This book is about marketing and marketing strategy planning. And, at its essence, marketing strategy planning is about figuring out how to do a superior job of satisfying customers. We think that is very important. We also think it is important to practice what we preach. So, you can bank on the fact that this new edition of Basic Marketing and all of the other teaching and learning materials that accompany it will satisfy your needs. We're excited about this edition, and we hope that you will be as well.

In creating this edition we've made hundreds of big and small additions, changes, and improvements. We'll highlight some of those changes in this preface, but first it's useful to put this newest edition in a longer-term perspective.

Basic Marketing pioneered an innovative structure--using the "four Ps" with a managerial approach--for the introductory marketing course. It quickly became one of the most widely used business textbooks ever published because it organized the best ideas about marketing so that readers could both understand and apply them. The unifying focus of these ideas was on how to make the marketing decisions that a manager must make in deciding what customers to focus on and how best to meet their needs.

It has been four decades since publication of the first edition of Basic Marketing. During that time there have been constant changes in marketing management and the marketing environment. Some of the changes have been dramatic, and others have been subtle. As a result, there have also been many changes in marketing's best practices and ideas. So, there has also been ongoing change in the text. Throughout all of these changes, Basic Marketing and the supporting materials that accompany it have been more widely used than any other teaching materials for introductory marketing. It is gratifying that the "four Ps" has proved to be an organizing structure that has worked well for millions of students and teachers.

Of course, this position of leadership is not the result of a single strength--or one long-lasting innovation. Rather, the text's four Ps framework, managerial orientation, and strategy planning focus have proved to be foundation pillars that are remarkably robust and powerful in supporting and encompassing new developments in the field.

Thus, with each new edition of Basic Marketing, we have continued to introduce innovations--and to better meet the needs of students and faculty. In fact, we have even made basic changes in how we develop the logic of the four Ps and the marketing strategy planning process. As always, though, our objective is to provide a flexible, high quality text and choices from comprehensive and reliable support materials--so that instructors and students can accomplish their learning objectives. For example, included with the other innovations for this new edition are:

McCarthy pioneered the Basic Marketing text and for seven editions worked without a coauthor. Six editions ago, Perreault joined the team. It has been a great collaboration and over time much of the "hands on" responsibility for new contributions has moved to Perreault. We formed our partnership with a shared commitment to ongoing improvements, and we're both proud that we were implementing continuous quality improvements in preparing Basic Marketing long before the idea became popular in the world of business. Useful teaching innovations are ones that meet students' and instructors' needs--and you can be confident that's what this innovative edition will accomplish. We work to be creative in our coverage and approaches--because that creativity is at the heart of the marketing spirit. That's also why our first priority has always been--and always will be--producing quality materials that work well for students and teachers.

As with many other product categories, too many books come out that don't do that. It's said that the cost of poor quality is lost customers--and that's why poor quality texts routinely disappear from print. Yet, the real cost of poor quality texts is more insidious. Students take the first marketing course once. If their only exposure is to a poor quality text, the cost is their lost learning--or worse. We see that as a totally unacceptable cost, and it's why we see it as a personal responsibility to build quality into every aspect of the text and accompanying package.

Our belief that attention to continuous quality improvement in every aspect of the text and support materials does make a difference is consistently reaffirmed by the enthusiastic response of students and teachers alike to each new edition.

It has always been our belief that it was our responsibility to lead the marketing discipline in developing new, breakthrough approaches for teaching and learning in the first marketing course. Our constant thrust over the years has been to use technology to provide better and easier options for teaching and richer and more interesting approaches for learning. Along with other innovations, we were the first to develop and offer spreadsheet-based computer aided-problems, custom-produced videos, a computerized-test bank, a microcomputer-based marketing simulation, a Hypertext reference, bar-coded laser disks, CD-ROM based versions of the text, Powerpoint presentation slides with linking by objectives, CD-ROM multimedia archives and presentation software for instructors, and multimedia case support. Now, we continue these traditions of innovation with the Basic Marketing CD-ROM for Students, the new and improved CD-ROM for Instructors, and a host of Internet based materials, including the Basic Marketing web site on the Internet at the address www.mhhe.com/fourps.

We believe that the new edition of Basic Marketing is the highest quality teaching and learning resource ever published for the introductory marketing course. The whole text and all of the supporting materials have been critically revised, updated, and rewritten. As in past editions, clear and interesting communication has been a priority. Basic Marketing is designed to make it easy, interesting, and fast for students to grasp the key concepts of marketing. Careful explanations provide a crisp focus on the important "basics" of marketing strategy planning. At the same time, we have thoroughly:

We have deliberately used marketing examples from a host of different contexts. Examples span profit and nonprofit organizations, large and small firms, domestic and international settings, purchases by organizations as well as by final consumers, and services and ideas or "causes" as well as physical goods, established products and new technologies, firms that operate in cyberspace and those that don't--because this variety reinforces the point that effective marketing is critical to all organizations.

This edition focuses special attention on changes taking place in today's dynamic markets. Throughout every chapter of the text we have integrated discussion and examples of

Similarly, we've also integrated new material on such important and fast-evolving topics as:

Throughout the 13th edition we've continued our thrust begun in the 12th edition of focusing more attention on the process of marketing strategy planning. This is important because in today's hyper-competitive and dynamic markets it's not enough to simply figure out the areas in which marketing managers make decisions. The real challenge is to identify the best opportunities, and then zero in on the target market and marketing mix that is best for the firm. This highlights the need for breakthrough opportunities, the problems with me-too imitation, and the crucial role of competitive advantage in providing customers with superior value. In other words, we sharpen the focus on how to figure out the best blend of the four Ps, and crush the misperception left by too many other books that the marketing job is just coming up with some marketing mix.

Coupled with this thrust, you'll learn how radical breakthroughs in information technology are driving changes in all aspects of marketing--whether it's getting marketing information, preparing salespeople to interact with customers, or analyzing the "fire-hydrant" flow of data on sales and costs. We_ll also point out how relationships among marketing partners are changing--ranging from coordination of logistics and promotion efforts among firms to the new relationships between firms and their ad agencies and marketing research suppliers. You'll see how intense competition--both in the United States and around the world--is affecting marketing strategy planning. You'll see why rapid response in new product development is so critical.

Some other marketing texts are attempting to describe such changes. But that's not adequate. What sets Basic Marketing apart is that the explanations and examples not only highlight the changes that are taking place today, but also equip students to see why these changes are taking place--and what changes to expect in the future. That is an important distinction--because marketing is dynamic. Our objective is to equip students to analyze marketing situations and develop exceptional marketing strategies--not just recite an endless set of lists.

Along with the new content, we've given the text a fresh design. The changes range from the new cover to hundreds of new photographs, web pages, ads, and illustrations. We've added new artwork and revised or updated proven pieces from past editions.

The aim of all this revising, refining, editing, and illustrating is to arrive at an overall redesign that makes important concepts and points even clearer to students. We want to make sure that each student really does get a good feel for a market-directed system and how he or she can help it--and some company--run better. We believe marketing is important and interesting--and we want every student who reads Basic Marketing to share our enthusiasm.

The emphasis of Basic Marketing is on marketing strategy planning. Twenty-two chapters introduce the important concepts in marketing management and help the student see marketing through the eyes of the marketing manager. The organization of the chapters and topics is carefully planned. But we took special care in writing so that:

Broadly speaking, the chapters fall into two groupings. The first eight chapters introduce marketing and a broad view of the marketing strategy planning process. They cover topics such as segmentation, differentiation, the marketing environment, and buyer behavior, as well as how marketing information systems and research provide information about these forces to improve marketing decisions. The second half of the text goes into the details of planning the four Ps, with specific attention to the key strategy decisions in each area. Then, we conclude with an integrative review and coverage of overarching topics such as implementation and control, quality management, and an assessment of marketing_s challenges and opportunities.

The first two chapters deal with the nature of marketing--focusing both on its macro role in a global society and its micro role in businesses and other organizations. The first chapter stresses that the effectiveness of our macro-marketing system depends on the decisions of many producers and consumers. That sets the stage for the second chapter--and the rest of the book--which focuses on how business people and, in particular, marketing managers develop marketing strategies to satisfy specific target markets. This chapter introduces the marketing concept and introduces the four Ps.

A significantly revised Chapter 3 builds on a new framework for the marketing strategy planning process. It sets the stage by overviewing how analysis of the market and external market environment relate to decisions concerning segmentation and differentiation as well as the criteria for narrowing down to a specific target market and marketing mix. Broadly speaking, it introduces a strategic planning view of how managers can find new market opportunities and competitive advantage.

This strategic view alerts students to the importance of evaluating opportunities in the external environments affecting marketing--and these are discussed in Chapter 4. This chapter highlights the critical role of screening criteria in narrowing down from possible opportunities to those that the firm will pursue.

The next three chapters take a closer look at customers--so students will better understand how to segment markets and satisfy target market needs. Chapter 5 introduces the demographic dimensions of the global consumer market, and the next two chapters study the behavioral features of the consumer market and how business and organizational customers--like manufacturers, channel members, and government purchasers--are similar to and different from final consumers. You have to understand customers to understand marketing.

Chapter 8 is a contemporary view of getting information--from marketing information systems and marketing research--for marketing management planning. This chapter includes discussion of how new intranets and instantaneous world wide access to information are transforming the marketing manager's job. This chapter sets the stage for discussions in later chapters about how research and information systems can improve each area of marketing strategy planning.

The next group of chapters--Chapter 9 to 18--is concerned with developing a marketing mix out of the four Ps: Product, Place (involving channels of distribution, logistics, and distribution customer service), Promotion, and Price. These chapters are concerned with developing the "right" Product and making it available at the "right" Place with the "right" Promotion and the "right" Price--to satisfy target customers and still meet the objectives of the business. These chapters are presented in an integrated, analytical way_as part of the overall framework for the marketing strategy planning process--so students' thinking about planning marketing strategies develops logically.

Chapters 9 and 10 focus on product planning for goods and services as well as new-product development and the different strategy decisions that are required at different stages of the product-life cycle concepts. We emphasize the value of developing really new products that propel a firm to competitive advantage and long-run profitable growth.

Chapters 11 through 13 focus on Place. Chapter 11 introduces channels of distribution, with special emphasis on the need for channel members to cooperate and coordinate to better meet the needs of customers. Chapter 12 focuses on the fast-changing arena of logistics and the strides that firms are making to reduce the costs of storing and transporting products while improving the distribution service they provide customers. Chapter 13 provides a clear picture of retailers, wholesalers and their strategy planning_including exchanges taking place via the Internet. This new composite chapter helps students see why the big changes taking place in retailing are reshaping the channel systems for many consumer products.

Chapters 14 to 16 deal with promotion. These chapters have been significantly reworked to consider new approaches to interactive communication as well as to build on the concepts of integrated marketing communications and direct-response promotion, which are introduced in Chapter 14. Then, Chapter 15 deals with the role of personal selling in the promotion blend and Chapter 16 covers advertising and sales promotion.

Chapters 17 and 18 deal with Price. Chapter 17 focuses on pricing objectives and policies, including pricing in the channel and the use of discounts, allowances, and other variations from a list price. Chapter 18 covers cost-oriented and demand-oriented pricing approaches and how they fit in today's competitive environments. The careful coverage of marketing costs helps equip students to deal with the cost-conscious firms they will join.

Chapter 19 reinforces the integrative nature of marketing management and reviews the marketing strategy planning process that leads to creative marketing plans and programs. Chapter 20 offers completely updated coverage of marketing implementation and control and provides perspective on how new approaches are reshaping these areas now that more control-related information is available faster. The chapter details how total quality management approaches can improve implementation, including implementation of better customer service.

Chapter 21 deals with the links between marketing and other functional areas. The marketing concept says that people in an organization should work together to satisfy customers at a profit. No other text has a chapter that explains how to accomplish the "working together" part of that idea. Yet, it's increasingly important in the business world today; so, that's what this important chapter is designed to do.

The final chapter considers how efficient the marketing process is. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of both micro-and macro-marketing--and consider the competitive, ethical and social challenges facing marketing managers now and in the future. After this chapter, the student might want to look at Appendix C--which is about career opportunities in marketing.

Some textbooks treat "special" topics--like marketing over the Internet, relationship marketing, international marketing, services marketing, marketing for nonprofit organizations, marketing ethics, and business-to-business marketing--in separate chapters. We deliberately avoid doing that because we are convinced that treating such topics separately leads to an unfortunate compartmentalization of ideas. We think they are too important to be isolated in that way. For example, to simply tack on a new chapter on the Internet would completely miss the fact that it is changing some of the fundamental concepts and practices of marketing. The same is true with other topics. So, they are interwoven and illustrated throughout the text to emphasize that marketing thinking is crucial in all aspects of our society and economy. Instructor examination copies of the new edition are packaged with a grid that shows, in detail, how and where specific topics are integrated throughout the text. Talk is cheap, especially when it comes to the hype from some publishers about how "hot topics" are treated in a new text. But the grid offers proof that in Basic Marketing we have delivered on the promise of integrated treatment.

Really understanding marketing and how to plan marketing strategies can build self-confidence--and it can help prepare a student to take an active part in the business world. To move students in this direction, we deliberately include a variety of frameworks, models, classification systems, and "how-to-do-it" techniques that relate to our overall framework for marketing strategy planning. Taken together, they should speed the development of "marketing sense"--and enable the student to analyze marketing situations and develop marketing plans in a confident and meaningful way. They are practical and they work. In addition, because they are interesting and understandable, they equip students to see marketing as the challenging and rewarding area it is.

So students will see what is coming in each Basic Marketing chapter, behavioral objectives are included on the first page of each chapter. And to speed student understanding, important new terms are shown in red and defined immediately. Further, a glossary of these terms is presented at the end of the book. Within chapters, major section headings and second-level headings (placed in the margin for clarity) immediately show how the material is organized and summarize key points in the text. Further, we have placed annotated photos and ads near the concepts they illustrate to provide a visual reminder of the ideas--and to show vividly how they apply in the business world. In each chapter we have integrated new Internet exercises related to the concepts being developed. The focus of these exercises is on important marketing issues, not just on "surfing the net."

All of these aids help the student understand important concepts--and speed review before exams. End-of-chapter questions and problems offer additional opportunities. They can be used to encourage students to investigate the marketing process and develop their own ways of thinking about it. These can be used for independent study or as a basis for written assignments or class discussion.

Understanding of the text material can be deepened by analysis and discussion of specific cases. Basic Marketing features several different types of cases. Each chapter starts with an in-depth case study developed specifically to highlight that chapter's teaching objectives. In addition, each chapter features a special case report in a highlighted box. Each case illustrates how a particular company has developed its marketing strategy--with emphasis on topics covered in that chapter. All of these cases provide an excellent basis for critical evaluation and discussion. And, we've included relevant Internet web addresses so that it is easy for students to quickly get updated information about the companies and topics covered in the cases.

One of the great benefits of putting information on an Internet web site is that it can be quickly and easily updated. Some companies change their web sites to get a fresh new look, to take advantage of new and fast-evolving web capabilities, or just to change the information that's available. Further, as this book goes to press a whole new system for naming web site addresses is being implemented. So even more change is expected.

This is not a big problem but it does mean that a web site referenced in the text may need to be updated. So, we addressed this issue in several ways. First, we are fighting fire with fire_by establishing our own web site with up-to-date links relevant to the chapters in the text. That way, if (should we say when!) a web address changes, all you need to do is go the Basic Marketing web site at the Internet address www.mhhe.com/fourps and with a click of the mouse get to links to current web addresses on a chapter-by-chapter basis. All you need to do is click on the link and you'll go to the web address it references. We'll constantly revise and update the links throughout the life of this edition.

In fact, our CD-ROMs will include links to our web site; or, you may simply "bookmark" the web site in your Internet browser (like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Explorer).

As a related point, we have included a number of web addresses that relate to reference materials. However, we have not gratuitously sprinkled web addresses throughout the text. For example, every time we mention a company or product we don't just throw in the web site. One reason, as noted above, is that they change. The other reason is like the distinction between giving a hungry person a fish and teaching that person to fish. In Chapter 8 we give the web addresses for some of the best search engines available on the Internet. So, it is a simple matter to use one of these to get more information on just about everything in the text! We read thousands of publications in researching the book, but it doesn't make sense to have a half of page of footnotes for each page of text. Therefore, we focus the book part of the learning experience on concepts rather than web addresses. Our web site gives more links. Further, just as the chapter notes at the end of the book direct you to more discussion of the concepts, an Internet search engine will take you to more Internet resources on just about any company, product, concept, or example in the text.

In addition, there are several suggested cases at the end of each chapter. The focus of these cases is on problem solving. They encourage students to apply--and really get involved with--the concepts developed in the text. Each chapter also features a computer-aided problem. These case-based exercises stimulate a problem-solving approach to marketing strategy planning--and give students hands-on experience that shows how logical analysis of alternative strategies can lead to improved decision making. For the convenience of students and faculty alike, printed versions of the cases for the computer-aided problems are now incorporated in the book itself. Further, the award-winning spreadsheet software we developed specifically for use with these problems is provided free on the CD-ROM in a new Windows version.

In the last edition we added a custom-produced set of exciting video cases. The response to them was great and this time we've expanded the set and updated some of the best from the original set. Each of these combines a written case with an accompanying video. These cases are a bit longer than the text-only cases, and open up the opportunity for students to analyze an organization's whole marketing program in more depth and with even greater integration. Marketing professors wrote the scripts for both the videos and text portions of the cases--so the videos reinforce real content while bringing a high-involvement multimedia dimension to the learning experience. And to assure consistency with all of the other Basic Marketing materials we've carefully edited and coordinated the whole effort. These cases were developed so that they focus on different areas of the text and thus they deal with a variety of issues:

We designed these cases so that students can analyze them before or after seeing the video, or even without seeing the video at all. They can be used in a variety of ways, either for class discussion or individual assignments. To get the ball rolling, students get their own copy of segments of the case videos on the student CD-ROM. We're proud of these video cases, and we're sure that they provide you with a valuable new way to learn about marketing.

Some professors and students want to follow up on text readings. Each chapter is supplemented with detailed references--to both classic articles and current readings in business publications. These can guide more detailed study of the topics covered in a chapter.

Basic Marketing can be studied and used in many ways--the Basic Marketing text material is only the central component of a Professional Learning Units Systems (our P.L.U.S.) for students and teachers. Instructors (and students) can select from our units to develop their own personalized systems. Many combinations of units are possible--depending on course objectives. As a quick overview, in addition to the Basic Marketing text, the P.L.U.S. package includes several totally new supplements:

We've been busy. You may not want to use all of this. Some people don't want any of it. But whatever you elect to use_and in whatever medium you like to work_the teaching and learning materials work well together. We've designed them that way.

We introduced the innovative Basic Marketing Hypertext Reference Disk with the 11th edition of Basic Marketing, and expanded its capabilities in the 12th edition. Now it's in a Windows version. This easy-to-use software puts almost all of the key concepts from Basic Marketing at your fingertips. It features hyperlinks, which means that when you are reading about a concept on screen you can instantly jump to more detail on any topic. You simply highlight the concept or topic and click with a mouse or press the enter key. Books assemble information in some specific order--but hypertext allows you to integrate thinking on any topic or combination of topics, regardless of where it is treated in the text.

The new version of the software provides an even clearer and easier way to search for ideas while developing a marketing plan. You can also use the software to review topics in "book order"--starting with learning objectives and then "paging" through each set of ideas.

In previous editions, the Hypertext Reference was using hyperlinks to navigate marketing knowledge. Now that this approach is common on the Internet, more people will understand intuitively what it does. It utilizes a powerful technology to make the concepts in Basic Marketing even more accessible, and no other text offers anything like it.

It is a sign of the commitment of our publisher to the introductory marketing course that it will publish a new edition of Applications in Basic Marketing every year, and provide it free of charge shrink-wrapped with each new copy of the 13th edition of Basic Marketing! This annually updated collection of marketing "clippings"--from publications such as Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, and Fortune--provides convenient access to short, interesting, and current discussions of marketing issues. Each edition features about 100 articles. There are a variety of short clippings related to each chapter in Basic Marketing. In addition, because we revise this collection each year, it includes timely material that is available in no other text.

There are more components to P.L.U.S. A separate Learning Aid provides several more units and offers further opportunities to obtain a deeper understanding of the material. The Learning Aid can be used by the student alone or with teacher direction. Portions of the Learning Aid help students to review what they have studied. For example, there is a brief introduction to each chapter, a list of the important new terms (with page numbers for easy reference), true-false questions (with answers and page numbers) that cover all the important terms and concepts, and multiple-choice questions (with answers) that illustrate the kinds of questions that may appear in examinations. In addition, the Learning Aid has cases, exercises, and problems--with clear instructions and worksheets for the student to complete. The Learning Aid also features computer-aided problems that build on the computer-aided cases in the text. The Learning Aid exercises can be used as classwork or homework--to drill on certain topics and to deepen understanding of others by motivating application and then discussion. In fact, reading Basic Marketing and working with the Learning Aid can be the basic activity of the course.

Another valuable resource is The Marketing Game! The Marketing Game! is a microcomputer-based competitive simulation. It was developed specifically to reinforce the target marketing and marketing strategy planning ideas discussed in Basic Marketing. Students make marketing management decisions--blending the four Ps to compete for the business of different possible target markets. The innovative design of The Marketing Game! allows the instructor to increase the number of decision areas involved as students learn more about marketing. In fact, many instructors use the advanced levels of the game as the basis for a second course. The Marketing Game! is widely heralded as the best marketing strategy simulation available--and a new Windows edition will widen its lead over the others available. Competitors don't even need to be on the same continent. It works great with decisions submitted over the Internet and reports returned the same way.

Basic Marketing--and all of our accompanying materials--have been developed to promote student learning and get students involved in the excitement and challenges of marketing management. Additional elements of P.L.U.S. have been specifically developed to help an instructor offer a truly professional course that meets the objectives he or she sets for students. Complete Instructor's Manuals accompany all of the P.L.U.S. components.

With this edition we are providing instructors a comprehensive, much-expanded set of Powerpoint electronic slide presentations. This flexible package features a large number of Powerpoint graphics developed for every chapter in the text. An instructor can use the provided software to display the electronic slides with a computer-controlled video projector, in the order that they're provided or branching in whatever sequence is desired. Presentations can be based on composite slides, or the points on a slide can "build up" one point at a time.

Because we provide the input files, instructors can modify or delete any slide or add other slides by using their own copy of Powerpoint. And, of course, if electronic projection equipment isn't available the instructor can print out the images to their own customized color acetates or black and white transparencies. All of the overhead masters are also available, in color, as Powerpoint slides.

While this set of electronic slides are intended mainly for instructor use in class discussions and lectures, they are easy to use and can be placed on the Internet, on the school's computer network, or in a computer lab as a supplement for independent review by students.

With the Powerpoint electronic slide presentations we also provide detailed lecture notes, as well as lecture outlines with miniature versions of some of the presentation slides that an instructor can use as handouts in class. All of these materials are packaged in our Multimedia Lecture Support Package. This supplement is available in an electronic form on the Instructor CD-ROM, and that makes it even more convenient to use. It gives instructors a great deal of flexibility and saves time that can be spent on other teaching activities. Instructors who prefer to use materials like those that were in the past included with our Lecture Guide won't be disappointed either. The new package will provide that material as well--in both printed form and in the form of word processing files (which makes it easier for instructors to electronically cut and paste and incorporate their own materials or to save time and effort in creating a web site for the course).

In addition, the Multimedia Lecture Support Package is accompanied by a high-quality selection of overhead masters and color transparencies--over 400 in all. The manual provides detailed suggestions about ways to use them. All of these items are also available on the CD-ROM.

The newly revised and expanded Basic Marketing Videos are also available to all schools that adopt Basic Marketing. Half of the video modules are completely new--based on scripts written by expert marketing scholars and carefully linked to key topics in the text. In addition, several of the most popular video modules from the previous edition--the ones instructors and students said they most wanted to keep--have been thoroughly revised and updated. These new videos are really great, but it doesn't stop there! As we noted earlier, there are also seven great new videos to accompany the video cases.

For the 12th edition, we developed an innovative Instructor CD-ROM that proved to be so powerful and so popular that McGraw-Hill decided to invest in the idea and develop a similar software application that could be used with a lot of other books. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Of course, the upside of that is that with this edition we get to improve on what they did! And at the heart of any such system is the content that is available to you. In the case of Basic Marketing, we produce it, and our objective is for it to be the best available anywhere. So with this edition, we are also introducing an updated version of the Basic Marketing CD-ROM, which provide exciting new opportunities for marketing faculty to take advantage of the latest advances in multimedia teaching and learning. Our CD-ROM provides easy and instantaneous access--in one convenient place--not only to the various software packages that accompany the text--but also to electronic versions of all of the instructor's manuals and much of the material in this book.

In addition, thousands of objective test questions--written by the authors to really work with the text--give instructors a high-quality resource. The COMPUTEST program for microcomputers allows the instructor to select from any of these questions, change them as desired, or add new questions--and quickly print out a finished test customized to the instructor's course. As an added convenience, the instructor can select test questions from the printed Manual of Tests and call a toll-free telephone number. A McGraw-Hill service representative will produce the test and send it to the instructor by snail mail, fax, or e-mail.

Basic Marketing gives you all of the content that you need to create your own web site on the World Wide Web or on your schools own internal network (intranet). And it also gives you the tools to do it easily. There are two approaches. The first is a software application named PageOut that is available on the Instructor CD-ROM and also available to download from the web site. The other approach is McGraw-Hill Learning Architecture (MHLA). MHLA has so many capabilities that it isn't possible to review them all here, but a brief introduction will give you an idea what it does.

MHLA is a computer system that comes on a CD-ROM and which is then loaded onto the school's network. The system provides content materials from the Basic Marketing package and also course management capabilities. An instructor may elect to use or not use certain features and content that are available. For example, the system offers embedded email so that students can collaborate among themselves. However, if a school already has an email system the instructor can stick to that. Similarly, the instructor can customize the content. Preplanned materials from the authors can be deleted if the instructor doesn't want it. And of course original lecture notes and other instructor-prepared material can be added. It's powerful and it's flexible.

MHLA also offers Interactive quizzing/testing. Students can take tests themselves on-line and receive immediate feedback on objective questions. Tests can be set up to be taken one, if they will be graded, or multiple times if they are practice quizzes.

The MHLA system is a full course administrative system. The instructor can track the course on-line. Homework can be assigned, or even customized to the individual student. Grades can be assigned and recorded. Students can also receive class assignments.

In closing, we return to a point raised at the beginning of this preface. Basic Marketing has been a leading textbook in marketing since its first edition. We take the responsibilities of that leadership seriously. We know that you want and deserve the very best teaching and learning materials possible. It is our commitment to bring you those materials--today with this edition and in the future with subsequent editions.

We recognize that fulfilling this commitment requires a process of continuous improvement. Improvements, changes, and development of new elements must be ongoing--because needs change. You are an important part of this evolution, of this leadership. We encourage your feedback. The most efficient way to get in touch with us is to send an e-mail message to Bill_Perreault@unc.edu. There's also a comment form built into the book's web site, and if you prefer the traditional approach, send a letter to 2104 N. Lakeshore Dr., Chapel Hill, NC 27514. Thoughtful criticisms and suggestions from students and teachers alike have helped to make Basic Marketing what it is. We hope that you will help make it what it will be in the future.