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      Marketing For Dummies^®, 5th Edition

      Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030‐5774, www.wiley.com

      Copyright © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

      Published simultaneously in Canada

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      Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940029

      ISBN 978‐1‐119‐36557‐0 (pbk); ISBN 978‐1‐119‐36555‐6 (ebk); ISBN 978‐1‐119‐36558‐7 (ebk)

      Introduction

      Marketing is part science, part art and is truly one of the most fulfilling roles you can play in business.

      Today, marketing embodies science through data and predictive analytics; psychology through consumer behavior studies and applications; emotions through events and engagement that spark inspiration and excitement; technology that breaks down boundaries; and art that invites imagination, innovation, and creativity beyond limits. And, as you read throughout this book, marketing involves fun and games, too.

      But even with all the technologies available to create compelling programs to take products to market and capture a consumer’s lifetime value, marketing is a challenging endeavor. Consumer expectations and demands change frequently, their attention becomes increasingly fragmented due to all the time spent on mobile and social channels, and they have more purchasing options than ever because e‐commerce took down all the walls and barriers associated with location.

      This edition of Marketing For Dummies helps you get a solid and working understanding of the marketing strategies, techniques, and technologies proven for today’s markets and consumer‐driven world that can help you build your business, no matter your size or whether you’re in B2B or B2C.

      To succeed in any field of business, you need to clearly communicate what you do in a way that’s personally relevant, compelling, and exciting and taps into your customers’ aspirations, values, and ideals. You also need a plan. You need to map out your journey to take a product to market, increase its real and perceived value, partner with distributors and retailers or B2B channel managers, and secure loyalty and evangelism from your customers – all while you’re continuing to innovate new ideas for products and services that will keep your brand current and set you up for future success. Marketing isn’t for the fainthearted, but it is for those who love fun, creative, and exciting challenges.

      As you read this book, remember, everything is possible! The key is to craft a plan that enables you to work smart and efficiently with the resources you have. It’s like mapping out a journey with a specific destination in mind and staying the course instead of veering off at tempting detours.

      This book will serve as your guide whether you’re a business owner, marketing executive, or small business manager and want to plan and execute your marketing yourself. It will also guide you to think more about big‐picture ideas and identify smart ways for getting the job done instead of stretching yourself too thin. If you work for a business or marketing agency, this book will guide you on what you need to include in your marketing plan to achieve the goals given to you and advance your own career journey.

      This book caters to every marketing function and role – from small business owners and managers to staffers of larger organizations who work on plans, programs, product launches, ad campaigns, printed materials, websites, and other elements. It’s also for those managing political campaigns, public health educators, directors and board members, museums, nonprofits, and the army of independent consultants who must not only be experts in their own field but also promote their personal brands to guarantee a steady flow of clients.

      Ultimately, every marketer can benefit from the insights in this book about the consumer‐driven world in which you operate, the media tools and channels you have at your fingertips, the technologies available to manage, deploy, and measure all that you do, down to the individual level. You’ll also discover the key to executing successful customer journeys and experiences as well as direct, email, digital, and print campaigns that drive sales and profitability and, of course, how to do all of this while reducing costs and increasing efficiencies.

      Even though we admonish you to avoid assumptions about your customers and markets throughout this book, we have clearly made some about you while writing this edition.