BOOKMARK-3
By Tej N Dhar
The 100 Minute Marketing Manager, A Nag, Macmillan Publishers Ltd, Pp 119 (PB), Rs 185
The 100 Minute Marketing Manager is a thoroughly revised version of its earlier edition, which was published in 2001. Nag begins by exploding a few marketing myths: that the presence of a marketing department in a company means that other departments have to do nothing with it; or marketing means selling; or a marketing budget guarantees the sale promotion of a product, and many others. In a way, this prepares for his discussion on marketing laws: laws of the leader, of competition, of big size, of subjectivity, of position, and of services. Many companies ignore them, and resort to short term profit maximisation. Because this proves harmful in the long run, Nag calls it market myopia.
The central point of Nag’s book is that companies and organizations should revisit their marketing basics, which paves way for his discussion of the role of internal, external, and interactive marketing, marketing-finance interface, and marketing productivity. This is followed by a detailed discussion on mass markets, segment markets, and niche markets, brand management, and market cannibalisation.
Nag discusses how markets are created by the right mix of promotion tools: advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations. Since things have to be sold at a price, he discusses pricing varieties and their appropriateness: these include premium, penetration, skimming, package, portfolio, and neutral pricing. Their choice has a strong bearing on the right kind of price-product combination. Because products have to be consumed by customers, Nag discusses six customer types, and because companies have to contend with their competitors, he also discusses five forms of threats from competitors.
We already know how the business world is constantly threatened by the looming clouds of recession. Nag addresses this concern by discussing strategies for countering recession by drawing on the lessons learnt from the working of several known companies. He also provides a checklist for knowing the market orientation of a company.
Nag’s book is a comprehensive account of all that one needs to know about marketing. It is written in a clear and simple language and profusely illustrated with examples from companies from India and other countries. In the process, we get to read the success stories of products like Nirma washing powder and only Vimal, the Cola wars, and the rise and fall of products from all parts of the world.
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