Seems every marketing book claims to offer the silver bullet—the marketing secret that guarantees incredible success. I’ve read 100’s of marketing books—including some great ones—but there are no shortcuts, folks.
To be a Responsible Marketer, you need a strong grounding in the fundamentals.
You won’t learn them in a three-day seminar, and probably don’t have the time to return to college, so what do you do?
Read Marketing Management by Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller.
Amazon’s description is spot on:
Kotler/Keller is the gold standard in the marketing management discipline because it continues to reflect the latest changes in marketing theory and practice.
Topics covered include brand equity, customer value analysis, database marketing, e-commerce, value networks, hybrid channels, supply chain management, segmentation, targeting, positioning, and integrated marketing communications.
For marketing professionals who place special emphasis to creativity and imagination in marketing management.
At 816 pages, this book is huge, but don’t let the size fool you. It’s filled with diagrams and case studies that make it an easier read than many textbooks. This book will back-fill the things you don’t know and give you a great foundation to build on.
Though it’s expensive ($120 at Amazon with a $53 discount!) I’d suggest owning a copy to use as go-to marketing reference (I do).
If you are serious about Responsible Marketing, you should read it, at least once, cover to cover.
So, if you could recommend just one good foundational marketing book, what would it be?
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