Managing markets, segments, and customers

de Narakesari Narayandas, Harvard Business School

Marketing is the management of markets, segments, and customers. Professor Das Narayandas asks you to examine how you manage each entity to produce a result that is beneficial to both you and the customer. He discusses visioning and market fit and explains why it is important to communicate the benefits to your customer and to link those benefits to the members of the decision-making unit. Managing segments involves formulating marketing strategies to analyze your customer, your competition, and your firm. Are you at the high end? The low end? Are you a market leader who must play across the entire span? Using the price/performance curve, you can make key decisions regarding your pricing and positioning strategies. Marketing strategies have a profound effect on how you organize your marketing and sales efforts. Professor Narayandas will explain why you should consider your strategies carefully before making organizational decisions.