'Making Marketing Happen' is prompted by needs of practising managers who have found the traditional marketing planning texts to be fine in theory, but hard to apply to my special market. In short, it holds that marketing planning fails for most companies because it either does not fit their organizational culture, their market conditions or both.

Successful companies do not plan. They use a hybrid strategy making process including vision, incrementalism and planning. The ratio of these three things is critical and the right ratio is unique to every company. The author develops this argument and explains how companies can construct the right hybrid strategy making process for their situation.

The book has been designed for those practising managers who need more than the planning text book. It will tell you:

* Why attempts at planning are foiled by the market, the company culture or both.
* How effective strategists don't plan, but use organizationally tailored strategy making processes
* How to design the right process for your company and your market
* How to know if the strategy you make is strong before you implement it.

An incredibly practical and hands-on book concerned with the realities of doing strategic marketing planning to enhance customer and shareholder value. It is packed with new ideas and practical tools and should be on every marketing manager's desk.

Professor Nigel F Piercy, Professor of Marketing, Warwick Business School

This book starts where most others finish - making the theory work in the real world. Having done an MBA and held several Senior Marketing positions, I recommend it both to practising marketers who already have a thorough understanding of marketing theory and also to MBA students who are eager to apply their knowledge within their own organisation's framework.

Mathias Aeberhardt, Director Business Intelligence Europe, Zimmer GmbH

As a strategic marketing professionals working in the fast-moving and complex world of UK retail banking and personal financial services, inevitable time pressures demand that we must be highly selective in the material we choose to read. Within this context, I would recommend 'Make Marketing Happen' as an invaluable investment of scarce managerial time. The text is full of practical guidance and exciting insights into the world of strategic market planning and is presented in an informative and highly accessible format - well worth the read.

Dr Jansen Ryder, Product Manager, Halifax Bank of Scotland

Making Marketing Happen is one of those rare marketing books that brings the right information to the table at precisely the right time. As a senior marketer in the highly competitive automotive industry, I have struggled with what the appropriate measures of marketing value are now, and what they should be in the future in order to maintain a competitive edge. Brian Smith has provided a detailed, pragmatic approach to marketing strategy with not only interesting examples but also with clear advise to make marketing really happen. The text is concise and clearly presented.
Most of all, Making Marketing Happen is very readable and enjoyable to read.

Willem Verschuur, GM Product Marketing Management, Mitsubishi Motors Europe B.V.

In the past writing on Marketing Planning seems to have been dominated by mechanistic planning models. This book brings a welcome insight into other approaches and their application and challenges managers to think about what works for them.

Gerry Johnson, Professor of Strategic Management, University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business