We can distinguish three stages through which marketing practice might pass:

1. Entrepreneurial marketing: Most companies are started by individuals who visualize an
opportunity and knock on every door to gain attention. Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Company, whose Samuel Adams beer has become a top-selling “craft” beer, started out in 1984 carrying bottles of Samuel Adams from bar to bar to persuade bartenders to carry it. For 10 years, he sold his beer through direct selling and grassroots public relations. Today his business pulls in nearly $200 million, making it the leader in the U.S. craft beer market.

2. Formulated marketing: As small companies achieve success, they inevitably move toward

more formulated marketing. Boston Beer recently began a $15 million television advertising campaign. The company now employs more that 175 salespeople and has a marketing department that carries on market research, adopting some of the tools used in professionally run marketing companies.

3. Intrepreneurial marketing: Many large companies get stuck in formulated marketing, poring over the latest ratings, scanning research reports, trying to fine-tune dealer relations and advertising messages. These companies lack the creativity and passion of the guerrilla marketers in the entrepreneurial stage.3 Their brand and product managers need to start living with their customers and visualizing new ways to add value to their customers’ lives.


Excerpt from Marketing Management (Philip Kotler)