The Hindu Business Line : Seek wisdom beyond the `guru'

FOR a list of everything you always wanted to ask about marketing but were afraid to ask, here is FAQs on Marketing by Philip Kotler, from Marshall Cavendish (www.marshallcavendish.com) . The book, which `the guru of marketing' has compiled from the posers he has been receiving over the years, begins with `what is marketing' and ends by asking who influenced Kotler the most.

The answers are brief, the style is easy, though not too humorous or enlightening, and the author tries to help with examples. For instance, in answer to `When did marketing first appear?' Kotler refers to Eve convincing Adam to eat the forbidden apple. "But Eve was not the first marketer. It was the snake that convinced her to market to Adam," he says, leaving one to wonder if all marketers owe their origins to a poisonous and scheming reptile!

"Early marketers filled in the intellectual gaps left by economists," he notes, and declares, "Many of us are essentially `market economists.'" If that may invite the wrath of hardcore economists, here's one to annoy consumers: in answer to `Why is marketing the best way to satisfy individual needs?' Kotler writes, "People can try to satisfy their needs in many ways, including stealing or begging." The marketing way of satisfying needs is to offer something of value in exchange, he adds. "It is the most reasonable and voluntary way for people to acquire goods in a civilised society."

There is a liberal dose of `marketing' for other books, as for example, in the response to the query, `Do you think that knowing at least some marketing concepts is essential for everybody nowadays?' The guru writes, "Yes. I have described major concepts in marketing in my book Marketing Insights from A to Z: 80 Concepts that Managers Need to Know." The 81st tip, if it isn't the A to Z, is that you should never lose an opportunity to sell!

`Where does the CEO or business owner who really isn't that savvy about marketing begin - aside from reading your books?' reads a question, which is also posted on http://brandautopsy.typepad.com. "Actually, I would propose that one of my books would constitute the best starting point - not my 700-page Marketing Management (11th edition), but my 270-page Kotler on Marketing," answers Kotler. But `johnmoore', who administers the Brand Autopsy blog, responds, "I propose none of Kotler's books as being the best starting point. Business executives wanting to learn more about marketing should begin first with Bradford Kirk's Lessons From A Chief Marketing Officer." As if to affirm, there is a posting titled, `Kotler offers marketers no real insight' on www.findarticles.com.

Don't be disappointed, therefore, if Kotler's answers seem hazy, when questions are pointed. Thus, in response to `Which mega trends do we have to consider for the future?' Kotler chooses to provide platitudes such as, "The economic landscape has been fundamentally altered by technology and globalisation," and "Companies must pay attention to the fact that customers are getting more educated and have better tools ... "

What are proposed as new ideas come with an eloquent bureaucratic flourish; such as, the suggestion to establish `an idea management system headed by a senior officer who works with a multidiscipline committee' to `push innovation'.

Brand Kotler suffers damage through the naïveté the author displays either by sticking to academic format of replies or by being simply irrelevant, as in this answer to the poser, `If you could market any brand that has existed during your lifetime, what would it be?' He writes: "Microsoft. It has a virtual monopoly, and it has made Bill Gates the richest man in the world. Besides, the business is technical and challenging."

A book for the marketing-challenged if they want to regress into getting more challenged!

BookMark@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali