There are a number of misconceptions about marketing. Many assume that it focuses on simply communicating the product or service the organisation offers through activities like advertising. Marketing is far more complex than this. It is a vital activity for the success of any organisation. How do consumers become aware of products and services? How do they know which product or service is right for them? How do organisations know which products and services their consumers would like to buy? The answer is through the organisation's marketing efforts. This means that if the marketing activity is not included at the beginning of the process, the organisation may end up developing a product or service and communicating about it in a way that does not resonate with its target audience. This will have a serious impact on the organisation's success. The marketing world is continuously changing and Introduction to marketing addresses these changes by discussing core concepts like understanding the environment that the organisation operates in, analysing their competition, understanding how consumers make decisions, conducting marketing research, applying segmentation, targeting and positioning, the process of developing and making decisions around products, managing services, marketing channels, retailing, pricing, promotions, branding, integrating communication efforts, business-to-business marketing, marketing metrics, international marketing and ethical considerations. These topics are fundamental to any marketing professional or academic. The second edition of this textbook provides updated discussions, examples and scenarios that marketers are currently facing.

Today, companies are competing on a daily basis for their consumers' attention and spending power. This has become increasingly difficult as new companies enter the marketplace offering the same or very similar products and services, making it difficult for consumers to differentiate between them. To overcome this, companies use branding to create a favourable and memorable perception in the mind of consumers. However, not all companies manage to achieve this, as brand management is an intricate process. Brand management provides a comprehensive understanding of brand management by detailing how branding can be used to develop favourable brand equity. Brand management is unique among other textbooks of its kind in that it provides a southern African perspective but compares it with other contexts, thereby presenting a more comprehensive explanation of brand management and its importance. Each chapter consists of various examples as well as a scenario or case study, applying every element of the theory. Brand management is aimed at undergraduate marketing students.

What is marketing? Many people assume marketing is just advertising or selling products and services to people. Marketing is much more complex than this. It is a vital activity for the success of any company or organisation. Think about it this way: How do consumers become aware of products and services? How do they know which product or service is right for them? The answer is that it is through the company's marketing efforts. So if the company does not market its products or services successfully, its bottom line will be negatively affected. The marketing world is continuously changing and this Introduction to Marketing Management textbook addresses these changes by discussing core concepts such as consumer behaviour, marketing research, segmentation, targeting and positioning, and many more. In addition, the book focuses on some contemporary marketing topics such as marketing metrics, international marketing, business to business (B2B) marketing vs. business to consumer (B2C) marketing and ethical considerations. These topics are fundamental to any marketing professional or academic.