4 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCINGMARKETING
organictissue,thiskindofconnection-orrelationship-isalwaysgrowingordying.Itcan
reverbeina steadystate.Andliketissuepaper, thiskindofconnectionisfragile.Cus-
tomerrelationships,evenlong-standingones,arecontingentonthelasttrungthathappened.
Tracingtheevolutionofthevariousdefinitionsofmarketingproposedduringthelast
thirtyyearsrevealstwotrends:1)expansionoftheapplicationofmarketingtonon-profit
andnon-businessinstitutions; e.g.,charities, education,orhealthcare;and2)expansionof
theresponsibili'jesofmarketingbeyondthepersonalsurvivaloftheindividualfirm,toinclude
thebettermentofsocietyasa whole. ThesetwofactorsarereflectedintheofficialAmer-
icanMarketingAssociationdefinitionpublishedin 1988.
"Marketingis theprocessofplanningandexecutingtheconception.pricing,promo-
tion,anddistributionofideas,goods,andservicestocreateexchangesthatsatisfy
individual(customer)andorganiwtionalobjectives.'"Whilethisdefinitioncanhelpusbettercomprehendtheparametersofmarketing,it
doesnotprovidea fullpicture.Definitionsofmarketingcannotfleshoutspecifictransac-
tionsandotherrelationshipsamongtheseelements.The followingpropositionsareoffered
tosupplementthisdefinitionandbetterpositionmarketingwithinthefirm:- Theoveralldirectiveforanyorganizationis themissionstatementorsomeequiv-
alentstatementoforganizationalgoals.Itreflectstheinherentbusines~philoso-
phyoftheorganization. - Everyorganizationhasa setoffunctionalareas(e.g.,accounting,production,
finance,dataprocessing,marketing)inwhichtaskst;latarenecessaryforthesuc-
cessoftheorgani~ationareperformed.Thesefunctionalareas mustbemanaged
iftheyaretoachievemaximumperformance. - Everyfunctionalareaisguidedbya philosophy(derivedfromthemissionstate-
mentorcompanygoals)thatgovernsitsapproachtowarditsul timatesetoftasks. - Marketingdiffer~fromtheotherfunctionalareasinthatitsprimary concernis
withexchangesthattakeplaceinmarkets,outsidetheorganization(calleda
transaction). - Marketingismostsuccessfulwhenthephilosophy,tasks,andmannerofimple-
mentingavailableLechnologyarecoordinatedandcomplementary.
Perhapsanexamplewillclarifythesepropositions:L.L.Beanisanextremelysuc-
cessfulmailordercompany.Theorganizationbasesmuchofits success onitslongstand-
ing and straightforward mission statement: "Customer Satisfaction: An L. L. Bean
Tradition"(Proposition1).Thephilosophypermeateseveryleveloftheorganizationand
is reflectedinhighqualityproducts,fairpricing,convenience,a 100%satisfac~ionpolicy
and-aboveall-dedicationtocustomerservice(Proposition2).Thisphilosophyhasneces-
sitatedaveryhighstandardofproduction,efficientbillingsystems,extensiveandrespon-
sivecommunicationnetworks,computerization,innovativecost controls, andsoforth.
Moreover,it hasmeantthatallofthesefunctionalareashavetobeinconstantcommuni-
cation,mustbetotallycoordinated,andmustexhibita levelofharmonyandmutualrespect
that createsa positiveenvironmentinordertoreachsharedgoals(Proposition3).TheL. L.
Beanmarketingphilosophyis incloseharmonywithitsmissionstatement.Everythingthe
marketingdepartmentdoesmustreinforceandmakerealtheabstractconceptof"consumer
satisfaction"(Proposition4).Theprice-product-qualityrelationshipmustbefair. Theprod-
uctmustadvertiseinmediathatreflectstrus highquality. Consequently,L.L.Beanadver-