suffer significant losses than distribute a batch of substandard products. Moreover, the company supports not only environmental protection initiatives but also many community and employee programs that benefit its consumers and staff. The company's president said, "We believe that if we consistently strive to do the right thing, the market will eventually reward us." Johnson & Johnson has taken action to support these commitments. For example, in a pain reliever tragedy, eight people died after ingesting cyanide-laced capsules of Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol. Although the company confirmed that the pills had been replaced in several stores, the pills in the factory had not been replaced, so the company quickly recalled all products. This action cost Johnson & Johnson $240 million in revenue. However, in the long run, Johnson & Johnson's rapid recall of Tylenol strengthened consumer confidence and loyalty, and Tylenol remains the leading pain reliever brand in the United States. In this case and others, Johnson & Johnson's management has found that doing the right thing benefits both consumers and the company. The company president said, "Our credo should not be seen as some kind of social welfare program—it is simply a common-sense approach to good business." As a result, over the years, Johnson & Johnson's contributions to consumers and social services have made it one of the most respected companies in the United States and one of the most profitable as well.
Next Century's Marketing Challenges
Marketing takes place in a dynamic global environment. Every decade, marketing managers need to reevaluate their marketing goals and practices. Rapid changes in the world can quickly make yesterday's winning strategies outdated today. As management expert Peter Drucker once remarked, a company's successful approach in the past decade could very well be the reason for its downfall in the next decade. What challenges do we face in marketing as we enter the 21st century?
Today's businesses are constantly grappling with changing customer values and preferences, economic downturns, environmental degradation, increasing global competition, and numerous other economic, political, and social issues. However, these challenges also present marketing opportunities. Let us delve deeper into some key trends and the major forces driving rapid changes and challenges in marketing strategies.
The Growth of Nonprofit Marketing
In the past, marketing was primarily applied to businesses and industries. However, recently, marketing has become an important strategic component for many nonprofit organizations, such as universities, hospitals, museums, symphony orchestras, and even churches. Let's look at some examples: Due to rising medical costs and room rates, many hospitals face low occupancy rates, particularly in obstetrics and pediatrics. As a result, many hospitals have taken marketing actions. For instance, a Philadelphia hospital offered new parents a candlelit dinner with steak and champagne to win their business. The St. Mary's Medical Center in Evanston, Indiana, used innovative billboards to promote its emergency services. Other hospitals have offered services such as saunas, driver pickups, and private tennis courts to attract doctors. Even more strikingly, a new church hired a market research firm before opening to find out what its customers wanted. The survey revealed that "non-churchgoers"—those currently disconnected from churches—found churches annoying and irrelevant to their daily lives. They complained that churches always asked for money. Based on this, the church added popular music and comedy sketches, relaxed dress codes, and delivered sermons on current topics such as finance and parenting. Its direct mail materials read: "Giving up on church? We won't blame you. In fact, many people have given up on church because they are so tired of boring sermons, meaningless rituals, music no one enjoys, and clergy who seem more interested in wallets than people. But this church is different. Come see for yourself." The results, of course, were successful. Since opening more than a year ago, the church has recruited nearly 400 members, 80% of whom were previously non-churchgoers. Now, many nonprofit organizations are licensing their names and logos to products they deem appropriate and earning royalties from product sales. Recent examples include the arthritis foundation pain reliever sold by McNeil Consumer Healthcare and the VFW coffee sold by Tetley. A product sold by the Adolph Coors Company may also soon use the VFW name. The royalties from these products can significantly boost the budgets of these nonprofit organizations that previously relied on donations. Similarly, many private universities, facing declining enrollment rates and rising costs, are adopting marketing strategies to attract students and funding. They identify target markets, improve communication and promotional methods, and better respond to students' needs and desires. Of the 300,000 churches in the United States, many are struggling to retain members and secure funding, so they are adopting marketing strategies to better understand members' needs and redesign their "service offerings." Many performing arts groups, even the seasonally undersold Lyric Opera Company of Chicago, face huge operating deficits that can only be addressed by intensifying their marketing efforts to donors. Finally, many long-standing nonprofit organizations, such as the YMCA, the Salvation Army, and the Girl Scouts, are facing member attrition, so they are modernizing their sermons and "products" to attract more members and donors. Even government agencies have shown great interest in marketing. For example, the U.S. military has a marketing plan to recruit new soldiers, and various government agencies are designing social marketing campaigns to encourage energy conservation and raise environmental awareness, as well as to promote smoking cessation, alcohol and drug rehabilitation. Additionally, the U.S. Postal Service, once rigid and traditional, has developed innovative marketing plans.