references/canon/kotler.md

# Kotler

## Principle

Treat marketing as a sequence of market definition, segmentation, target choice, value design, delivery, communication, and control rather than as isolated promotion.

## Use when

- The request jumps to channels before the market and target are clear.
- Different customer groups have meaningfully different needs, buying behavior, economics, or access.
- The business needs a structured market and marketing-mix diagnosis.

## Do not over-apply

- Do not create segments merely because demographic variables are available.
- Do not assume the classic marketing mix is sufficient for every digital, marketplace, SaaS, or sales-assisted business.

## Decision questions

- What market problem is being served?
- Which differences between customers actually change marketing decisions?
- Can the chosen target be reached and served profitably?
- Which part of value creation or delivery is the actual bottleneck?

## Counterweight

Pair structured segmentation and target choice with penetration/reach thinking when over-segmentation would unnecessarily shrink the addressable market.

## Sources

- `source:kotler-mm`