Before work can start on marketing strategy, management's objectives and plans for the business must be clearly understood. The discussion in Chapter 2 considers these decision* and activities. An understanding of business purpose, scope, objectives, and strategy is essential to making strategic marketing decisions that are consistent with the corporate and business unit plan of action.

The chief marketing executive's business strategy responsibilities include (1) participating in strategy formulation and (2) developing marketing strategies that follow business strategy priorities. Since these two areas are closely interrelated, it is important to examine marketing's role and functions in both areas to gain more insight into marketing's responsibilities and contributions. Peter F. Ducker describes this role:

Marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered a separate function (i.e., a separate skill or work) within the business, on a par with others such as manufacturing or personnel. Marketing requires separate work, and a distinct group of activities.. But it is, first, a central dimension of the entire business. It is the whole business: seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer's point of view.17

Frederick E. Webster describes the role of the marketing manager: "At the corporate level, marketing managers have a critical role to play as advocates for the customer and for a set of values and beliefs that put the customer first in the firm's decision making, and to communicate the value proposition as part of that culture throughout the organization, both internally and in its multiple relationships and alliances."'8 This role includes assessing market attractiveness in the markets available to the firm, providing a customer orientation, and communicating the firm's specific value advantages.