Marketing Management is the leading book on marketing because its content and organization consistently reflect the changes in marketing theory and practice.

The first edition of this book, published in 1967, introduced the idea that companies should be guided by their customers and their market. However, there was little mention of topics that are now considered fundamental, such as market segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

Concepts such as brand equity, customer value analysis, database marketing, e-commerce, value networks, hybrid channels, supply chain management, and integrated marketing communications were not part of the marketing vocabulary at that time.

Businesses now sell products and services through many different direct and indirect channels. Mass advertising is no longer as effective as it once was. Companies are experimenting with new forms of communication such as experiential marketing, entertainment marketing, and viral marketing.

Increasingly, it is the customers themselves who tell companies the kinds of products they want and when, where, and how they want to buy them.