‘Father of modern marketing’ Philip Kotler shares insights on Entrepreneurial Marketing

Marketing is an ever-evolving field, and the father of modern marketing Mr. Philip Kotler, has been at the forefront of the industry for decades.  Today, we’re excited to share some valuable insights on Entrepreneurial Marketing from Mr. Kotler who spoke during the Day 7 of our global entrepreneurship and management summit, Aarohan.

As one of the world’s leading marketing thinkers, Mr. Kotler has invaluable experience in understanding how businesses can respond to a rapidly changing environment. He shared some key takeaways that can help entrepreneurs and marketers stay ahead of the curve in today’s dynamic landscape.

How is about being a better person first than being a marketer or business person?

Responding to a rapidly changing environment

The world is changing at an unprecedented rate, destroying old businesses and breeding new ones. Companies need to change with changing market opportunities, yet too many are resistant to change, either because they do not recognize changes or do not have the capability to change. Disruption can also mean opportunity, and it is up to companies to seize these opportunities.

Marketing 2.0 introduced emotion, 3.0 added compassion. We moved to 4.0 because we noticed that the world had become digital. For marketing 5.0, you need to understand new technologies in marketing like virtual reality, 3D printing, facial and voice recognition, chatbot and algorithms. Now we are moving towards marketing 6.0 which is dealing with the metaverse.

Need to blend professional and entrepreneurial elements

To be entrepreneurial means being more than a professional. The entrepreneur has three characteristics: opportunity seeker, risk-taker, and network collaborator. Companies must blend entrepreneurial elements into a professional environment to stay relevant, survivable, and sustainable. Only 60 of the Fortune 500 companies in 1955 still existed in 2017, and the failure rate of new small companies is over 90%. Survival is higher in companies that seriously undertake sustainability.

Basic model aims to end narrow thinking

The basic model of entrepreneurial marketing aims to end narrow thinking by blending the entrepreneurial and professional elements. The core of this model is housed in two clusters: the entrepreneurial group, comprising creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership (CI-EL), and the professionalism cluster, comprising productivity, improvement, professionalism, and management (PI-PM). These clusters are surrounded by other functions, such as marketing, humanity, technology, and finance, and interact with them. The 4 Cs (Customer, Change, Company, Competitor) react to the 5 Ds (Drivers) dynamically, with the five drivers providing opportunities for businesses.

Marketing and finance must really work well together.

4C diamond model: Customer, Change, Company, Competitor

Dynamic Model

The Omnihouse Model

More Professional, More Entrepreneurial

Positioning, Differentiation and brand

The dynamics component serves as the foundation to develop marketing strategies and tactics, with PDB (Positioning, Differentiation, and Brand) as the anchor for the main elements of marketing. Creativity generates ideas, which can be converted into innovation, leading to tangible solutions for customers, improvements, and increased profits.

Entrepreneurial Marketing cures these blind spots

Entrepreneurial Marketing cures several blind spots, such as misalignment of marketing and finance, a disharmonious marketing and sales relationship, weak integration of online and offline marketing, overlooking human capital, and lack of humanity in marketing. Converging mindsets and departments within an organization can help break down silos and create a more integrated approach.

Navigating Customers

In today’s market, customers are more discriminating, better informed, and more sophisticated and demanding. Companies need to navigate this landscape by providing a platform, engaging partners, providing support services, and communicating values to build an ecosystem that is more than just a value chain.

Emotional marketing is guiding 70% of our decisions

The session summery

The world of marketing is constantly changing, and companies need to be agile to keep up with the times. Entrepreneurial marketing provides a framework for companies to blend professional and entrepreneurial elements, navigate changes, and build ecosystems that provide value to customers. By embracing this approach, companies can increase their relevance, survivability, and sustainability in today’s competitive market.

About Mr. Philip Kotler

Philip Kotler is known around the world as the “father of modern marketing.” For over 50 years he has taught at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Kotler’s book Marketing Management is the most widely used textbook in marketing around the world. He has been honored as one of the world’s leading marketing thinkers. 

Mr. Kotler received his M.A. degree in economics (1953) from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. degree in economics (1956) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). He has received honorary degrees from 22 universities including Stockholm University, the University of Zurich, Athens University of Economics and Business, Budapest School of Economics and Administrative Science, the Kracow School of Business and Economics and DePaul University. 

He is author of over one hundred and fifty articles and 90 books, including Principles of Marketing, Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, Social Marketing, Marketing Places, The Marketing of Nations, Confronting Capitalism, Democracy in Decline, and Advancing the Common Good.  His research covers strategic marketing, consumer marketing, business marketing, professional services marketing, and e-marketing. He has been a consultant to IBM, General Electric, AT&T, Bank of America, Merck, Motorola, Ford, and others.  He has lectured several times in Italy, Sweden, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and many other countries. 

At ATLAS SkillTech University, we strive to provide our students with the best insights and expertise from leaders like Mr. Kotler. Our global entrepreneurship and management summit, Aarohan, is just one of the ways we bring together the brightest minds in the industry to share their experiences and knowledge. We believe that by staying ahead of the curve and embracing change, our students can become successful entrepreneurs and marketers in today’s dynamic landscape.