Core Concepts of Marketing

MARKETING:DEFINITIONANDJUSTIFICATION 11

ketingisnotdeliveredwhenpromisedorwiththerightfeatures.Marketersshouldcon-

sidertheirpeersinengineering,whornjghtnotbeabletoproduceanambitiousproduct

requestedbymarketingatthecostdesired. Likewise,humanresourcesmightnotbeable

tolocatetheindivid'lal"withtenyearsofexperienceinpackagegoodsmarketing"requested

bythemarketingmanager.

Thepointisthatmarketingisfarmorelikelytobesuccessfulifitsstaffrelateintel-

ligentlyandhonestlywithmembersoftheotherfunctionalareas.Insomeorganizations,

thewallsofparochialismhavebeenstandingsolongthattearingthemdownisalmostimpos-

sible.Nevertheless, creatinginter-departmenta:connectionsiscritical.

Withdownsizingandothercost-cuttingactivitiesprevalentduringthelastdecade,

theneedforinter-relatedandharmoniousbusinessfunctionshasbecomeevenmoreimpor-

tant.Inthefieldofmarketing,thetermintegratedmarketinghasbeencoined,suggesting

thatindividualsworkingintraditionalmarketingdepartmentsarenolongerspecialists,but

mustbecomeknowledgeableaboutalltheelementsofthebusinessthatcurrentlyorpoten-

tiallyhaveanimpactonthesuccessofmarketing.Atthecorporatelevel,allmanagersshould

sharea corporatevision, andthereshouldbeanorganizationalstructurethatmakesit pos-

siblefordepartmentsordivisionstoshareinformationandparticipateinjointplanning.

Thisapproachrepresents thedirectioninwhichmanycompaniesaremoving,includ-

inggiantslikeKraftandDisney.Tobetrulyintegrated,though,everydecisionat eachlevel

ofthebusinessshouldsupportdecisionsmadeatalltheotherlevels.Toillustrate,let'ssay

thatthecorporategoalistomaximizeprofit.Amarketingplanobjectivetoincreasesales

bymarketingnewproductsmatchesthegoal.Theprevious1Mboxalsoillustratesthispoint.

CommunityContact

Mostmarketersarecurious;theyenjoyobservingandnotingwhat'shappeningintheircom-

munity.Althoughtheword"community" usuallydenotesa city,town,orneighborhood,

weusethewordhereina muchbroadersense."Community"referstotheenvironmentin

INTEGRATED MARKETING •

SPYINGTOSTAYCOMPETITIVE

Mostcorporatedetectivesavoidtermslikespyingandespi-
onage,preferring themoredignifiedlabel"competitiveintel-
ligence,"butwhatevertheycallit,snoopingonbusinessrivals
hasbecomeanentrenchedsub-industry.
NearlyeverylargeU.S.companyhasanintelligenceoffice
ofsomekind.Some,likeMotorola, Inc.,haveunitssprinkled
inalmostalloftheiroutpostsaroundtheworld.Theirassign-
mentistomonitorrivals, sniffoutmergersornewtechnolo-
giesthatmightaffectthebottomline,eventokeeptabson
moraleatclientcompanies.AveteranoftheCentralIntelli-
genceAgencyformedMotorola'sintelligenceunit, viewed
asa modelinthebusiness,in1982.
Corporateintelligencereliesona slewoftools-some
sophisticated,manyquitebasic.Onthesimplerendofthe

spectrum, businesssleuthsdoeverythingfromprowlingtrade-

showfloorstocombingthroughrivals'websitesandpatent

officefilings.Theykeeptheirearsopeninairportsandaboard

flights.Butsometimestheygofurther.Theytakephotographs

ofcompetitivefactories,and,increasingly,theyrelyonnew

data-miningsoftwarethatpermitsthemtoscantheInternet

athighspeedsforsnippetsabouttheirrivals.

Sources:NeilKing,Jr. andJessBravin, " CallIt MissionImpossi-

bleInc.-CorporateSpyingFirmsThrive,"TheWallStreetJour-

nal,Monday,July3, 2000 , pp.B1,B4;NormBrodsky,"TheFirst

Step,"Inc.,August, 2000, pp.37-38;"SpyPractice,"Sunday

Times(London),July23,2000,p.89;"CompetitiveIntelligenceis

NotCOIporateEspionage;'FinancialNews,June 30 , 2000,p.A6.