Overview

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken'

It is said that today the priority for top management is to deliver a quality product to meet and even to exceed customers' expectations. This has to be achieved within the constraints of what the organization can afford to provide and is capable of providing. Shareholders and investors still measure management's performance in terms of the bottom line. On the other hand, customers, driven by intense international competition coupled with the promises of technological advances, are continually setting higher levels of quality and service, all at less cost. This chapter deals with maintaining a competitive advantage through innovation and marketing.

Generally businesses are organized around functions. Even in organizations that have re-engineered, and no matter how flat the structure, some people's prime function will be marketing and some people's prime function might be manufacturing. Others will be involved in accounting, administration, human resources and so on. Our main concern in this chapter is with the marketing and operational functions.

The essential job of the marketing function is to define a product or service that will sell. Definition of the product/service includes the features or attributes the customer wants. Attributes may range from the absolutely essential, through to the desirable, down to the lower level of nice to have but not really important. Attributes can include the finish and aesthetic appearance (to some...