Read An Academic's Assessment of This Book as a General Marketing Text

"The Professional's Guide to Financial Services Marketing is a very readable book that could serve quite well as the primary text for a college level marketing course. While the focus is on financial services marketing, it is an inclusive review of many different aspects of the marketing discipline that requires no pre-knowledge of the financial services industry on the part of either the professor or the students. The book focuses on explaining and analyzing marketing strategy and tactics and then uses financial services applications as examples.

The book consists of almost 60 mini-chapters, each of which covers a different facet of marketing, has a clearly expressed purpose and could easily support a lesson plan. Historical anecdotes, examples and case studies illustrate the dos and don'ts of good marketing by describing both successful and unsuccessful marketing initiatives over the years.

The tone of the book is knowledgeable, without being academic. While the marketing approaches are well-presented and the facts well-researched, its "short story" structure and breezy style make this book an interesting read.

I recommend this book as a good general marketing text that would be enjoyable to teach from. It provides excellent opportunities for class discussion about the many different aspects of marketing and the evolution of various marketing and promotional approaches. This "historic" orientation also provides an excellent opportunity to supplement this text with current events and give students a real-world perspective on how fundamental marketing concepts must evolve in response to changing social and economic factors."

Joseph Rizzo
Adjunct Professor
Raritan Valley Community College