Book profile

Principles of Marketing

Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong

A comprehensive introduction to modern marketing centered on creating customer value and engagement in order to capture value from customers in return.

Principles of Marketing (18e Global Edition) by Kotler, Armstrong, and Opresnik is the foundational textbook that frames all of marketing around a single, powerful idea: marketing is the process of engaging customers and building profitable customer relationships by creating value for customers and capturing value in return. Through a clear five-step marketing process model, the book walks readers from understanding the marketplace and customer needs, to designing customer value-driven marketing strategies, to building integrated marketing programs, to managing customer relationships, and finally to capturing value as sales, profits, and customer equity. Richly illustrated with real-world brand stories—from Emirates and Rolex to Disney, Apple, and Airbnb—the text integrates the latest forces reshaping marketing: digital, mobile, and social media; big data and artificial intelligence; customer engagement marketing; globalization; and sustainability. It equips students and practitioners with both the conceptual frameworks and the practical, measurable tools needed to win in a fast-changing, increasingly digital marketplace.

The model

A causal model expressing how understanding customers and deploying customer value-driven marketing strategy and an integrated marketing mix drive customer engagement, perceived value, satisfaction, and relationships, which in turn produce loyalty, share of customer, and ultimately customer equity and marketing ROI.

Frameworks you can use

Understand customer needs, wants, and demands before designing offerings.
Avoid marketing myopia—sell solutions and experiences, not just products.
Select target customers and design a differentiating value proposition.
Build customer engagement and relationships, not just transactions.
Practice partner relationship management across the value chain.
Treat marketing as an investment and hold it accountable for measurable returns.

Key terms

Customer and Marketplace Understanding: The firm's grasp of customer needs, wants, demands, and the surrounding marketplace, forming the foundation of the marketing process.
Customer Value-Driven Marketing Strategy: The logic by which a firm selects target markets and crafts a differentiating value proposition to create superior customer value.
Integrated Marketing Mix (4 Ps): The coordinated set of product, price, place, and promotion tools used to deliver the value proposition and engage customers.
Digital, Mobile, and Social Media Engagement Tools: Online, mobile, social, big data, and AI tools used to engage customers interactively and continuously.
Customer Engagement: Direct and continuous customer involvement in shaping brand conversations, experiences, advocacy, and community.
Customer-Perceived Value: The customer's subjective evaluation of total benefits versus total costs of an offering relative to competitors.
Customer Satisfaction: The match between perceived product performance and buyer expectations, from dissatisfaction to delight.
Customer Relationships and Loyalty: The strength and durability of profitable bonds between firm and customers, including loyalty, retention, and advocacy.