Marketing activity is at the core of managing a business; it provides the focus for interfacing with customers and is the primary source of intelligence about customers, competitors, and the business environment in general. Marketing must be concerned with the long-run relationship of the firm with its customers as well as short-run sales activity. In this era of managerial concerns such as quality management, downsizing, reengineering, and outsourcing, marketing has become a major organizational thrust rather than just a task assigned to a single functional department. This book emphasizes the role of marketing in creating value for customers because customer value in turn leads to the creation of value for other firm stakeholders including stockholders and employees.

Índice: I – Marketing and the firm: 1. Introduction to Marketing Management; 2. The Environmental Imperative; 3. The Externally Oriented Firm. II – Fundamentals for strategic marketing: 4. Customers; 5. Competitors and Complementers. III – The tasks of marketing: 6. Identifying Opportunities for Creating Shareholder Value; 7. Market Segmentation and Targeting; 8. Market Strategy: The Integrator; 9. Competitive Market Strategies in Introduction and Growth; 10. Competitive Market Strategies in Maturity and Decline; 11. Managing Brands; 12. Managing the Product Line; 13. Developing New Products; 14. Integrated Marketing Communications; 15. Directing and Managing the Field Sales Effort; 16. Distribution Decisions; 17. Managing Services and Customer Service; 18. Managing Price and Value; 19. Ensuring the Marketing Offer Is Implemented as Planned; 20. Monitor and Control Execution and Performance. IV – Future directions: 21. Marketing and the Internet.