The 6 Imperatives of Marketing: Lessons from the World's Best Companies

"We live in a time of unprecedented market uncertainty, where the order of the day is often disorder," warns author Allan J. Magrath. Breaking through the marketing maelstrom of issues, priorities, and questions is perhaps the most difficult challenge for any company that wants to be a market leader. The 6 Imperatives of Marketing presents Magrath's insightful analysis of how to meet this challenge--based on the experiences of more than 300 highly successful organizations in 40 different industries. His lucid and objective viewpoint allows you to mentally stand back from the storm and get a clear sense of which issues are critical and which are mere distractions.
As Magrath shows, "winner" companies concentrate their attention on six key areas:
1. Marketing productivity
2. Innovation
3. Distribution channels
4. Alliances
5. Globalization
6. Quality
The 6 Imperatives of Marketing examines these urgent issues, interweaving Magrath's lively observations with hundreds of examples of actual marketing victories. The book takes you on a fascinating sightseeing tour of the dilemmas, debates, and decisions these companies experienced--and are still working through. For instance, you'll learn about how the tightly-focused marketing productivity of Polaroid helped it beat out the much larger Kodak in the instant photography category... or how Braun uses innovation in product design... or how lumber chain Home Depot uses innovation in staffing... or how GE requires that one of its distributors, Cameron and Barkley Co., provides just-in-time service, with all inventory and orders routed through GE's computers... or how A.T. Cross invested its marketing energy in the global market for a decade and watched its sales grow from $20 million to $200 million.
Each chapter focuses on one imperative, breaks it apart, and provides focused advice on how to deal with it--in terms the practicing manager can put to use immediately.
In today's marketing-driven competitive environment, all forward-looking managers must consider the marketing strategies their company is using and how to tie those strategies into overall business strategy. The 6 Imperatives of Marketing alerts you to the critical make-or-break issues--and shows you how to deal with them before they break you.