This paper is an expanded overview of marketing, dealing with the concepts, strategies and models of contemporary marketing.
The paper shows that marketing is a primary function in business and involves a company trying to sell its product through manipulating four stages: planning, pricing, promoting and distributing. The paper discusses how models and strategies, such as the brand-switching model, the distribution model, action strategy and direct marketing campaigns, have been designed to help marketers make difficult decisions. These strategies and models, however, are not used with business professionals known as visionaries. The paper explores how visionaries think outside of models and strategies to find a better way to deliver higher profits. Strategies and models (as well as marketing agents and visionaries) aside, marketing is changing and those involved must continue to evolve.
“This is the basic idea of Carnegie (if we were to adapt his theory into marketing practice). Carnegie has a commonsense approach and believes that giving people what they want is the objective. Carnegie (1980) mentions that he likes strawberries and cream, but when he goes fishing, he notices the fish likes worms. So he says, ” . . . I didn’t think about what I wanted. I thought about what they wanted. I dangled a worm or grasshopper in front of the fish and said: Wouldn’t you like to have that? (p.61)
Although some of these ideas may seem simple enough, they are not solely what guides marketing professionals. Some marketers have to rely on theory or management science. Donnelly, Gibson, and Ivancevich (1981) say, Management science has contributed models for dealing with difficult marketing decisions (p.375).