Overall, this is a concise, well‐written book targeted toward graduate‐level students and managers. I particularly liked the organization of the book. Unlike the common 4Ps approach, the structure oriented around customer value is interesting and easy to understand. Stepping away from the traditional presentation of the marketing mix in a modular format, the author integrates them well – clearly communicating to the reader that each of the 4Ps cannot be thought about in isolation as they work in unison to reach a desired organizational goal.
The book has 14 chapters. Chapter 1 is on the scope of strategic marketing. The inclusion of a section on internal marketing is particularly noteworthy, although there is only a page on it. It is not common to find books including this aspect of marketing within the firm.
The remaining 13 chapters are divided into four parts. Part I discusses identifying and selecting customer value with chapters on consumer buying behavior, market segmentation and positioning, strategic planning, marketing research, and competition. The choice of placing the topic of strategic planning around the middle of this part was a little unexpected. It would have been preferable to have it right after Chapter 1, which is on the scope of strategic marketing. Likewise, it may have been better to place the chapter on competition before the one on market segmentation and positioning. Firms consider the competition in choosing their market segments and positioning strategies. Therefore, the chapter on competition may be better suited earlier than its current location in the book.
Part II is on product. The sections on building brand equity and brand value are rich in content. I was particularly pleased by the presence of an informative section on brand debasement – a concept that is not usually found in marketing textbooks despite its relevance to the marketer. Chapter 9 is devoted to the product life cycle (PLC) and has an extensive presentation of the different types of PLCs. It is interesting that the stage following maturity in the PLC is called “renewal” rather than the traditional “decline”. It is not obvious, however, as to why the author chose that term.
How to communicate value is the focus of Part III. The book does a good job of providing a balanced discussion on the aspects of promotion, both from a behavioral and strategy standpoint. It is surprising that the author chose to devote only two pages to advertising in comparison to nearly six pages given to sales promotion. The concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) has been around for a while now, but only a cursory reference to it at the end of the communications chapter is provided. While the limited material on IMC may give the impression of the book being obsolete, the material on database marketing in the following Chapter 11 quickly changes that impression. About half of this chapter is on the rapidly developing area of direct marketing; the other half is on personal selling. Although database marketing is included, there is scarcely anything on online marketing strategy.
The last part of the book is on delivering value – primarily pricing and distribution. The chapter on pricing assumes the reader has background knowledge of pricing concepts. In addition, the reader is expected to be familiar with basic accounting and finance. For example, though breakeven price is stated as one of the methods of pricing, how it is calculated is not explained. As strategy is the focus of the book, such details have been omitted probably in the interest of keeping the book brief. Furthermore, considering that the book is targeted toward graduate students and managers, assuming considerable prior knowledge is reasonable.
The chapter on distribution presents a broad survey of the different aspects in distribution, though the topic of supply chain management (SCM) is missing. While there is only a hint of it under the section “Cost and efficiency” in Distribution, there is no reference to SCM. Yet another indicator that the book may not have quite kept up with the latest business trends.
Chapter 14 is a managerially appropriate addition. By its placement as the last chapter, it reminds the reader that at the end of the day it is the numbers that matter. This is in contrast to many other books, which give the impression that keeping the customer satisfied is everything to the marketer.
A chapter on international marketing strategy was conspicuous by its absence. Considering the author's expertise in the area of international marketing, the value of the material in the book could have been substantially enhanced with a global perspective being provided to the different topics.
The author, probably in the interest of brevity, is parsimonious in the use of words. Many concepts are not accompanied by examples. As most theoretical explanations in the book are quite brief, an example or two to illustrate the concept may have served as a good supplement.
Every chapter contains a wealth of excellent diagrams that would make great slides for the teaching professor. Some of the figures may be a little too complex for the average student or manager to comprehend though. Some of the common bells and whistles such as use of color, photographs, vignettes, etc. have been avoided. A case‐pack is part of the supplementary material.
Overall, Strategic Marketing in the Customer Driven Organization is a good bare‐bones book for the reader looking for a concise discussion of marketing strategy. However, if one were seeking material that is more detailed, other choices may serve the purpose better.
