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Overview of Kotler on Marketing by Philip Kotler
  Based in the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Professor Kotler has sold more than three million textbooks, in 20 languages. This is the second of his 15 books that I've read. I'll be reading more. His books are excellent.
The first two-thirds of the book deals with strategic marketing and tactical marketing, and contains wall-to-wall information that can help software developers sell more products. I believe that it's essential to get a grounding in traditional marketing, and Kotler's presentation is rock-solid.
The last third of the book deals with administrative marketing and with transformation marketing. Administrative marketing doesn't apply to mom-and-pop companies. Kotler's discussion of transformation marketing is a bit simplistic for people in the software industry; we're already aware of the wonders of the Internet, and the nearly limitless marketing opportunities that the web brings.
How mISVs would benefit from reading Kotler on Marketing
One of the things that I really like about Kotler's writing about marketing is the collection of lists that he provides. Even if some of the topics don't apply directly to the software industry, it's great to have complete lists so we can make sure that there aren't any marketing tasks that we're missing. For example, his list of winning marketing practices includes winning through higher quality, through better service, lower prices, high market share, adaptation and customization, continuous product improvement, product innovation, entering high-growth markets, and through exceeding customer expectations. It's very useful to be able to read a list like this, and give some serious thought to how each of these ideas can improve our sales results.
There's a list of marketing challenges that most companies face, a list of questions posed by marketers, and checklists that help you assess which of your company's functional areas are customer-minded. And that's all in the first 21 pages.
The book continues with nine ways to build demand, choosing your product positioning, tools for building brand identity, evaluating a brand's effectiveness, developing and using market intelligence, developing your product mix, acquiring, retaining, and growing customers, and dozens of other critical topics.
Should software developers read Philip Kotler's 'Kotler on Marketing'?
Kotler on Marketing contains the marketing information that you need to create and execute your software marketing plan. You may not agree with everything in the book, but you can be fairly certain that all of the important marketing topics have been covered.
This isn't an easy read. It's a dry book, written by a marketing professor. But the ideas that you can draw from the book can be turned into higher sales, both short term and long term. I recommend it strongly.
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