Marketing for Growth

Book excerpt: The Economist: Marketing for Growth is a guide to how marketing can and should become a business's most important driver of growth. Marketers play a crucial role in generating revenue, and they can play an equally important role in how revenues translate into profit. They can help a company achieve growth by being smarter or more efficient than its competitors, and do so in a sustainable way. Marketers have their ear to the ground and therefore are often the first to pick up on changing customer needs and behavior, and the forces at play in markets. This informs the development and improvement of products, processes and standard of service. The book explores how to identify the most valuable customers, the most effective ways to drive revenue growth, and the best ways to improve profitability. It combines insight and practical guidance, and is supported by a wealth of hard data and anecdotal evidence from a wide range of business in Britain, America, Europe and Asia, including Amazon, China Mobile, Dove, Goldman Sachs, Haier, ING Direct, Lenovo, Mini, Procter & Gamble, Red Bull, Target, Twitter, Virgin and Zara.