Critical Thinking for Marketers, Volume II


Book Description

This second volume of Critical Thinking for Marketers expands your background knowledge of other areas of critical thinking that are making major contributions to both marketing as a social science and marketing as an applied science. Section I, Think Better, provides introductory discussions of - marketing as a science; the difference between correlation and causation; the meaning of what a “concept” is and why it is critical for marketers to develop good concept definitions (e.g., “What is customer satisfaction?”); why the 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume is relevant to marketers today; and the impact that behavioral economics is having on how marketers do their job. Section II, Cognitive Biases and Their Importance, talks about recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and neuroscience that have relevance to marketers. You’ll learn that marketers need to be aware of their own cognitive biases and irrational thinking processes, which often lead to making bad decisions, and that the retail and business customers we market to are not as rational as we may think and hope they are. Finally, Section III, Conclusions, draws on both Volumes I and II to summarize the book’s primary messages with helpful hints on applying your new tools and making better marketing decisions.




Marketing


Book Description

`I see this book as an important addition to the marketing literature. A weakness in critical approaches to marketing is that they are often not made easily accessible to undergraduate students. Chris Hackley has done a wonderful job in producing a rigorous text that remedies this situation and makes critical perspectives accessible to all′ - Professor Rob Lawson, University of Otago Does marketing really work for organizations, managers and citizens? How can marketing management be studied and practised critically? This key text introduces the essentials of critical thinking within the field of marketing in easy to read and understandable terms. Integrating critical perspectives with the topics of the typical marketing curriculum, Chris Hackley has produced an indispensable supporting text for upper level, undergraduate and postgraduate Marketing courses. A wide range of issues are covered including: - Historical origins and influences in marketing - Introduction to the concepts of Critical Theory - Marketing ‘orientation’ and the marketing ‘mix’ - Critique of marketing principles - Marketing and strategy - The role of research in marketing - Marketing and managerial ideology - Marketing ethics Each chapter includes Chapter Review questions, Case studies reflecting issues in the chapters, along with supporting case questions and reflections, as well as stimulating practical examples.




Introduction to Business


Book Description

Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.




Critical Thinking for Marketers, Volume I


Book Description

All marketing actions, whether preceded by formal or informal decision-making processes, are based on what philosophers call “arguments.” An argument is a set of related statements comprising premises and a conclusion. Ideally, premises give an audience good reasons for accepting your argument’s conclusion. In marketing, these “conclusions” are normative decisions about what an organization should do, for example, raise prices by five percent, add a new sales territory or, perhaps, change the marketing communications mix to invest more in digital and less in print. The premises are the rationale behind why the organization should take such actions. Critical Thinking for Marketers: Learn How to Think, Not What to Think provides information and guidelines on not only how to develop good arguments, but also what it means to develop a good argument. For example, the book describes two basic kinds of arguments—deductive and inductive—and how to examine whether such arguments are “good” or not. To do this, the book explains 60 logical fallacies—or errors in reasoning—that marketers should avoid. Additionally, the authors’ several “Think Better” discussions examine how fields such as philosophy, behavioral economics, and marketing theory have informed the principles of critical thinking in marketing.




Social Media Marketing


Book Description

Published in 1837, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor's New Clothes tells the tale of two weavers who present a non-existent suit of clothes to the Emperor with the caution that the suit is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As the Emperor parades in his underwear no one dares to say that they see no clothes—with the exception for one small child who exclaims; “he isn’t wearing anything at all.” Fast forward to the present day and business owners and managers around the world are told that anyone who cannot see the benefits of social media marketing are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. As organizations, brands and products fill the social media landscape with meaningless, objectiveless drivel that has interest to no one and serves only to waste resources and alienate customers, a small voice can be heard exclaiming; “who told you that was a good idea?” The caveat to this contemporary tale is that for a very few organizations, brands and products, social media has provided a kind-of marketing panacea. Correction: make that a very, very few organizations. For the rest, they are metaphorically parading in their digital underwear. All is not lost however. Although many have been duped in a new clothes-esque sting, and that their social media marketing efforts are indeed, invisible—but marketing on social media might just be riding to the rescue.




Decoding Customer Value at the Bottom of the Pyramid


Book Description

Mature businesses across all advanced countries are struggling to find new markets. Indian market has been estimated huge in size, approximately $1.2 trillion in purchasing power parity for the households earning an annual income of less than $4,000. This comes to almost 880 million of Indian population of which 22 percent is urban India and 78 percent rural India. Referred to as bottom of the pyramid/low income/subsistence markets, while these markets offer immense business opportunities they also pose challenges. The needs of this segment have to be addressed by the corporate world but it might need a new approach with new business frameworks for implementation. The companies must understand what constitutes value for this segment, how it is different from other segments and how firms can offer value through their market offerings; accordingly what could be the successful business models. Decoding Customer Value at the Bottom of the Pyramid: An Urban India Perspective answers these questions through a practical, rigorous and research oriented way. This book is a must read for business executives across the globe with an interest in the low income customers in India.




Multiply Your Business Value Through Brand & AI


Book Description

Brand building is a competitive advantage that organizations can leverage to multiply their value. Artificial intelligence (AI), is a recent phenomenon that enables organizations reduce errors, build efficiencies and increase profitability, thereby freeing their human capital to perform more intellectual tasks. This book presents the case for building brands effectively and optimally using AI, thereby enhancing the overall value of the organization. This book is ideal for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, and brand managers as it provides them with pathways of using AI to build brands and create value. It can be used as a textbook in courses on brand management and as a supplemental text in marketing management courses. It is especially relevant today, where many enterprises are being founded by non-marketing professionals.




Fast Fulfillment


Book Description

This book provides insights and process details of how to design and build disruptive innovations, so that you are not flying blind or just throwing darts in an effort to pivot/expand to the online order fulfillment world. The fulfillment machine is the delivery side infrastructure of an online business, it is the physical and digital innovations which make it possible to immediately deliver customer orders. Customers want to order everything, while sitting on their couch and they want immediate fulfillment. Fast fulfillment is happening, and everyone knows that, but most are scared of it. Many experts describe the wonders of online retail, but none explains what fast fulfillment is or propose a solution to building a fast fulfillment machine. Managers are frustrated just reading about how great Amazon is, and how startups are innovating fantastic technology driven processes. Here is the book, written in a simple easy to read style which unravels the technical mystery of the fulfillment machine. It levels the knowledge field, reveals the secrets of fast fulfillment, and helps the reader construct a plan to innovate and be ready to face the disruptors. What is happening in retail is contagious across industries, there are no wide moats. Managers and engineers are rushing to redesign their supply chains into fast fulfillment machines. This book provides insights and process details of how to design and build disruptive innovations, so that you are not flying blind or just throwing darts in an effort to pivot/expand to the online order fulfillment world. The book does not story-tell the fast fulfillment machine, it is informative and instructive.




Market Entropy


Book Description

This book discusses competitive market dynamics explain contextual market entropy caused because of swift changes in the innovation and technology scenarios. It delineates the attributes of cognitive ergonomics of consumers responding to the market dynamics under the shrinking scenarios of large markets. The author analyzes the emerging theory of chaos, fragmentation of markets, and agile business models to gain advantage in the competitive marketplace and deliberates upon factors that are critical to success of firms. In addition, this book presents new insights on developing hybrid business models using both aggressive and defensive marketing strategies to manage market chaos and behavioral complexities of consumers.




Marketing Greatest Hits Volume 2


Book Description

Hard on the heels of the popular Marketing Greatest Hits comes volume II, the definitive compendium of everything you need to know from the best minds in modern marketing - abridged, condensed, and ready for immediate action. As well as saving hundreds of hours of reading time, the reader is able to grasp ideas with pithy accuracy, explain them authoritatively to colleagues and, crucially, avoid being hoodwinked by those who claim to understand a concept when in fact they have got the wrong end of the stick. 40 books are summarised in six short chapters, one-minute summaries, and one-sentence summaries to give an immediate feel for the subjects. All the wisdom forms an intriguing 40-point manifesto to inspire your approach.