Adventures in Misplaced Marketing

by Rotfeld, Herbert Jack

• ISBN13: 9781567203523
• ISBN10: 1567203523
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-09-30
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

The modern marketing concept, with its focus on creating consumer satisfaction, makes marketing seem beyond reproach. Instead of its successes and failures, Rotfeld focuses on the uses, and frequent abuses, of marketing analysis. His book--a collection of clearly observed and forceful case studies drawn from his personal research and study--deals with the pragmatic realities of marketing and its limitations. He argues that marketing can only serve consumer predispositions. It cannot guarantee satisfaction. When marketers lose sight of this, they actually ignore their market. Rotfeld takes the unusual approach of providing a fundamental view of the relationship between marketing and its customers. He shows what can happen when that relationship is misperceived or its implications are mistaken. Marketing gets "misplaced." For marketing practitioners and academics, his book is a unique study of how marketing and consumers interact. As Rotfeld explains: "Misplaced Marketing is a term I coined, using 'marketing' to refer to the marketing analysis of consumers and 'misplaced' to mean either 'lost' or 'ignored.' Many firms 'misplace' marketing in the sense of losing track of what it is and what it can do; many not-for-profit organizations do not use marketing in a way that could improve the results of their efforts. Just because marketing is satisfying consumers does not mean it is above reproach, since Al Capone satisfied many consumers too. Moreover, there are critics who fear marketing power and feel that any service to consumers is a problem for society. This is misplaced marketing in the sense that it is misused, abused, or tied to products that do not serve society's interests. Just because marketing perspectives are misplaced does not mean a product or service will fail, nor does it mean it should be banned. My book gives a perspective to understand the view of business critics and ways to improve business decision-making." The book also provides an unusual examination of the entire relationship of business to its customers.

Author Biography

HERBERT JACK ROTFELD is Professor of Marketing at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Myths and Legends of the Modern Marketing Concept	1	(14)
Part I Sell, Sell, Sell: The Modern Production Orientation of Marketing Companies	15	(48)
Hobson's Choices in the Marketplace	17	(14)
Without Bad Service, There Wouldn't Be Any Service at All	31	(18)
Advertising Only a Copywriter Would Love	49	(14)
Part II Opportunities Lost: Pitfalls of Arrogant Ignorance	63	(46)
``Hey Gang, Let's Put on a Show!''	65	(20)
A Trade Association Serving Itself	85	(6)
Government ``Serving'' the Consumers' Interests	91	(18)
Part III Problems of Just Satisfying Consumer Needs	109	(82)
Self-Regulation as a Marketing Tool	111	(20)
We'd Rather You Didn't Do That	131	(20)
Fear of Marketing	151	(12)
The ``Wrong'' Benefits I: Politics and Popular Culture	163	(14)
The ``Wrong'' Benefits II: Schools and Education	177	(14)
Part IV Explanations and Criticisms by Misplaced Marketing	191	(30)
Hiring the Wrong ``Right'' Person	193	(6)
The Spam Incentive	199	(6)
The Limits of Spin	205	(6)
Before You Decide, Get Out of the Office	211	(10)
Part V Concluding Notes	221	(8)
It's Just Misplaced Marketing	223	(6)
Index	229