Praise for
Marketing Strategy
If you heard that there are four challenges to be addressed by (marketing) strategy—all customers differ, all
customers change, all competitors react and all resources are limited—you might attribute it to Peter
Drucker or Ted Levitt. Think again: attribute that statement to Rob Palmatier and Hari Sridhar. Then get
their book,
Marketing Strategy:Based on First Principles and Data Analytics
, read it and you will understand
the latest relevant research fndings and how those principles apply in our data-intensive world. This book is
a great accomplishment and promises to have a profound infuence on the teaching and practice of marketing
strategy.
— Dr Gary Lilien, Distinguished Research Professor of Management Science, Penn State, USA,
and Research Director, Institute for the Study of Business Markets, USA
With its four marketing principles (All Customers Differ, All Customers Change, All Competitors React,
and All Resources are Limited), Palmatier and Sridhar’s new book is a welcoming breath of fresh air to the
plethora of existing marketing strategy textbooks. Here’s a book that in a very pedagogically sound manner
lays out what are the consequences of these four marketing principles. The authors accompany their book
with a wealth of data analytics techniques, the latest marketing research, and in-depth case studies. I predict
this book to become a leading textbook on marketing strategy.
— Dr Adam Lindgreen, Head of Department of Marketing, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and
Co-Editor-in-Chief of
Industrial Marketing Management
The marketing strategy text by Palmatier and Sridhar offers a pragmatic and data-driven treatment on
marketing strategy that is rooted in science. Their treatment is accessible and practical while also being
highly sophisticated. This text provides a fresh take on many issues that are all the more important in today’s
increasingly data-driven and analytics-focused business environments.
— Professor Andrew Stephen, L’Oral Professor of Marketing, Sad Business School,
University of Oxford, UK
This book is a refreshing change. It offers analytical tools and conceptual frameworks that are decision-
specifc, not surface-level generalities. At last! A book that I can use with my advanced students, all the way
up to the most sophisticated executive MBA audience.
— Mark B. Houston, PhD, Department Head, Professor of Marketing,
Texas A&M University, USA
Most marketing strategy classes are taught using business cases which provide in-depth examples of select
marketing problems in select industries. Managers applying these case concepts at work often encounter a lack
of generalizability, thereby limiting how case learning extends out to practice. In First Principles, the authors
organize the most crucial problems, processes and tools of marketing strategy into one framework that can be
applied to all industries. Moreover, the authors stress the role of data, analytics and research-based guidance
while executing marketing strategy.Most marketing strategy textbooks and business cases are not suffciently
quantitative to equip managers in today’s competitive analytics age. In that sense, this book plugs a major gap,
by describing analytical tools for marketing strategy, and providing data-enabled cases to let students practice
the tools before they implement them in the real world.
— Rajdeep Grewal, PhD, JMR Editor-in-Chief, Professor of Marketing, University of North Carolina, USA
This is an excellent, comprehensive, and well-structured marketing textbook, offering a clear in-depth view
of the fundamental concepts and tools of marketing strategy. The ideas and frameworks provided are well
organized, pragmatically grounded, and based on well-conducted research.
— Constantine S. Katsikeas, PhD, Associate Dean and Chair of the Marketing Division,
University of Leeds, UK
I have used the First Principles approach for many years and I fnd it a compelling framework for teaching
marketing strategy to both undergraduate and graduate students. It provides a compelling way to guide
students through the multitude of tools, processes, and concepts in marketing strategy. The book’s insights
are built on a solid foundation of research fndings.
— Eric Fang, PhD, Professor of Marketing, University of Illinois, USA
I found this book refreshing to read in that it offers a simple, customer-centric approach to marketing
strategy. What I like about the book is that it is organized around a set of four principles. Each
principle lends itself to a rich internal discussion about the context within which an organization operates
and therefore an appropriate customer-centric approach from the organization.
— Jenny Darroch, Professor of Marketing, Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of
Management, Claremont Graduate University, USA
Marketing is a dynamic feld that requires an excellent insight into customers and markets, a solid under-
standing of data analytics, and a good overview of strategic and tactical principles. Palmatier and Sridhar
provide all of these, and organize this knowledge around clear frameworks and principles that are based on
the latest marketing science.
— Peeter W.J. Verlegh, PhD, Professor of Marketing and Head of Department, Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The First Principles of marketing strategy framework provides an organizing structure that my students fnd
intuitive. It allows me to structure my classes in a way that the concepts, tools, and techniques build on each
other. I really like the way it seamlessly integrates with the Markstrat simulation software to allow students
to really see customer heterogeneity and dynamics, competitive forces, and resource constraints at work as
they make real-time decisions. The students leave the class with more takeaways than they would with a case
approach.
— Irina V. Kozlenkova, PhD, Assistant Professor of Marketing,
Michigan State University, USA
The First Principles of Marketing Strategy provides a holistic and structured framework to develop effective
strategies for diverse marketing problems. What sets the book apart is its analytical approach and cases with
data from various business contexts. At work, I often fnd myself dealing with big data, and it is the analytical
tools learnt from the book that helps me succeed and make a difference in my job.
— Tho Tran, MBA, Current Affliation: NALCO Water: An ECOLAB Company, USA Past Affliation:
Head of Business Development, Vietnam Representative Offce of CHODAI Co., Ltd., Vietnam
Finally, a groundbreaking and defnitive book on marketing strategy. This highly innovative and practical
work from two leading scholars incorporates a powerful “First Principles” logic, avoiding the outdated “Four
Ps’ approach to marketing strategy. The authors lucidly focus on the key marketing strategy issues that every
enterprise address must address: how customers differ, how to deal with changing customer dynamics how
to create and maintain sustainable competitive advantage; and how to manage resource trade-offs. The
authors provide highly practical frameworks for addressing each of these issues and distil decades of research
into actionable propositions. This important book is a must read for students of marketing and refective
managers.
— Adrian Payne, Professor of Marketing, University of New South Wales, USA
This book takes a fresh look at marketing strategy and places a well-deserved emphasis on customer centric
approach in deciding an organisation’s marketing strategy. It contains relevant and contemporary examples
and cases. The book should serve students and practitioners equally well.
— Dr. Ebi Marandi,