Marketing of electrical products

Many electrical engineers have little detailed knowledge of the duties and functions of sales and marketing departments. The paper, based on the author´s 25 years of experience of selling, marketing and managing in the electrical power and control industry, analyses the subject under the headings of market research and executive marketing, explaining in detail the tasks performed in communicating the requirements of the market to the producer and also in communicating details of the product to the market. While practical examples of marketing and selling are given in relation to the motor control gear and other electrical component manufacturing industries, their relevance can be appreciated by engineers in systems manufacturing, service and user industries, whether electronic or power based. The last Section of the paper deals with selling and sales management and aims to clarify the distinction between sales and marketing.