The Art and Science of Marketing by Dowling: Chapter 1

I have been reading the most amazing book on marketing! Before you start thinking that this is the next big thing, it's not! I am a great advocate of the fact that we should master the basics before we start getting fancy. And that is exactly what The Art and Science of Marketing: Marketing for Marketing Managers by Grahame R. Dowling is all about.

If you want to see for yourself, here is the link to the Google Books version and if you would like to purchase (which I would strongly recommend), here is the link to Amazon.

Following is a summary of what I got out of Chapter 1:

"There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. (To achieve this purpose): Any business enterprise has two, and only two, basic functions - marketing and innovation." - Peter Drucker (The founder of modern management).

p1
Most consumers are agnostic to particular forms of technology. What they really want and value are the benefits and the solutions to problems that the technology can provide them with.

p2
Marketing, as the root word in the term implies, is the function of a business or a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on the marketplace. This begs the question of what is a market?

Dowling then uses the example of how the Polaroid camera competed with the entertainment market in the 90s. 18 to 30 year olds stopped going out so much, but rather took instant photographs at house parties and so denting the entertainment industry's market share with a total different need satisfaction object.

Supply-Side View
This perspective traditionally focuses on all the competitors that supply physically similar products and services. Descriptions include the type of industry, the number and nature of competitors, business models, manufacturing processes etc. Adopting a supply-side perspective can result in losing sight of the needs of customers.

p3
Business-to-enterprise / Internal Marketing
Another group of people to whom the ideas of marketing can be applied is employees. Here, the task of managers is to 'sell' the vision, culture, control systems, operating procedures, etc. of the organisation to employees and agents.

p5
Two of the roles of marketing are to act as:

• the 'match making' function of the organisation
• the market-sensing part of the organisation