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5 must-read market research books for 2022

Our list of the top books for market researchers and business leaders is in! We searched high and low to find the best books on market research - check out some of our favorites and see our full list of must-read books for 2022.

1. The Disruption Mindset

By Charlene Li

Charlene Li upturns our thinking and suggests that disruption doesn’t create growth – growth creates disruption. She argues that disruption goes beyond innovation and provides a roadmap with three key areas: Strategy designed to meet the needs of future customers; leadership that creates a movement to drive and sustain transformation; and a culture that thrives on disruptive change.

By using prominent brand examples, including T-Mobile, Adobe, ING Bank, Amazon, Starbucks, Electrolux, SHNU, Nokia, Microsoft and Southwest, Li gives plenty of  Big Gulp Moments to inspire people to make cultural changes that prepare you for disruption. Invest in this book, think about the ideas and make up your own mind.

2. Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior 

By Jonah Berger

Social influence is the invisible influence, according to the New York Times bestselling author, Jonah Berger. He explores the subtle influences that affect the decisions we make – from what we buy, to the careers we choose, to what we eat.

Berger explores some of the more subtle ways – like imitating other people or avoiding actions that may impact others’ opinions of you – to more overt ways that give you a peek under the cover of an unconscious system.

Read this if you’re looking for a fast read that digs into the psychology around why people sometimes behave differently, or comply with predicted behavior patterns.

3. The Power of Moments

By Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Read about the experiment in which two strangers meet in a room, and—forty-five minutes later—they leave as best friends. Author and brother duo, Chip and Dan Heath, bring ‘moments’ into the limelight, with this fantastic collection of stories to delight and inspire you into action.

They explore (as the title suggests) how our most powerful moments are formed and how, by tapping into these elements, researchers and marketers can create more moments that matter and elevate the experiences they deliver.

4. Marketing to Mindstates: The Practical Guide to Applying Behavior Design to Research and Marketing

By Will Leach

Your non-conscious mind will filter out more than 99 percent of marketing you “see” today. So how do you make sure your marketing is part of the 1% that people don’t filter out?

In this book, Will Leach demystifies this nonconscious filter and explains how to bypass it, introducing readers to temporary moments of influence called mindstates. With a book that’s as practical as it is inspiring, Leach provides a powerful handbook for any marketer or researcher who wants to design creative that compels people to listen, care, and act.

5. Storytelling with data

By Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Storytelling is an increasingly important skill for any researcher. When it comes to presenting your insights and recommendations, the way you present them is often as important as the insights themselves, and getting stakeholders on board ensures they’re listened to and acted on.

Cole Nussbaumer Knafic’s book walks you through the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of telling stories with data from the way you visualize it to how you communicate it to different audiences. This book should be on every researcher’s shelves, and is packed with practical examples of how you can say goodbye to stale graphics, and use new approaches to deliver research with real impact.

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Book description

Table of contents.

• Nature of Marketing
• Marketing Research and Decision Making
• Development of Marketing Research
• Questions for Review & Critical Thinking
• Rapidly Changing Structure of the Marketing Research Industry
• Organizations Involved in Marketing Intelligence
• Consumer and Industrial Corporate Marketing Research Departments
• Research Suppliers
• Using Marketing Research—A Corporate Perspective
• Marketing Research Ethics
• Working the Net
• Critical Importance of Correctly Defining the Problem
• Research Objectives As Hypotheses
• Marketing Research Process
• Managing the Research Process
• The Marketing Research Proposal
• What Motivates Decision Makers to Use Research Information?
• Nature of Secondary Data
• Internal Databases
• Big Data Analytics
• Decision Support Systems
• Questions for Review and Critical Thinking
• Nature of Qualitative Research
• Focus Groups
• Other Qualitative Methodologies
• Future of Qualitative Research
• Popularity of Survey Research
• Types of Errors in Survey Research
• Types of Surveys
• Determination of the Survey Method
• The Online World
• Using the Internet for Secondary Data
• Online Qualitative Research
• Webcam Focus Groups
• Online Survey Research
• Commercial Online Panels
• Mobile Internet Research—The Future Is Now
• Social Media Marketing Research
• Nature of Observation Research
• Human Observation
• Machine Observation
• Virtual Reality Research
• What Is an Experiment?
• Demonstrating Causation
• Experimental Setting
• Experimental Validity
• Experimental Notation
• Extraneous Variables
• Experimental Design, Treatment, and Effects
• Limitations of Experimental Research
• Selected Experimental Designs
• Test Markets
• Measurement Process
• Step One: Identify the Concept of Interest
• Step Two: Develop a Construct
• Step Three: Define the Concept Constitutively
• Step Four: Define the Concept Operationally
• Step Five: Develop a Measurement Scale
• Step Six: Evaluate the Reliability and Validity of the Measurement
• Attitudes, Behavior, and Marketing Effectiveness
• Attitude Measurement Scales
• Considerations in Selecting a Scale
• Attitude Measures and Management Decision Making
• Role of a Questionnaire
• Criteria for a Good Questionnaire
• Does It Solicit Information in an Unbiased Manner: Questionnaire Design Process
• Impact of the Internet and Mobile Phones on Questionnaire Development
• Adapting to Mobile Device Questionnaires
• Costs, Profitability, and Questionnaires
• Concept of Sampling
• Developing a Sampling Plan
• Sampling and Nonsampling Errors
• Probability Sampling Methods
• Nonprobability Sampling Methods
• Internet Sampling
• Determining Sample Size for Probability Samples
• Normal Distribution
• Population and Sample Distributions
• Sampling Distribution of the Mean
• Determining Sample Size
• Statistical Power
• Overview of Data Analysis Procedure
• Step One: Validation and Editing of Paper Surveys
• Step Two: Coding
• Step Three: Data Capture
• Step Four: Logical Cleaning of Data
• Step Five: Tabulation and Statistical Analysis
• Graphic Representations of Data
• Descriptive Statistics
• Evaluating Differences and Changes
• Statistical Significance
• Hypothesis Testing
• Commonly Used Statistical Hypothesis Tests
• Goodness of Fit
• Hypotheses about One Mean
• Hypotheses about Two Means
• Hypotheses about Proportions
• Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
• P Values and Significance Testing
• Bivariate Analysis of Association
• Bivariate Regression
• Correlation for Metric Data: Pearson’s Product–Moment Correlation
• Multivariate Analysis Procedures
• Multivariate Software
• Multiple Regression Analysis
• Multiple Discriminant Analysis
• Cluster Analysis
• Factor Analysis
• Conjoint Analysis
• Big Data and Hadoop
• Predictive Analytics
• The Research Report
• Organizing the Report
• Interpreting the Findings
• Making a Presentation
• Marketing Research Supplier Management
• Communication
• The Key Role of the Project Manager
• Managing a Marketing Research Department
• Appendix A: Statistical Tables
• Appendix B: Considerations in Creating a Marketing Plan (Online)
• Appendix C: Comprehensive Cases (Online)
• End User License Agreement

Product information

• Title: Marketing Research, 11th Edition
• Author(s): Carl McDaniel Jr., Roger Gates
• Release date: January 2018
• Publisher(s): Wiley
• ISBN: 9781119392019

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Introducing Marketing

(11 reviews)

John Burnett

Copyright Year: 2011

Publisher: BCcampus

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Chang Huh, Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 4/16/24

This textbook covers marketing fundamentals well read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook covers marketing fundamentals well

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The contents in the textbook are accurate, ensuring a reliable source of information for students.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The business examples provided are relevant in the industry.

Clarity rating: 5

It is easy to read and clear, written in lucid, accessible prose with sufficient context for technical terminology.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook maintains internal consistency in terminology and framework throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter is well divided, offering smaller reading sections suitable for assignment at different points within the course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Topics are logical and organized.

Interface rating: 4

The text is free of significant interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors are found in the text, contributing to its clarity and professionalism.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is culturally sensitive and inclusive.

This textbook presents a user-friendly approach to marketing fundamentals, with well-organized chapters covering essential topics. It is a valuable resource for students and professionals alike, providing clear insights into key marketing principles.

Reviewed by Trunnis Goggins, Adjunct Instructor of Business, Trine University on 6/1/22

This book does discuss a lot of fundamental concepts of marketing. However, it is missing the concepts of ethics in detail. Most importantly it does not go in depth going over the 4P's of marketing. It does do extensive work when it comes to... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This book does discuss a lot of fundamental concepts of marketing. However, it is missing the concepts of ethics in detail. Most importantly it does not go in depth going over the 4P's of marketing. It does do extensive work when it comes to pricing, but place, promotion, and product are not given the same attention. This book does a good job of addressing market research, and consumer behavior.

The book has a high level of accuracy. However, for an introductory book on marketing, the book does address very high level marketing concepts and neglects some fundamental principles of the marketing discipline.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Textbook was written in 2011, as a result there are quite a few changes in the way of market research and other marketing tools being used today. Though this book does highlight a lot of the basic marketing concepts, it would be necessary for a major update in order to make it fully revel and to today's marketing climate.

This textbook is very easy to read, and has very interesting marketing examples spread throughout the textbook.

This book is a high level of consistency when it comes to terminology. The marketing theories are consistent throughout the textbook.

This book is sectioned off appropriately. It is very easy to follow, and has several knowledge checks along the way.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

This textbook is somewhat well organized. However some of the chapters could be rearranged in order to have the proper building blocks of marketing. For example, understanding buyer behavior which is in chapter 4, should be before marketing research which is chapter 3. One must understand buyer behavior before diving into comprehensive marketing research.

Interface rating: 5

There are no navigation problems either online or in the PDF file.

The book is very well written.

The book is very mindful of cultures, genders, races, and creed.

I do feel that this book does address key concepts. However it lacks in some of the most important fundamentals of marketing. In addition, this book being 11 years old, does lack in some of the modern marketing concepts and strategies. Overall, this book is well designed to supplement intro to marketing courses when it comes to learning material.

Reviewed by Xiaojing Sheng, Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/22/21

The textbook provides a good overview of the major concepts in marketing and covers the subject appropriately. Table of contents is included, but there is no glossary in the text. There is a list of key terms at the end of each chapter, however.... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook provides a good overview of the major concepts in marketing and covers the subject appropriately. Table of contents is included, but there is no glossary in the text. There is a list of key terms at the end of each chapter, however. Some contents are outdated. For example, the discussion of how technology impacts marketing and consumption is not up-to-date given all the technological advances and developments. Also lacking is a discussion of more current issues such as the impact of climate change on marketing, consumption, and consumer as well as societal wellbeing. Although this is an introductory textbook, I believe that students will benefit from learning more theoretical perspectives in marketing. The textbook is lacking in this respect in my opinion. Finally, the text does not provide any guidance on how to create a marketing plan, which I think is an important omission.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The content is unbiased. However, there are inaccuracies. For example, in Chapter 6, when discussing Dell's strategy in entering the market in China, the author mistakenly referred the city, Xiamen, to "Ziamen". When discussing cultural differences, the author wrote that: "In Asia, when a person bows to you, bow your head forward equal or lower than theirs." This statement is not accurate in that the described custom only exists in several countries in Asia. Additionally, I think citing "higher buyer involvement" as a distinguishing characteristic of services as compared to goods is not accurate because this depends on how involvement is defined.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Although some contents are not up-to-date, the text is arranged in such a way that updates should be relatively easy to implement.

The text is easy to understand and written with clarity.

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and writing style.

Modularity rating: 4

Headings are well used throughout the text and make reading easier. However, there are sections in the text that are overlong.

Topics are organized in a logical way. The structure is clear. I find the end of chapter discussion questions, project, and case application exercise very helpful.

There are no significant interface issues. Navigation flows well. However, there is some distortion of images/charts.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Reviewed by Wendy Hoffman, Associate Professor, Manchester University on 3/4/21

Major topics of marketing are covered. While there is discussion of strategic planning, there lacks a strategic approach to the text's contents that ties the topics together. Also, the importance of the target market as the guiding influence on... read more

Major topics of marketing are covered. While there is discussion of strategic planning, there lacks a strategic approach to the text's contents that ties the topics together. Also, the importance of the target market as the guiding influence on the development of marketing strategy is understated.

The definitions and description of the marketing topics and their supporting elements are presented clearly and accurately. In some cases, further development of the significance of the elements could be achieved.

The principles of marketing as described in the text are relevant to organization's marketing function. Quite clearly, given a 2011 publishing date, examples are dated and not illustrative of marketing in 2021.

Clarity rating: 4

The language and writing style are appropriate for the college level or newcomer to marketing.

Consistency rating: 4

The framework for the material is standard. The introduction of marketing research in the early chapters is appealing so that these concepts can be applied when investigating the topics in later chapters. The chapter on international marketing would be better positioned at the end of the text.

There is flexibility in text content. If an instructor wanted to assign sections for a base understanding and then build upon it with up-to-date references and illustrations, this would be possible.

As suggested, there is an advantage to having marketing research presented in the earlier part of the text as it is. Its concepts can then be used in projects related to the target market or marketing mix segments. As a whole, topics are introduced in a logical manner. For full understanding, positioning international marketing at the end of text once a basic understanding of the material is achieved makes more sense.

There were no interface issues apparent during my review of the text.

Overall, the text is clearly written and adheres to accepted grammatical standards. Some language attempts to be conversational and is also acceptable.

I found no instances of a cultural bias and there is an adequate variety and breadth of diverse examples.

If a professor was willing to organize a marketing class around current issues and needed a text for underlying definitions, this text would fill the need.

Reviewed by Kerri Lum, Lecturer, Leeward Community College on 1/16/19

Although the general areas of consumer behavior, product management, pricing, promotion and distribution are covered there is not sufficient inclusion of the more current issues within each section, most noticeably the use of digital promotion and... read more

Although the general areas of consumer behavior, product management, pricing, promotion and distribution are covered there is not sufficient inclusion of the more current issues within each section, most noticeably the use of digital promotion and distribution. While there is a Table of Contents, there is no glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The basic foundation of marketing is explained in straightforward terms.

Due to the publication date the case studies do not reflect more current companies and issues. While some case studies are timeless such as the marketing of the Elvis estate, younger students do no have many current case studies to reflect upon and relate to. Adding more up to date case studies should not be an issue if they are selected by subject matter and integrated into the appropriate chapter.

The text is written is easy to understand language and in very basic terms. More diagrams and pictures to support the text would be helpful.

The text is consistent in its terminology and writing style.

Modularity rating: 3

The method of breaking down the chapters with repetitive headings is confusing. In some cases it is difficult to understand the way information is grouped and presented. The four P's of Marketing are separated well into different chapters.

In general the flow of the book's content makes sense and is easy to follow. However, the content within each chapter does not always flow well.

Although there are no distorted images, the quality of the diagrams and images are not exceptional and do not make understanding the content easier.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There are no insensitive issues. The book would benefit from more global examples and not just within that chapter.

Reviewed by Somjit Barat, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University on 2/1/18

This textbook is as comprehensive as other comparable textbooks in the market. It provides decent coverage to all academic and practical areas of marketing as a discipline, such as concept, different types, global marketing, marketing research,... read more

This textbook is as comprehensive as other comparable textbooks in the market. It provides decent coverage to all academic and practical areas of marketing as a discipline, such as concept, different types, global marketing, marketing research, Internet marketing, promotional tools, marketing mix and so on. In contrast to other textbooks, the chapters in the Table of Contents are not organized under separate sections or categories but serially. Also, many of the topics that you would typically find as a separate chapter in other textbooks e.g. advertising, sales promotion, personal selling etc. are all clubbed under one chapter. That is why this textbook has only 10 instead of the typical 20-25 chapters you would find with other textbooks in the market.

I did not notice any problem with accuracy, typographical or grammatical or factual errors. To the best of my knowledge, I did not find any evidence of bias in the subject matter.

As has been rightly acknowledged by the author, unlike math or history for example, marketing will quickly gets outdated simply because it is an evolving subject. And there is no escape out of this! As such, the best that can be done is to update the text with the most current events/developments. To the best of my knowledge, the text features an option to replace the existing case studies and projects with more recent ones, keeping the theoretical components more or less in tact. As such, in my opinion, the text book can continue to ]be relevant and useful for for considerable time to come.

I would rate this book very highly on clarity. The writing is lucid, well-flowing, and weaves in nicely with the subsequent sections or sub-sections, thereby making it pleasant to read and easy to understand. The style is remarkably different from most other basic marketing textbooks out there in the market, which, at first pass, might seem a little out of place, but a little bit of patience and perseverance reveals that the author has attempted to make this book comprehensible even by the reader who is completely unfamiliar with the field of marketing , thanks to his lucid style.

The textbook is reasonably consistent in terminology, structure and set up. This makes easier reading, and understanding especially for readers who are new to the subject. Even though the style is free-flowing compared to other textbooks in the market, it does not create any kind of confusion or anxiety in reading through the different chapters.

With very few exceptions, the text is neatly organized into sections and sub-sections, with decent transitional sentences and context. While other textbooks have many more such sections, sub-sections, headings, sub-headings, highlights, callouts, boxes and colorful texts and diagrams on the margins or in different segments, sometimes they create a distraction, plus ubiquity breeds lack of attention. Nor should we expect such 'luxury' from a free textbook. To be sure, this textbook still delivers the major concepts in a no-nonsense manner.

The topics are presented in a logical manner. Frankly speaking, there are several ways topics can be arranged in a textbook of this level, so no structure can be touted as 'better' than others.

The text interface is clear, nor was there any navigational issue. One minor problem was noticed with the graphics on page 39: the right border of the picture was missing: but it was neither distracting nor confusing for the reader.

From what I read I didn't notice any grammar issues.

The author has taken cultural relevance into account while writing this book. The result is a polished blend of updated anecdotes, simple but comprehensive definitions of critical concepts and yet, all described in lucid style. One example, among many, is on page 136: "Ultimately, the successful marketer is the one who is best able to manipulate the controllable tools of the marketing mix within the uncontrollable environment".

Overall, this is an excellent book which covers all topics you would find in a typical textbook out there in the market, which sell for a hefty price. The two major differences are: 1. There is not so much color, graphics and jazz as you might find in other textbooks that make them appears flashy and 2. It has almost half the # chapters compared to its counterparts in the market and yet, covers all the major topics of a introductory textbook. In other words, there is no compromise in the quality. I would highly recommend my fellow instructors to adopt this textbook in their undergrad Principles of Marketing classes and give the students a break from having to break their banks!

Reviewed by Angela Lawrence, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Staffordshire University on 2/1/18

This text provides a good introduction to marketing and covers many of the core concepts of marketing. Basic principles are described well with occasional models to support. However, the text without doubt requires an update, as there is very... read more

This text provides a good introduction to marketing and covers many of the core concepts of marketing. Basic principles are described well with occasional models to support. However, the text without doubt requires an update, as there is very limited coverage of digital marketing, which has become a core element of marketing within the last decade. Digital theory needs to be incorporated into just about every chapter of the study text and case studies need updating to reflect the increasingly digital world within which businesses and marketers operate.

This said, the text is worthy of recommendation to students to explain the core principles of marketing e.g. segmentation, market research, planning, consumer behaviour etc. I particularly like the detail on New Product Development in Chapter 7

I would like to see more marketing models introduced, such as Pestel, Porters 5 Forces, TOWS, 4Ps and 7Ps and Ansoff. These are seen to be some of the core models/frameworks adopted by marketers, even at an introductory level.

I would also like to see a little bit about Corporate Social Responsibility and Reputation Management, to feel that a comprehensive introduction to the marketing function has been covered

I did not feel the text to be biased in any way. A good range of organisations were referenced in case studies and there did not appear to be any inaccuracies or errors

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

The structure of the chapters is appropriate and relevant. It would not be too onerous an update to include more about digital marketing and the occasional reference to an introductory marketing model. This, along with some updates to case studies and references, would immediately improve the relevance and longevity of the text.

The style of writing is clear and easy to understand. If anything, there is just a little too much text and a lack of diagrams/models to support the written word. More imagery would be useful for students who are visual learners, who may struggle with the predominance of the written word in this book.

Consistency was a strength of this text. The capsules, key terms, summary and questions within and at the end of each chapter provided a useful and consistent guide for the reader.

Modularity rating: 1

When reading the first chapter, it did at times feel like a succession of headings which did not always seem linked, culminating in a mass of small snippets of facts about marketing being thrown together, which felt somewhat overwhelming and may scare off the student reader. As chapters progressed however, the sections where much more relevant and less cluttered, providing a clearer route through the chapter.

Topics were presented in the order that I would expect for an introductory marketing text. The only exception to this is that I would like to have seen the book culminate in the development of a marketing plan, rather than having this quite early in the text.

Interface rating: 2

I had no problem navigating the book and there were no disruptive features as I worked through the chapters

Grammatical Errors rating: 1

I did not identify any grammatical errors in the book

I did not identify any cultural insensitivity within the text. The chapter on marketing in global markets was culturally sensitive and very appropriate.

Despite its limitations, I would still recommend this text to students who wish to gain a basic grasp of the principles of marketing, with the caveat that an additional text on digital marketing would need to be read alongside. I feel that the structure of the book lends itself to a fairly straightforward update and would very much welcome this, to strengthen my recommendation to students

Reviewed by Babu John Mariadoss, Associate Professor, Washington State University on 6/20/17

The book 'Introducing Marketing' by John Burnett starts with a definition of marketing and a justification for studying marketing in the first chapter “Introducing Marketing,” whether the author introduces the traditional 4Ps schema of the... read more

The book 'Introducing Marketing' by John Burnett starts with a definition of marketing and a justification for studying marketing in the first chapter “Introducing Marketing,” whether the author introduces the traditional 4Ps schema of the marketing mix as the framework to organize the book. After discussing markets, market research, buyer behavior, external environment and global marketing, the textbook covers the 4Ps of marketing with one chapter deviated to each element of the marketing mix. While the textbook is quite comprehensive in that it covers the core concepts required for an introductory course in Marketing, it still lacks in some key chapters and topics that are generally included in contemporary textbooks for the introductory Marketing course. Specifically, the book does not include a chapter on Services, or even Services as part of the Product offering. Further, recent topics of importance such as Social Media and Digital Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility have to be included in the next edition. A separate section on Ethical considerations could also be added, although this topic has been covered in the chapter 'Understanding buyer behavior' and 'External considerations in marketing'. Some necessary topics that appear in traditional introductory textbooks were missing (e.g., SWOT analysis in 'External considerations in marketing, and Product Life Cycle in 'Introducing and managing the product'). The textbook has a nice table of contents, but it will help to add a glossary at the end of the book.

The content and topics covered in the chapters are accurate, and the examples accompanying the concepts are fitting, although they are from firms and events prior to 2011. However, since the examples are provided for better understanding and application of concepts, the dated examples do not diminish their importance and relevance to the concepts that are explained.

The latest edition of the book was in 2011; therefore, the content is not up-to-date, because certain marketing topics that came into prominence in the past 6-7 years have not been incorporated. However, these chapters, such as 'Social Media', 'Digital Communications' and 'Corporate Social Responsibility' can be added easily in the end, as they will not necessarily interfere in the presentation of the core concepts. With these changes, and with some creative addition of contemporary examples by the course instructor, this book will make still be relevant after several years. Therefore, this shortcoming does not negatively impact the book's relevance or longevity in any way; in fact, with suitable updates, it will be very easy for instructors to implement the content into their courses.

The concepts in the chapters have been rendered in easily readable and comprehensible prose. Each chapter starts with an interesting opening vignette and presentation of performance-based learning objectives, and the concepts are accompanied with capsule reviews presented in boxes. Clarity of understanding is further enhanced through “Integrated marketing” boxes and “Newsline” boxes. Instructors can further ensure student learning by assigning the different projects and cases available at the end of the chapters.

Each chapter in the textbook is presented in an internally consistent manner - the structure of each chapter comprising - opening vignettes, followed by learning objectives, the capsule review boxes, Integrated marketing boxes, Newsline boxes, end-of-chapter projects, and end-of-chapter cases - is consistently maintained in all chapters.

Through concise writing and omission of unnecessary fluff and frills, the chapters have been rendered to be neither too long nor short. There are few self-references, and all text is accompanied by appropriate sub-headings, which allows for easy mix and match of individual chapters with content from elsewhere.

I was particularly impressed by the textbook's organization, structure and the logical presentation of the content. Traditional textbooks carry long chapters on Strategic Planning and Strategic Marketing Planning in the front-end, immediately after the first chapter, and before discussing Buyer Behavior; however, this book goes on to first introduce marketing, and then introduces the strategic Marketing decisions (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) in chapter 2, without going into a detailed discussion of Strategic Planning. After the discussions on market research and buyer behavior, the different aspects of the external environment are introduced, which provides a nice transition to global markets, and then the 4 Ps of the marketing mix. This makes for easy flow of the content, and thus, enhanced understanding of the overall process.

Interface rating: 3

There are significant interface issues - for example, clicking the chapter inks in the table of contents do not lead to the appropriate chapters. Further, the odd numbered pages carry the chapter title as headers, but they interfere readability as they are incorrectly positioned to pose as section headings. The formatting of the text could have been better, as the look and feel differs from that of traditional textbooks.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The book has no significant grammatical errors that will interfere with readability and comprehension.

The audience of the book is mainly North American, with specific focus on America. If students are provided that understanding and assumption, and the appreciation of the importance of culture in global markets from Chapter 6, 'Marketing in global markets,' it will not be too difficult to transfer the core concepts and apply them to any marketing context.

Overall, this book covers the core concepts of marketing for an introductory marketing class, and provides the basic content that can be complemented with material for other more recent topics, from other sources. Instructors can use the text to provide students with the basic concepts and supplement them with appropriate contemporary examples from other sources.

Reviewed by Lucinda (Luci) Parmer, Assistant Professor, Miami University - Hamilton on 6/20/17

I felt the book was lacking in several areas: - developing customer relationships - developing successful marketing strategies - understanding social responsibility - understanding target markets - understanding sales management - understanding... read more

I felt the book was lacking in several areas:

- developing customer relationships - developing successful marketing strategies - understanding social responsibility - understanding target markets - understanding sales management - understanding supply chain management - understanding direct marketing - using social media to connect with customers - implementing interactive and multichannel marketing

I felt the book to be accurate but just a bit dated on current business/marketing lingo and graphical examples.

I feel the book needs to be updated with some current business lingo and terminology, as well as, the graphics need to be updated with current real-world examples.

I feel the clarity of the book is well-written.

Consistency rating: 3

I feel the order in which the topics and concepts are arranged could be better managed. The flow is OK, but does need some work.

This book would be a hard read. There are pages and pages of very long text passages, however, headings are used very well throughout the book to help break-up the monotony. .

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I feel the flow could be better designed. It is not terrible, but some more topics/concepts could be added and the order of the flow could be rearranged somewhat to flow better.

The interface of the books is fine, but some of the examples/graphics need to be updated as to not confuse or bore the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I did not find any grammatical errors, but some of the business terminology that is used could be updated, for example instead of using "understanding buyer behavior" using "consumer behavior" instead.

The cultural relevance was good. I did not see any real bias.

It seems as if this book was written several years ago. I did review the copyright and it says 2011.

Reviewed by David Pearlman, Associate Professor, University of New Orleans on 2/15/17

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett addresses a gamut of topics that an instructor might want to cover including a nice introduction to market research. The text would benefit with the inclusion of an index and complete glossary in the... read more

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett addresses a gamut of topics that an instructor might want to cover including a nice introduction to market research. The text would benefit with the inclusion of an index and complete glossary in the appendices of the book. Most content areas were discussed rather thoroughly; however, due to the nature of the topic its copyright date of 2011 limiting content timeliness. Only one paragraph of the whole text mentions internet marketing as a growing product distribution channel. Social medias influence on consumer decision making and purchase behavior is not included in its discussion of these topics even though this effect is very much an area of interest to many marketers. Further, the text is deficient in its coverage and application towards marketing services and now experiences, which is required even more in today’s marketplace. The authors need to update the coverage to include the internet since it has revolutionized marketing.

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett presents rather dated references and examples that are predominantly taken from the late 90s. Therefore, the accuracy is correct but not current and is could be misleading if not taken in context. The text also seems to target the North American audience, and international readers may have a difficult time relating to the examples provided. The authors need to update the examples to improve the accuracy of topic coverage.

The greatest problem with Introducing Marketing by John Burnett has to do with its datedness. All of the examples, facts, and references are close to 20 years old. Marketing is a dynamic field rapidly changing and one that has been greatly impacted by technology. However, several chapters are very relevant to the development of an understanding of key foundation topics, which are timeless. The authors could consider including or expanding more on the subjects of corporate social responsibility or social marketing, sustainable marketing, and social media.

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett presents key concepts well and the glossary of key terms at the end of each chapter is helpful. In an effort to ease material comprehension, the authors may want to create a few more tables and figures illustrating notable topics/subjects of interest.

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett follows a consistent format outlined in the book Preface.

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett presents the material in 10 chapters in the text, each of them is broken up into sections. Such structure makes it very manageable for the instructor to use the text in a typical North American semester.

Another strength of Introducing Marketing by John Burnett is how chapters are broken up numerically and into small modules for timing class management.

The authors could consider adding a glossary and index at the end of the text. In addition, the inclusion of websites would engage students more and provide an easy way to maintain topic relevancy

The text is easy to read with little to no spelling or grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

It appears that this text is mainly designed for North American audience and could benefit from greater diversity in its examples.

Introducing Marketing by John Burnett does a really nice job of offering a comprehensive foundation textbook that can easily be adapted to class needs. I was glad to see the authors incorporate important topics that are frequently omitted in other texts. At the same time, a few more important topics could be added as well as the integration of up-to-date examples that students will find interesting as well as integrated media (e.g., audio/video clips) and real life profiles (marketing manager) to produce a more engaging text.

Reviewed by Katie Gilstrap, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University on 2/8/17

This text is comprehensive; however, I would like to see a bit more in the promotions area-specifically around personal selling and digital marketing. read more

This text is comprehensive; however, I would like to see a bit more in the promotions area-specifically around personal selling and digital marketing.

I feel that this book is very accurate. I have no constructive feedback here.

I think the core principles are good; however, with the developments in digital and mobile marketing I think this area could be strengthened.

The book is very readable and organized in a very clear and methodical way.

The text is consistent with other introductory texts I have used.

The book is organized in a similar way to other introductory texts, which lends itself to predictable teaching modules.

The organization is predictable and similar to other introductory texts.

No comments.

No problems.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

With the incorporation of some more modern examples as well as a more deliberate inclusion of mobile and digital marketing, I think this book would be more relevant. It feels a bit dated at this time.

Table of Contents

• 1. Introducing marketing
• 2. Understanding and approaching the market
• 3. Marketing research: an aid to decision making
• 4. Understanding buyer behavior
• 5. External considerations in marketing
• 6. Marketing in global markets
• 7. Introducing and managing the product
• 8. Communicating to mass markets
• 9. Pricing the product
• 10. Channel concepts: distributing the product

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Through good economic times and bad, marketing remains the pivotal function in any business. Determining and satisfying the needs of customers through products that have value and accessibility and whose features are clearly communicated is the general purpose of any business. It is also a fundamental definition of marketing. This text introduces students to the marketing strategies and tools that practitioners use to market their products.

About the Contributors

Professor John Burnett is the author/co-author of twenty books and over 60 academic articles. He recently retired after 41 years as a professor of marketing and lives in Carlsbad, California. For the last twenty years much of his focus has been on marketing for nonprofits. The result has been numerous workshops, the creation of several marketing plans, and the book entitled, Nonprofit Marketing Best Practices. Consequently, he is particularly proud offering his book, Introducing Marketing, to the Global Text organization. He finds the possibility of millions of the worlds’ impoverished to have access to his book as being quite remarkable!

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  Select Handbooks and Reference Books on Marketing

• Companion Encyclopedia of Marketing by Baker, Michael John, ed. Call Number: Ref. HF5415 .C547353 1995
• The Dartnell Marketing Manager’s Handbook by Levy, Sidney J., George R. Frerichs, and Howard L. Gordon Call Number: Ref. HF5415.13 .D33 1994
• Dictionary of Marketing and Advertising by Rosenberg, Jerry Martin Call Number: Ref. HF5415 .R577 1995
• Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns. 2 vols. by Riggs, Thomas, ed. Call Number: Ref. HF5837 .E53 2000
• Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns. Volume 2 by Thomas Riggs Call Number: Online Resource HF5837 .E53 2007a Publication Date: 2007
• Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Strategies. Vol. 3 by Matthew Miskelly Call Number: Online Resource HF5837 .E532 2013 Publication Date: 2013 Continuation of "Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns."
• Handbook of Marketing by Weitz, Barton A., and Robin Wensley Call Number: Ref. HF5415 .H18665 2002
• The Handbook of Marketing Research: Uses, Misuses, and Future Advances by Grover, Rajiv, and Marco Vriens Call Number: HF 5415.2 .H286 2006
• Marketing Management. 12th ed. by Kotler, Philip, and Kevin Lane Call Number: Secure Bks. Colln. HF5415.13 .K64 2006 One of the classic and long-used text in marketing management.
• Marketing Scales Handbook: A Compilation of Multi-Item Measures. 4 vols. by Bruner, Gordon C., Paul J. Hensel, and Karen E. James Call Number: Ref. HF5415.3 .B785 1992 Handbook of scaling tools published by American Marketing Assoc. between 1992 and 2005
• Marketing Scales Handbook: A Compilation of Multi-Item Measures for Consumer Behavior & Advertising Research. Volume 5 by Gordon C. Bruner Call Number: Online Resource HF5415.3 .B785 2009a ISBN: Marketing Scales Handbook: A Compilation of Multi-Item Measures for Consumer Behavior & Advertising Research. Volume 5 Publication Date: 2009 Continuation of 4-volume print set above.
• Marketing Scales Handbook: A Compilation of Multi-Item Measures for Consumer Behavior & Advertising Research. Volume 6 by Gordon C. Bruner Call Number: Online Resource HF5415.3 .B785 2012a Publication Date: 2012 Online continuation of 4-volume print set above.
• Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing [electronic resource] Call Number: Online Resource HF5415 .W54 2011a Publication Date: 2011 To access chapters and articles therein, after linking to the online source, click on "Chapters" under the "FIND ARTICLES" link.
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6 marketing books to read in 2024

O ne of the joys of living in a place where the winters tend to be long and dark is the time it allows for reading. Make a fire in the fireplace, pour yourself a drink and open a good book.

I often do the bulk of my reading for the year between October and March because then it’s outside time (which isn’t to say you can’t read outside).

We live in a time when we’re surrounded by marketing. Everything and everyone seems to be vying for our attention. If you work in marketing, the idea of reading a book about something you do all day and surrounds you every waking moment might sound unappealing. Yet there are still new things to be said and new things to learn about marketing.

As you head into 2024, here are six books to put on your reading list. The first thing you’ll likely notice is they aren’t all actually about marketing. But marketing is an essential part of every business and every leader must be a marketer to be successful.

Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions

By Dr. Carmen Simon

Publisher: McGraw Hill

The central focus of Dr. Simon’s book is the creation of memorable presentations, which is an area where many people have just enough knowledge of PowerPoint and Google Slides to be dangerous.

The problem with many of the day-to-day presentations we see in sales and business, in general, is they try to function as both a presentation and a leave-behind. That leaves them packed with information and light on strong visuals and stories, and those are the exact elements that stick in our memories and promote recall.

As evidence that the techniques in the book work, I like to refer to how Dr. Simon uses them in the book itself.

Years after first reading “Impossible to Ignore,” I remember her anecdote about standing in line at a store when she was a child in Soviet-era Romania. Food was in short supply, so the workers had to limit the number of people in line. They decided to send home everyone behind the girl who stood out in a bright red coat, which was a young Dr. Simon. The combination of strong visuals and a powerful story burned that in my mind.

Running with Purpose: How Brooks Outpaced Goliath Competitors to Lead the Pack

By Jim Weber

Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership

Why would a memoir by the CEO of an athletic shoe company make the list? Because marketing, at its essence, is about identifying and creating markets for whatever it is you’re selling.

When Jim Weber took over as CEO of Brooks, the company was trying to be everything to everyone who wore sneakers. That’s a lot of people in a market with a lot of big brand names.

Weber and team decided to drop a large portion of the market by leaving the “athleisure” business, which consists of the low(ish)-cost sneakers people wear around the house or when they’re doing chores. They decided instead to focus on serious runners.

There’s a great marketing play in this one too, involving luxurious portable toilets Brooks brought to major races. To gain entry, runners had to be wearing Brooks footwear.

There’s a lesson on market disruption too. Remember the craze over five-finger running shoes? Yeah, that was fun.

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect

By Will Guidara

Publisher: Optimism Press

Guidara has a unique resumé. Among his roles: restaurant owner, creative agency leader, conference host and the author of four cookbooks.

His specialty is hospitality. One of his guiding beliefs is that hospitality need not be limited to what we think of as the hospitality industry, i.e., restaurants, spas and hotels. Instead, businesses across industries can create experiences that delight customers and drive more business.

As Guidara rose to prominence in the restaurant business in New York City, his business became legendary for providing experiences like sledding in Central Park for a family that had never before experienced snow.

The moments of brilliance and generosity in the book could serve as a lesson for corporations across the business spectrum. Americans have relatively dim views of large corporations and financial institutions in general. They feel much better about small businesses, which are more nimble and structured in a way that makes personal touches possible.

Many marketers will tell you their brand is more than a logo or color palette, it evokes emotions and, most importantly, trust. In “Unreasonable Hospitality,” you get a view of what this truly looks like in practice.

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

By Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Publisher: Portfolio

We can’t remember every detail of every experience. If you’ve ever watched a courtroom drama, you’ve seen this play out.

“So what you’re saying is, you’re not sure if the suspect had a beard or not when you saw him on that misty, moonless night?”

We remember the peaks of our experiences most of all. Sometimes, we remember the valleys of our experiences. Everything else gets labeled as “just not important enough to remember” by our memory.

Understanding how this works and using it to your advantage is a great skill to have if you’re a marketer in today’s noisy world.

Humanizing B2B: The new truth in marketing that will transform your brand and your sales

By Paul Cash and James Trezona

Publisher: Practical Inspiration Publishing

Download a whitepaper. Get calls from sales reps. Receive email after email.

For years, the B2B marketing playbook was pretty boring and even a bit annoying. It’s improved to some extent, but it’s got a long way to go. If you have friends who work in B2C marketing, you probably know the feeling.

“Oh, you’re doing a Super Bowl ad? That must be exhausting for you…”

What if it didn’t have to be this way? (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.)

Instead of being the boring part of marketing, Cash and Trezona say, B2B should appeal to the emotions of people trying to transform organizations and create change.

They draw heavily on research from The B2B Institute at LinkIn to make the case that B2B buyers rely on emotions just as much as their B2C counterparts.

That makes a great deal of sense, when you think about it. Because they aren’t actually counterparts. They are the same people, and they don’t take off their B2B hat and put on a B2C hat when they finish their workday.

Take Martech’s 2024 Salary and Career Survey

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Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It

By April Dunford

Publisher: Ambient Press

Part of what I enjoy about Dunford’s story is that, like me, she never set out to be a marketer. As someone without a formal marketing education, she asked a lot of questions. The answers left her unsatisfied.

“Trust me, it works.”

“Because we’ve always done it that way.”

The result is “Obviously Awesome,” a book that re-thinks product marketing from the perspective of an outsider.

The most difficult part for people trying to turn their product into a story that resonates with customers is where to start. Do you craft a story that starts with your features? Or do you focus first on the customers’ needs? What about differentiation?

You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Do you have a marketing book you think the MarTech community would benefit from reading in 2024? Tag @MarTech in a post on LinkedIn and tell us why you think it’s worth a read.

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Artificial intelligence in strategy

Can machines automate strategy development? The short answer is no. However, there are numerous aspects of strategists’ work where AI and advanced analytics tools can already bring enormous value. Yuval Atsmon is a senior partner who leads the new McKinsey Center for Strategy Innovation, which studies ways new technologies can augment the timeless principles of strategy. In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, he explains how artificial intelligence is already transforming strategy and what’s on the horizon. This is an edited transcript of the discussion. For more conversations on the strategy issues that matter, follow the series on your preferred podcast platform .

Joanna Pachner: What does artificial intelligence mean in the context of strategy?

Yuval Atsmon: When people talk about artificial intelligence, they include everything to do with analytics, automation, and data analysis. Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial intelligence research in the 1960s, talked about AI as a “suitcase word”—a term into which you can stuff whatever you want—and that still seems to be the case. We are comfortable with that because we think companies should use all the capabilities of more traditional analysis while increasing automation in strategy that can free up management or analyst time and, gradually, introducing tools that can augment human thinking.

Joanna Pachner: AI has been embraced by many business functions, but strategy seems to be largely immune to its charms. Why do you think that is?

Subscribe to the Inside the Strategy Room podcast

Yuval Atsmon: You’re right about the limited adoption. Only 7 percent of respondents to our survey about the use of AI say they use it in strategy or even financial planning, whereas in areas like marketing, supply chain, and service operations, it’s 25 or 30 percent. One reason adoption is lagging is that strategy is one of the most integrative conceptual practices. When executives think about strategy automation, many are looking too far ahead—at AI capabilities that would decide, in place of the business leader, what the right strategy is. They are missing opportunities to use AI in the building blocks of strategy that could significantly improve outcomes.

I like to use the analogy to virtual assistants. Many of us use Alexa or Siri but very few people use these tools to do more than dictate a text message or shut off the lights. We don’t feel comfortable with the technology’s ability to understand the context in more sophisticated applications. AI in strategy is similar: it’s hard for AI to know everything an executive knows, but it can help executives with certain tasks.

When executives think about strategy automation, many are looking too far ahead—at AI deciding the right strategy. They are missing opportunities to use AI in the building blocks of strategy.

Joanna Pachner: What kind of tasks can AI help strategists execute today?

Yuval Atsmon: We talk about six stages of AI development. The earliest is simple analytics, which we refer to as descriptive intelligence. Companies use dashboards for competitive analysis or to study performance in different parts of the business that are automatically updated. Some have interactive capabilities for refinement and testing.

The second level is diagnostic intelligence, which is the ability to look backward at the business and understand root causes and drivers of performance. The level after that is predictive intelligence: being able to anticipate certain scenarios or options and the value of things in the future based on momentum from the past as well as signals picked in the market. Both diagnostics and prediction are areas that AI can greatly improve today. The tools can augment executives’ analysis and become areas where you develop capabilities. For example, on diagnostic intelligence, you can organize your portfolio into segments to understand granularly where performance is coming from and do it in a much more continuous way than analysts could. You can try 20 different ways in an hour versus deploying one hundred analysts to tackle the problem.

Predictive AI is both more difficult and more risky. Executives shouldn’t fully rely on predictive AI, but it provides another systematic viewpoint in the room. Because strategic decisions have significant consequences, a key consideration is to use AI transparently in the sense of understanding why it is making a certain prediction and what extrapolations it is making from which information. You can then assess if you trust the prediction or not. You can even use AI to track the evolution of the assumptions for that prediction.

Those are the levels available today. The next three levels will take time to develop. There are some early examples of AI advising actions for executives’ consideration that would be value-creating based on the analysis. From there, you go to delegating certain decision authority to AI, with constraints and supervision. Eventually, there is the point where fully autonomous AI analyzes and decides with no human interaction.

Because strategic decisions have significant consequences, you need to understand why AI is making a certain prediction and what extrapolations it’s making from which information.

Joanna Pachner: What kind of businesses or industries could gain the greatest benefits from embracing AI at its current level of sophistication?

Yuval Atsmon: Every business probably has some opportunity to use AI more than it does today. The first thing to look at is the availability of data. Do you have performance data that can be organized in a systematic way? Companies that have deep data on their portfolios down to business line, SKU, inventory, and raw ingredients have the biggest opportunities to use machines to gain granular insights that humans could not.

Companies whose strategies rely on a few big decisions with limited data would get less from AI. Likewise, those facing a lot of volatility and vulnerability to external events would benefit less than companies with controlled and systematic portfolios, although they could deploy AI to better predict those external events and identify what they can and cannot control.

Third, the velocity of decisions matters. Most companies develop strategies every three to five years, which then become annual budgets. If you think about strategy in that way, the role of AI is relatively limited other than potentially accelerating analyses that are inputs into the strategy. However, some companies regularly revisit big decisions they made based on assumptions about the world that may have since changed, affecting the projected ROI of initiatives. Such shifts would affect how you deploy talent and executive time, how you spend money and focus sales efforts, and AI can be valuable in guiding that. The value of AI is even bigger when you can make decisions close to the time of deploying resources, because AI can signal that your previous assumptions have changed from when you made your plan.

Joanna Pachner: Can you provide any examples of companies employing AI to address specific strategic challenges?

Yuval Atsmon: Some of the most innovative users of AI, not coincidentally, are AI- and digital-native companies. Some of these companies have seen massive benefits from AI and have increased its usage in other areas of the business. One mobility player adjusts its financial planning based on pricing patterns it observes in the market. Its business has relatively high flexibility to demand but less so to supply, so the company uses AI to continuously signal back when pricing dynamics are trending in a way that would affect profitability or where demand is rising. This allows the company to quickly react to create more capacity because its profitability is highly sensitive to keeping demand and supply in equilibrium.

Joanna Pachner: Given how quickly things change today, doesn’t AI seem to be more a tactical than a strategic tool, providing time-sensitive input on isolated elements of strategy?

Yuval Atsmon: It’s interesting that you make the distinction between strategic and tactical. Of course, every decision can be broken down into smaller ones, and where AI can be affordably used in strategy today is for building blocks of the strategy. It might feel tactical, but it can make a massive difference. One of the world’s leading investment firms, for example, has started to use AI to scan for certain patterns rather than scanning individual companies directly. AI looks for consumer mobile usage that suggests a company’s technology is catching on quickly, giving the firm an opportunity to invest in that company before others do. That created a significant strategic edge for them, even though the tool itself may be relatively tactical.

Joanna Pachner: McKinsey has written a lot about cognitive biases  and social dynamics that can skew decision making. Can AI help with these challenges?

Yuval Atsmon: When we talk to executives about using AI in strategy development, the first reaction we get is, “Those are really big decisions; what if AI gets them wrong?” The first answer is that humans also get them wrong—a lot. [Amos] Tversky, [Daniel] Kahneman, and others have proven that some of those errors are systemic, observable, and predictable. The first thing AI can do is spot situations likely to give rise to biases. For example, imagine that AI is listening in on a strategy session where the CEO proposes something and everyone says “Aye” without debate and discussion. AI could inform the room, “We might have a sunflower bias here,” which could trigger more conversation and remind the CEO that it’s in their own interest to encourage some devil’s advocacy.

We also often see confirmation bias, where people focus their analysis on proving the wisdom of what they already want to do, as opposed to looking for a fact-based reality. Just having AI perform a default analysis that doesn’t aim to satisfy the boss is useful, and the team can then try to understand why that is different than the management hypothesis, triggering a much richer debate.

In terms of social dynamics, agency problems can create conflicts of interest. Every business unit [BU] leader thinks that their BU should get the most resources and will deliver the most value, or at least they feel they should advocate for their business. AI provides a neutral way based on systematic data to manage those debates. It’s also useful for executives with decision authority, since we all know that short-term pressures and the need to make the quarterly and annual numbers lead people to make different decisions on the 31st of December than they do on January 1st or October 1st. Like the story of Ulysses and the sirens, you can use AI to remind you that you wanted something different three months earlier. The CEO still decides; AI can just provide that extra nudge.

Joanna Pachner: It’s like you have Spock next to you, who is dispassionate and purely analytical.

Yuval Atsmon: That is not a bad analogy—for Star Trek fans anyway.

Joanna Pachner: Do you have a favorite application of AI in strategy?

Yuval Atsmon: I have worked a lot on resource allocation, and one of the challenges, which we call the hockey stick phenomenon, is that executives are always overly optimistic about what will happen. They know that resource allocation will inevitably be defined by what you believe about the future, not necessarily by past performance. AI can provide an objective prediction of performance starting from a default momentum case: based on everything that happened in the past and some indicators about the future, what is the forecast of performance if we do nothing? This is before we say, “But I will hire these people and develop this new product and improve my marketing”— things that every executive thinks will help them overdeliver relative to the past. The neutral momentum case, which AI can calculate in a cold, Spock-like manner, can change the dynamics of the resource allocation discussion. It’s a form of predictive intelligence accessible today and while it’s not meant to be definitive, it provides a basis for better decisions.

Joanna Pachner: Do you see access to technology talent as one of the obstacles to the adoption of AI in strategy, especially at large companies?

Yuval Atsmon: I would make a distinction. If you mean machine-learning and data science talent or software engineers who build the digital tools, they are definitely not easy to get. However, companies can increasingly use platforms that provide access to AI tools and require less from individual companies. Also, this domain of strategy is exciting—it’s cutting-edge, so it’s probably easier to get technology talent for that than it might be for manufacturing work.

The bigger challenge, ironically, is finding strategists or people with business expertise to contribute to the effort. You will not solve strategy problems with AI without the involvement of people who understand the customer experience and what you are trying to achieve. Those who know best, like senior executives, don’t have time to be product managers for the AI team. An even bigger constraint is that, in some cases, you are asking people to get involved in an initiative that may make their jobs less important. There could be plenty of opportunities for incorpo­rating AI into existing jobs, but it’s something companies need to reflect on. The best approach may be to create a digital factory where a different team tests and builds AI applications, with oversight from senior stakeholders.

The big challenge is finding strategists to contribute to the AI effort. You are asking people to get involved in an initiative that may make their jobs less important.

Joanna Pachner: Do you think this worry about job security and the potential that AI will automate strategy is realistic?

Yuval Atsmon: The question of whether AI will replace human judgment and put humanity out of its job is a big one that I would leave for other experts.

The pertinent question is shorter-term automation. Because of its complexity, strategy would be one of the later domains to be affected by automation, but we are seeing it in many other domains. However, the trend for more than two hundred years has been that automation creates new jobs, although ones requiring different skills. That doesn’t take away the fear some people have of a machine exposing their mistakes or doing their job better than they do it.

Joanna Pachner: We recently published an article about strategic courage in an age of volatility  that talked about three types of edge business leaders need to develop. One of them is an edge in insights. Do you think AI has a role to play in furnishing a proprietary insight edge?

Yuval Atsmon: One of the challenges most strategists face is the overwhelming complexity of the world we operate in—the number of unknowns, the information overload. At one level, it may seem that AI will provide another layer of complexity. In reality, it can be a sharp knife that cuts through some of the clutter. The question to ask is, Can AI simplify my life by giving me sharper, more timely insights more easily?

Joanna Pachner: You have been working in strategy for a long time. What sparked your interest in exploring this intersection of strategy and new technology?

Yuval Atsmon: I have always been intrigued by things at the boundaries of what seems possible. Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s second law is that to discover the limits of the possible, you have to venture a little past them into the impossible, and I find that particularly alluring in this arena.

AI in strategy is in very nascent stages but could be very consequential for companies and for the profession. For a top executive, strategic decisions are the biggest way to influence the business, other than maybe building the top team, and it is amazing how little technology is leveraged in that process today. It’s conceivable that competitive advantage will increasingly rest in having executives who know how to apply AI well. In some domains, like investment, that is already happening, and the difference in returns can be staggering. I find helping companies be part of that evolution very exciting.

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7 Things Creators Should Know About Marketing Their Book

Published: May 20, 2024

Writing a book is a gargantuan task, and reaching the finish line is a feat equal to summiting a mountain.

Getting the “It's a great book, you did it!” email from my publisher was a high I hope I'll never forget. I thought all the hard work was over after that. What a sucker I was.

Book marketing felt completely overwhelming to me (which I'm embarrassed to say as a professional marketer). And there are endless book marketing strategies and click-bait articles on how to become a New York Times bestseller.

And there's a lot on the line : good book marketing attracts readers, leads to book sales, and more books down the line.

What I wanted more than anything during my book marketing process was an honest, thorough conversation with another author on how to market a book. And that‘s what I’m sharing with you today.

How I Marketed My Book

5 helpful book marketing tools, 7 tips for marketing your book.

My book, How to Be a Digital Nomad, was published by Kogan Page in January 2024. I was eyebrows-deep in my book marketing plan when my publisher let me know that they'd be funding a 12-week publicity campaign.

The campaign, run by The Book Publicist , got me in BBC, Reader‘s Digest, and Forbes, among other print and digital publications. Book promotion services are incredible assets, but they’re not in every budget and they're still only one piece of the puzzle.

Before you spend money on professional marketing services, you'll need to wrap your head around the basics of book marketing strategy.

These are the steps I took to market my book on my own, plus some bonus advice if you’re considering a professional campaign.

Step 1: I budgeted lots of time.

Magazines are planned a season in advance. Some podcasts are booked nine months out. Articles can take months to rank on Google.

Marketing and publicity take time. This means that your first step in marketing your book is beginning early enough to have your marketing efforts come to fruition at your release date.

You can promote your book for weeks, months, and years after it‘s released, but marketing is most important during its release.

This is what generally qualifies you for best-seller lists, and these numbers are also used by bookstores when they're deciding what to stock on the shelves.

Here's the book marketing schedule I used for myself:

• Marketing research : Began August 2023
• Marketing plan development : Began September 2023
• Plan execution : October 2023 - February 2024
• Release : January 2024

I'll share a word of warning for your late-game marketing efforts in a minute.

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Step 2: I got publicity training.

Publicity is similar to normal marketing, but they're cousins (not twins). Marketing is the act of getting your name and message out there.

Publicity has the same end goal but does so by leveraging respected publications and tapping into their existing audiences.

So why did I choose publicity as my primary vehicle for book promotion?

• Publicity has a snowball effect . Getting featured in Reader's Digest makes it easier for you to get featured in Forbes (and so on).
• The audience is already built . You can skip the line of attracting the audience from scratch and instead walk out onto a stage that's built and already has raving fans.
• One story, endless outlets . I shared my same story with 49 podcasts, many digital publications, several print magazines, and two local newspapers. If I was creating unique content for my own website or YouTube channel, I could've only shared that same story once .

If you already have an audience gathered, fantastic: they're already warmed up to your message and used to engaging with your content, which makes them easier leads for book sales.

But the opportunity to market your book to new oceans of people is too big to pass up.

To learn the ins and outs of publicity, I took the Impacting Millions course by Selina Soo.

Step 3: I committed to ongoing education.

Publishing is an intense industry, and if you're like me (pre-book launch), you probably have no idea how a lot of it works.

The closest (or most enjoyable) way to learn about the publishing world I found was the On Good Authority Podcast by Anna David. I highly recommend working a few episodes into your weekly routine leading up to your release.

The episodes are delicious to listen to and shed light on the industry's inner workings while also giving actionable tips for newbies (and span both traditional publisher and self-published books).

I found myself taking notes constantly while listening.

Some of my favorite interviews are with Estelle Erasmus, Ben Mezrich, and Ryan Paugh. I worked this into my routine beginning in September.

Step 4: I started pitching podcasts.

In October, I started pitching podcasts my story. Podcasts were my primary marketing focus because:

• Less work is required from the guest . Not much preparation is required and guests aren't responsible for any of the post-production.
• The same story can be shared every time . No “reinventing the wheel” is necessary for podcasts, as it is for other mediums (such as guest blogging).
• Loyal listener base . Popular podcasts have very loyal listener bases and a long shelf-life.

I used the platform Podmatch and can't recommend it enough (more on this in a moment).

Step 5: I built an author webpage.

You might be wondering: Shouldn't this step have come before pitching podcasts?

Yes, building a website would ideally come before any marketing begins UNLESS building your webpage leads you to postpone your book marketing process. This was me.

When I initially started building my author webpage, it quickly became a black hole, and I felt like it would never be “ready” for eyeballs.

I felt it holding back the entire book marketing process, so I decided to pause the website until after the first podcast interviews were booked.

Step 6: I teamed with book marketers.

After working for almost ten years in marketing, I was excited to see what book marketers did differently from general marketers.

My campaign‘s focus was getting in front of other publications’ audiences (such as BBC Radio and Women's Own Magazine), which confirmed my theory that publicity was a fruitful marketing path for book marketing.

What I learned : When book marketers secure you publicity, it's often the result of pre-built relationships with publications and journalists.

They also have years of experience pitching outlets and bring so much niche-specific knowledge to the table.

Book promotion is a very specific type of marketing and it would be a mistake to task a virtual assistant (VA) or general marketing team member with tackling publicity outreach and expect the same results.

Self-published authors may have even more to gain from hiring niche-specific marketing services. A traditional publisher will offer some marketing services of their own, so self-publishing naturally creates a greater demand on the author.

Releasing a book is like launching a rocket into space, and each of these tools was an extra engine on my rocket ship.

1. Podmatch

Podmatch is the best way to get yourself booked on podcasts. Once you‘ve set up your profile, you can quickly apply to dozens of podcasts and easily communicate with hosts through your inbox.

It’s much easier than managing conversations in your email inbox, and hosts are typically very active. The standard membership costs $29 a month.

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2. Gmail's Built-In Email Scheduler

Pre-writing and scheduling emails will save you hours during your launch process. You don‘t need specific email marketing tools for this; Gmail has a native scheduler built in. I’ll share examples of batchable emails in a moment.

Notion is a workspace tool that can help you stay organized through the brainstorming, execution, and tracking of your book promotion process.

I used private Notion workspaces for all of the behind-the-scenes work and created a shareable workspace for my industry contacts who offered to help promote the book.

Later is a social media scheduler that allows you to pre-schedule posts across platforms. It‘s incredibly user-friendly and I’m surprised that they give users so many features on the free plan.

Pro tip : On the Later free plan, you can only schedule 12 posts on each platform per month — but, if you start your marketing far enough in advance, you can work within these limits.

If you run out of free posts and don't have the budget to sign up for a paid plan, spend time using the native schedulers on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.

5. Google Drive

In terms of file organization, Google Drive is as good as it gets. I can't imagine going back to the days of having to save your work on a USB stick that was easily misplaced.

Pro tip : Name and file everything correctly 100% of the time. This will save so much time and make you an organization machine.

Feeling more prepared to market your masterpiece? Here are my top tips to help you progress (and dare I say, enjoy the process).

Tip 1: Don't overthink your website.

The right path for your author website will depend on your genre. Fiction writers can have an enormous amount of fun with their online presence. A stunning example of fiction website design is author Hafsah Faizal's website .

Beyond her own website, Hafsah Faizal is also the founder of IceyDesigns , where she displays other author websites that she‘s designed. It’s a fantastic source of inspiration and guidance for fiction writers.

My recommendation for nonfiction writers? Don't overcomplicate the website process. If you already have a website and your book supports your main brand, simply add a new tab to display your book.

You can see a great example of this from the Career Contessa .

A good author website needs to:

• Offer contact info.
• List praise for the book.
• Communicate your authority/expertise.
• Share past publicity (interviews, features, and so on).
• Include FAQs like release date, where to purchase, etc.
• Offer pictures of your book cover plus other photos for media use.

Is my author website perfect? Definitely not. I didn‘t have a budget for professional photos or a web designer.

The headshot I used is a selfie, and the book photo is a mockup I created in Canva before receiving a physical copy of my book. I'm not a professional web designer, but I did my best using a website template.

It would be quite different if I'd hired professionals to help, but I think clarity is the most important thing to remember when designing your website.

Tip 2: Schedule everything you can.

This naturally applies to social media, but you should also apply this to your inbox. Emails turned out to be an unexpected black hole during my book marketing process.

I‘m not referring to bulk email marketing, either — just plain ’ole email correspondence related to your book release.

You'll save a lot of time when you pre-write and schedule emails such as:

• Endorsement request, follow-up, and thank-you.
• Book review request, follow-up, and thank-you.
• Interview request, follow-up, and thank-you.
• Request to share your book, plus follow-up and thank-you.
• Post-release thank you email to everyone else who helped.

Not only will batch-scheduling these emails free up time and headspace, it'll also take away the repeated moment of decision-making.

The closer my book release date inched, the more insecure I got.

By January, the pre-release nerves had soaked through to the bone, and I could've never typed up and hit send on so many request emails related to interviews, reviews, and so on.

My scheduled emails saved the progress from flatlining.

Tip 3: Save some energy for promoting your features.

When you publish interviews and op-eds, people rely on you to promote them: most importantly, the hosts/publications.

The relationship with guests is supposed to be symbiotic, and they expect you to expand their viewership by sharing your features with your audience.

If you have a traditional publisher, they also want to re-share the content to show off their authors in the spotlight.

You can promote your book's publicity this way:

1. Include links in your email marketing.

2. Schedule posts on social media.

3. Put it on your website.

One of the big regrets I have from my launch process is not dedicating more time to promoting my features.0

I had dozens of interviews come out within two weeks of each other at launch, and I was emotionally raw and had never felt worse about the book.

Out of exhaustion and insecurity, I failed to share some great features, and I know I really let those hosts/publications down.

It was embarrassing to ghost people who had me on their show, and I'm sure it impacted the odds of me being invited back for a future episode.

Tip 4: Decide how to handle book reviews.

Book reviews can bolster your spirits or make you feel like pulling the plug on book marketing altogether. I think it‘s helpful to decide in advance how you’d like to approach this.

Do you plan on using book reviews to market your book? If the answer is no, then I would wholeheartedly recommend you not read your reviews while you‘re still promoting your book’s release.

Reviews have too much power and will be a distraction whether they're wonderful, or they move you to tears. I found myself obsessed with my book reviews, and I’m not alone.

The Guardian described Goodreads reviews as “a psychological thriller” for new authors.

For me, obsessing over book reviews drained the remaining enthusiasm from the book launch process. It ultimately made me feel like I never wanted to see my book again; I eventually blocked all review sites from my web browsers.

It took a few months before I saw my book on the shelves in a bookstore for the first time, and when this happened, I felt happy. Had I still been re-reading all of my book reviews on a daily basis, I’m not sure this would’ve happened.

Instead of relying on unverified book reviewers, you can use feedback from early readers/beta readers and your endorsers in your marketing materials.

Tip 5: Remember your closest circle.

Don't forget your family and friends in the book marketing process (but don't treat them like everybody else, either).

Spare your network the pre-written marketing materials and share some honest updates, both the highs and lows, on your Facebook page or through text updates.

Your past colleagues or friends from school might not be your target audience, but some will still transform into paying customers.

People whom I hadn't spoken to in years came out of the woodwork to buy my book and send me a direct message on Facebook sharing their well-wishes. I was completely shocked on several occasions, but so incredibly appreciative.

Tip 6: Focus on ROI.

Avoid tasks that “feel” productive but don't deliver results. For example, guest posting on blogs can feel like a great use of time, but writing a great blog post takes hours. Does the blog have a large readership?

Is the audience directly interested in what your book is about?

Not all opportunities are equally fruitful for you while you promote your book.

Tip 7: Create your content in advance.

Most of the above tips focus on reaching new potentially interested readers, but don‘t neglect the audience you’ve already gathered.

The majority of your email marketing, YouTube videos, social media posts, etc., related to your book should be batched and scheduled ahead of time.

This content can include:

• Pre-orders . Remind your audience that they can pre-order your book and why it helps.
• Organic content marketing . If applicable, create helpful content that's related to your book topic.
• Personal author journey . Your followers and network are interested in your journey, especially if you‘re a first-time author. Try to show the human side of what it’s like to publish a book.

You‘ll be thanking yourself when these posts are going live across platforms and you’re freed up to focus on last-minute opportunities.

Next Steps for Marketing Your Book

Are you feeling ready to market your book with confidence and attract readers?

Marketing a book is a full-time job, especially for self-published authors who don't have the support of a publisher with selling experience.

I hope this article made you feel less alone through all of it, and makes the process feel more approachable.

All the work will pay off soon. Congrats, author!

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Marketing Research A Managerial Approach

• Al Marshall - Australian Catholic University, Australia
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Marketing Research: A Managerial Approach is a new textbook that explains the market research process in a way that is easy to understand. The author discusses the main elements (problem identification, methodologies, data collection, analysis, reporting) and also places a strong focus on digital and observation-based research to reflect their growing role in marketing research practice. Balanced coverage is given to both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The textbook provides the right amount of theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed for students who plan to become marketers and will use market research agencies rather than conduct the research themselves.

Learning features include suggested journal articles, key terms, review questions and also discussion questions. There are extensive examples provided throughout the textbook. There are also a range of online resources for lecturers to use in the classroom, including PowerPoint slides, a Teaching Guide and videos.

This textbook is suitable for all students studying marketing research at either an undergraduate or a postgraduate level.

Dr Al Marshall is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and a Postgraduate Coordinator in the School of Business at Le Cordon Bleu and has had a long career in market research consultancies in different countries.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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The most important marketing metric is driving business growth.

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Marketing's job is to drive business growth.

Over the past few years, many CEOs have encountered the same problem: the organization's media is more efficient than ever, but the business isn’t growing.

As digital, CRM, and more have evolved to create an abundance of digitally-infused customer experience activities, marketers have become responsible for an ever-growing list of options for how to spend their marketing dollars. While these innovations and the MarTech solutions that come with them have added immense value for the industry, they have also posed challenges for CMOs who’ve become deeply focused on optimizing each and every channel to ensure their reporting to the C-suite demonstrates value. The bigger picture – driving business growth – took a back seat.

Understandably, CEOs and their CFO counterparts appreciate some level of cost certainty for their marketing spend. Optimizing for channels provides comfort because it helps manage cost. Marketing’s job, however, is to drive growth – not simply manage cost.

Now, the industry’s best are demanding a shift to reposition marketing as a growth driver. In doing so, they’re fostering realignment on what marketing is responsible for among CEOs, CFOs, and beyond – all for the betterment of the business. Here’s how they’re doing it.

Prioritize Cultural Relevance and Brand

Don’t let performance marketing bog you down. For brands with some scale, prioritizing a marketing mix model that includes driving cultural relevance through brand marketing can make a big difference.

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According to research from X (Twitter ), a quarter of consumer’s purchasing decisions are linked to a brand’s cultural involvement. Consumers aged 18-35, who have long been a priority due to their purchasing power, feel even more strongly that the brands they purchase align with culture. These aren’t just idyllic consumer responses – there’s proof.

When travel company Airbnb lost 80% of its business due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it simply could not afford to let marketing manage costs; it needed to be a growth driver. CEO, Brian Chesky, and Global Head of Marketing, Hiroki Asai, aligned on a shift from primarily performance-driven marketing to instead focus on brand campaigns – connecting with customers rather than buying them.

As Asai shared on the Marketing Today podcast, “When you’re over-indexed on performance, you don’t really have the opportunity to put a narrative out there to tell your story.” Instead, a brand-forward approach allowed Airbnb to do just that, linking it to the culture of modern traveling. According to Asai, those brand campaigns, “strike a chord and get to a deeper shared experience of humor or awe or irony about travel that we all love.”

By 2023, Airbnb made the Fortune 500 list for the first time ever, citing a revenue jump of 40.2% year over year .

With results like that, Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson praised the approach stating , “Our brand marketing results are delivering excellent results overall with a strong rate of return, and it’s been so successful that we’re actually expanding to more countries.”

Think Beyond the Television Screen

While Airbnb did make a splash through some memorable television spots, modern brand marketing requires thinking beyond that screen.

With endless content options, it’s become increasingly difficult to win consumer attention. The Interactive Advertising Bureau recently reported that in 2024, digital video spend is expected to surpass linear for the first time. At the same time, research from Bulbshare found that 99% of Gen Z say they’ll hit ‘skip’ on an ad if it’s an option. As media dollars and consumer behaviors shift, a holistic marketing mindset must be applied to build brand.

Soda brand Poppi, whose team has called it a “ creator-first brand ,” has leaned in on influencer partnerships and experiences as part of its brand strategy. Most recently, they took a big swing by engaging one of the most well-known TikTok influencers, Alix Earle, for their activation at the popular music festival Coachella. While many brands set up experiential activations and wide-ranging influencer partnerships, Poppi invested big in Earle – her cultural relevance, 6.6 million TikTok followers, and power to drive trends.

In a custom luxury house with over-the-top Poppi branding and merchandise, Earle’s partnership generated 4.5 million engagements, reaching over 275 million people. Poppi’s previous influencer partnerships have helped catapult the brand to the number one selling soft drink on Amazon, entering 5 million monthly new households in 2024.

As director of brand awareness and culture, Sophia Sesto shared with Ad Age , “You can’t 100% measure what it does in terms of a sale, but I'm already seeing so many videos in our TikTok tags, viral or not, with people talking about the ‘Alix Earle effect’ and going to the store and buying Poppi … It really is just [about] looking for brand awareness.”

Step Back, Evaluate, and Build a Winning Strategy

Taking big brand swings can require a little faith, but they don’t need to be built without data. Marketers looking to make a shift can start small, evaluate new ways to measure impact, and gradually develop a plan that works for the entire C-suite.

Brand marketing may not pay off as predictably as performance marketing, but the strategic shift will set you up for greater long-term business success. It’s time for marketers to drive a move away from the performance marketing obsession; they must be less safe and tactical and more strategic and growth-focused. When the CEO, CMO, and CFO realign on marketing’s role - and the levers that must be pulled to drive real business growth - the company will ultimately win.

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Basic Marketing Research (Book Only) 8th Edition

• ISBN-10 1111525293
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• Publisher Cengage Learning
• Publication date November 8, 2013
• Language English
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cengage Learning; 8th edition (November 8, 2013)
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• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1111525293
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Tracy a. suter.

Tracy A. Suter (Ph.D., University of Arkansas) is an Associate Professor and Jordan Chair in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University. His research interests include creativity, innovation, and leadership. He has published over 20 journal articles and his work has been presented over 60 times at regional, national, and international conferences during his academic career. Dr. Suter has been interviewed by ABC News, Baltimore Sun, CNN, Fox News, USA Today, Washington Post, Wired.com, and many other regional and national media outlets.

He has taught a variety of courses at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels during his 13 years at OSU including, but not limited to, Creative Marketing, Introductory Marketing, Managerial Strategies in Marketing, Marketing Management, and Marketing Research. He is co-author of two textbooks: Basic Marketing Research (7e and 8e) with Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. and Tom J. Brown and MR (a.k.a., Marketing Research, 1e and 2e) with Tom J. Brown.

Dr. Suter has received numerous awards and grants for both research and teaching activities including the University of Arkansas Award for Excellence in Teaching (University-wide), the Sherwin-Williams Distinguished Teaching Competition Award at the Society for Marketing Advances (Discipline-wide), the President's Outstanding Faculty Award (Tulsa), the Greiner Outstanding Teaching Award (Spears School, Stillwater), the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award (University-wide, Stillwater) and the Innovative Use of Mobile Technology Award from the Oklahoma Distance Learning Association. In 2011, he was nominated as an Apple Distinguished Education by Apple, Inc.

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Research: What Companies Don’t Know About How Workers Use AI

• Jeremie Brecheisen

Three Gallup studies shed light on when and why AI is being used at work — and how employees and customers really feel about it.

Leaders who are exploring how AI might fit into their business operations must not only navigate a vast and ever-changing landscape of tools, but they must also facilitate a significant cultural shift within their organizations. But research shows that leaders do not fully understand their employees’ use of, and readiness for, AI. In addition, a significant number of Americans do not trust business’ use of AI. This article offers three recommendations for leaders to find the right balance of control and trust around AI, including measuring how their employees currently use AI, cultivating trust by empowering managers, and adopting a purpose-led AI strategy that is driven by the company’s purpose instead of a rules-heavy strategy that is driven by fear.

If you’re a leader who wants to shift your workforce toward using AI, you need to do more than manage the implementation of new technologies. You need to initiate a profound cultural shift. At the heart of this cultural shift is trust. Whether the use case for AI is brief and experimental or sweeping and significant, a level of trust must exist between leaders and employees for the initiative to have any hope of success.

• Jeremie Brecheisen is a partner and managing director of The Gallup CHRO Roundtable.

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