"This 3rd edition introduces readers to the fundamental issues underlying marketing concepts and strategies. Building on two successful previous editions, the book adds new material that covers many of the latest developments in technology that affect marketing. There is also a new chapter on marketing strategy implementation -- critical, because in these days of well-formulated marketing strategies, failure is often the result of poor implementation. This revised, renewed and reader-friendly text: • debunks the notion that marketing is an overly complicated discipline shrouded in mystery • offers readers strategic insights into marketing • shows that marketing is not as simple as merely giving customers what they want -- it also has to do with creating offerings that create customers • encourages readers to question conventional wisdom • integrates the best of marketing theory with cutting-edge practicality • includes not only the Internet and related technologies in marketing strategies, but also the latest developments related to interactive and social media • focuses on the challenges of writing viable, usable and well-considered marketing plans • provides a number of checklists for managers to use in considering and implementing marketing strategy • is conversational and non-technical • incorporates the latest thinking from research published in the world's major marketing and management journals."--Back cover.