Skip to Main Content

About The Book

Since 1969, Philip Kotler's marketing text books have been read as the marketing gospel, as he has provided incisive and valuable advice on how to create, win and dominate markets. In KOTLER ON MARKETING, he has combined the expertise of his bestselling textbooks and world renowned seminars into this practical all-in-one book, covering everything there is to know about marketing. In a clear, straightforward style, Kotler covers every area of marketing from assessing what customers want and need in order to build brand equity, to creating loyal long-term customers. For business executives everywhere, KOTLER ON MARKETING will become the outstanding work in the field. The secret of Kotler's success is in the readability, clarity, logic and precision of his prose, which derives from his vigorous scientific training in economics, mathematics and the behavioural sciences. Each point and chapter is plotted sequentially to build, block by block, on the strategic foundation and tactical superstructure of the book.

Reading Group Guide

Discussion Group Questions
1. List the major marketing issues facing your business. What do you regard as your most creative marketing responses to these issues?
2. What do you think of the marketing predictions in this book for the year 2005 AD? What are your predictions for your industry? What are you doing to prepare for them?
3. How to your other departments view marketing? What can be done to improve perception and cooperation? What can be done to get everyone to focus on the customer?
4. Does your business unit operate on the mass-market level, the segment level, the niche level, or the individual customer level? Is this still the right level given the current and future marketplace?
5. Map the normal customer activity cycle that customers go through in acquiring, using, and disposing of your product. What opportunities are suggested by points in the customer activity cycle?
6. List all the marketing tools used by your business. Which are the most important? Are any tools missing that should be added? Are any tools in the list a "waste of money?"
7. Are you satisfied with the proportions of funds that your business unit spends on each promotional tool? If you were to shift funds, which tools would you reduce and which would you increase?
8. Has your company analyzed the average customer acquisition cost (CAC) and compared it with the average customer lifespan profits (CLP)? How does it look? What steps can be taken to improve the ration of CLP to CAC?
9. Do you measure the profitability of individual customers? What percentage of your customers is unprofitable? How do you handle them? How should you handle them?
10. In what ways have you been able to help your customers reduce their ordering, inventory, processing, and administrative costs? What further opportunities do you see?
11. Has your company established a sufficient number of market segment managers and area managers to respond to the market differences that exist in your market?
12. Do you see enough seamless cooperation between product management, sales management, and customer service? If not, recommend how to improve the situation.
13. Does your company use marketing scorecards in judging performance? What marketing measures are included in your marketing scorecard? What measures should be added?
14. Is your company building and using a rich database containing the names and profiles of your customers and prospects? Are you applying data mining techniques to extract insight from the information in the database?
15. How has your company utilized the marketing opportunities posed by the Internet? What next steps are called for?

About The Author

Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago. He is hailed by Management Centre Europe as "the world's foremost expert on the strategic practice of marketing." Dr. Kotler is currently one of Kotler Marketing Group's several consultants.

He is known to many as the author of what is widely recognized as the most authoritative textbook on marketing: Marketing Management, now in its 13th edition. He has also authored or co-authored dozens of leading books on marketing: Principles of Marketing; Marketing Models; Strategic Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations; The New Competition; High Visibility; Social Marketing; Marketing Places; Marketing for Congregations; Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism; and The Marketing of Nations.

Dr. Kotler presents continuing seminars on leading marketing concepts and developments to companies and organizations in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He participates in KMG client projects and has consulted to many major U.S. and foreign companies--including IBM, Michelin, Bank of America, Merck, General Electric, Honeywell, and Motorola--in the areas of marketing strategy and planning, marketing organization, and international marketing.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (February 14, 2001)
  • Length: 272 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780684860473

Browse Related Books

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images