Closing the credibility gap

David Meer

David Meer, partner in the New York office of management consultancy, Marakon, believes that marketing's current credibility problems stem from the lack of a cogent theory explaining customer buying behaviour and how to influence it.

Closing the Credibilty Gap

David Meer

'Marketing is in bad shape.' So begins a recent book by no less an authority than Philip Kotler of the Kellogg School of Management, perhaps the world's best-known marketing expert (1). His diagnosis echoes much of the current criticism by academics and practitioners that marketers need to redefine their roles and activities.

Three themes dominate the conventional critique.

  1. Accountability Marketing needs to demonstrate the contribution that its investments and expenditures bring to the top and bottom lines.

  2. Back to basicsMany of marketing's cherished tools and beliefs, such as unique selling propositions, segmentation...

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