¶ … Art and Science of Marketing
The discipline of Marketing has come a long way since the advent of the industrial age, a consumer driven society, and an increasingly competitive global economy. Indeed, environmental compulsions have perforce led to many a management guru and business strategist developing new business models and marketing formulas that hold out the promise of the holy grail to building sustainable competitive advantages and increasing market shares. However, while these business models and marketing formulas are extremely helpful in understanding the dynamics of marketing, the fact remains that ultimately it is the application of these models or formulas to any one given marketing context that determines the success or otherwise of a marketing strategy. In fact, it is extremely critical that the context itself is defined correctly before any attempt is made to apply known marketing principles. The preceding facts, thus, make it evident that marketing is much more of an art than a science since a great deal depends on the skill of the practitioner...
The primary reason for such marketing failures is usually because the marketing team has either been unable to anticipate the next move that competitors will make or identify consumer needs and motivations accurately. Indeed, it is largely these two facts that make it so difficult to define the market context, which the marketing strategy necessarily needs to address: "Advertisers, salespersons, and marketers need to understand motivation to be effective...so that they can market to the mind." (Fulton & Maddock, p. 33-34)
True, marketers do have several tools in market research to help them understand and define consumer usage attitudes and behavior. However, often a faulty research design or interpretation of research findings can lead to erroneous conclusions, which then become a shaky foundation for the…
