複雑かつ多様化する世の中で潜在顧客にアピールし続けるのが難しくなっている昨今、顧客のニーズを解き明かし、社会との相互理解を得るマーケティングは、組織にとって広告や販売促進以上の意義を持つ、幅広い顧客関係管理の活動です。競争優位性の発揮におけるマーケティングの重要性、時流を踏まえ常に新たな手法を取り入れ刷新し続ける必要性、倫理面などの責任についても触れるほか、どのように顧客の購買習慣に呼応したマーケティングミックスを策定できるかも考えます。
  

• Provides a general overview of the function and importance of marketing to modern organisations
• Considers the challenges facing marketing efforts in increasingly global markets
• Looks forward to the future of marketing practices, including the impact of AI on marketing pratice

   
Marketing is pivotal in today's world. Used for determining and satisfying the needs of the customer, it stands at the interface between an organisation and its environment. Marketing provides customer and competitor information to the organisation, as well as creating awareness of the company's offering. As globalization creates increasing challenges to established marketing practices, marketing efforts need to reposition and adapt continuously to maintain an organisation's ability to reach potential customers.
     
This Very Short Introduction provides a general overview of the function and importance of marketing to modern organisations. Kenneth Le Meunier-FitzHugh discusses how marketing remains central to creating competitive advantage, and why it needs to be forward looking and constantly reinventing itself in line with new developments in the marketplace, such as the growth of social media, and the importance of ethics and responsible marketing. He shows how this has led to the role of marketing expanding beyond advertising and promotion, encompassing a broader sense of customer relationship management. He also considers how marketers need to remain able to manage the marketing mix in response to their understanding of customer's purchasing habits.