It is impossible to value a firm, and its shares, to establish a credit rating or to plan its financial needs, without being able to understand and evaluate its marketing. Entrepreneurial ventures cannot succeed unless the founders have a solid marketing strategy. The people who are promoted in accounting and consulting firms, as well as investment banks, are those who demonstrate an ability to attract and retain clients, which requires an understanding of customer needs. In most organisations today, it is difficult to rise to a position of significant general responsibility without a thorough grasp of marketing concepts. A good grasp of marketing is therefore useful to a wide range of people.
Marketing is at an interesting stage.
In some companies where it has been dominant, such as large manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods, its role is being questioned. In other sectors, including many in which you may eventually work, marketing is just beginning to be recognised as possibly relevant and useful. There is no one unambiguous form of what marketing is. Developments in computing, telecommunications and the Internet are having an impact on marketing, as on other fields. We will discuss this during the first session, but what it means in practice is that marketing may seem a rather woolly and imprecise subject, especially to those trained in a science or other very structured subject.