TAKASHI YASUDA is a marketing professional who has worked as a researcher, merchandising advisor, and marketing manager. Currently, he works in consulting and new business development for a variety of clients. He is the author of Hajimete Manabu Marketing no Hon (The First Book of Marketing), among others.

Introduction 10

Part 1 What Is Marketing?

Story 1 Sudden Unexpected Guests! A Blessing or a Curse? 14

1. Emotion and Logic in the Context of Marketing 40

2. What You Call Your Buyers Depends on the Situation 42

3. The Three Points of View in Marketing 45

4. What Is Marketing? 48

5. How Has the Concept of Marketing Changed over Time? 50

6. The Scope of Marketing 52

Column 1: Listening to the Voice of Your Market 54

Part 2 The Pros and Cons of Viral Marketing

Story 2 Will Word of Mouth Really Bring in Customers? 56

1. The Influence of Word of Mouth through Viral Marketing 66

2. Devising Strategies to Boost Word of Mouth 68

3. Products and Services Most Affected by Word of Mouth 70

4. Hints for Boosting Word of Mouth 72

Part 3 Understanding the People Who Buy Your Products

Story 3 What Do Your Customers Really Need? 76

1. The AIDMA Model of Consumer Behavior 86

2. What Is the Kotler Consumer Buying Decision Process Model? 90

3. Human Desire: Needs versus Wants 92

4. Thinking with Both Consumer Needs and Wants in Mind 94

5. Understanding Human Needs 96

6. Buyers Who Set the Trend and Buyers Who Follow the Trend 98

Part 4 Sorting out Your Company's Relationship with Your Customers

Story 4 Fake Marimo Manju Buns Appear! 102

1. Analyzing Your Customers, Your Competitors, and Your Company 112

2. Identifying Your Company's Strengths, Weaknesses, External Opportunities, and Threats 114

3. Developing Strategies Based on Internal and External Factors 116

4. The Five Force Model 120

5. Deciding the Who, the What, and the How 122

6. Different Marketing Strategies 124

7. Building a Competitive Edge 126

8. How You Fight the Battle Depends on Market Positioning 128

Part 5 Decide Who Your Customers Are

Story 5 Who Are Tamaya's New Customers? 132

1. Connecting Product and Customer: The STP Marketing Model 140

2. Finding Common Factors among Similar Consumers 142

3. Mapping Consumer Perception 148

4. Changing Your Target Changes Your Concept 150

Column 2: A General Rule for Narrowing Down Your Target Consumers 154

Part 6 Deciding Your 4 Ps

Story 6 Let's Make Mini Marimo Manju! 156

1. What Are the 4 Ps of Marketing? 180

2. Key Points for Differentiating Between Products 182

3. What Is a Brand? 184

4. How Do You Build Your Brand? 186

5. The Product Life Cycle 188

6. Push and Pull Marketing Strategies 192

7. Different Promotional Communication Methods 194

8. The Features of Different Advertising Methods 196

9. The Effects of Public Relations 198

10. Various Sales Promotion Methods 200

11. Three Ways to Decide on Your Prices 202

12. Determining Prices Based on Demand 204

13. The Psychology of Prices and Pricing 206

14. Think about How to Distribute Your Products 208

15. Finding the Special Features of Your Market Area 210

16. The Functions of Wholesale 212

Column 3: Organizing and Preparing Your Present Product Strategy 214

Part 7 Establishing Long-Term Relationships with Your Customers

Story 7 The Last Message 216

1. The Importance of Capturing Your Customers 230

2. The Components of Customer Satisfaction: Essential and Nonessential Functions 234

3. Take Good Care of Your Best Customers 236

4. Why Is Customer Satisfaction Important? 238

References 241