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When it comes to marketing, there's no name bigger than Philip Kotler. The Kellogg School professor has a formidable reputation, built on the fact that an entire generation of marketers has grown up reading his books on the subject at various B-schools. So, is it possible that Kotler still has something to say about marketing that he already hasn't? It turns out, he has. In this book, co-authored with Germany's Pforzheim University professor, Waldemar Pfoertsch, Kotler makes a case for brand management in business-to-business (b2b) marketing as well. Those who've read Kotler's textbook Marketing Management will recall that his revisions over the year have included b2b marketing, but this is his first book devoted entirely to the topic.
The core proposition in the book is that in the new globalised world "being known" rather than "being one of many" is the need of the hour. "Customers for everything from specialty steel to software now face an overwhelming number of potential suppliers. Too many to know them all, let alone to check them out thoroughly..." The authors say that companies that once measured their worth in terms of tangibles such as factories, inventory and cash have to revise their point of view and embrace branding. How does branding help in overcoming these challenges? The authors offer a huge list-it helps with differentiation (and, hence, premium) in product categories that are highly undifferentiated; More |
