Market- and customer-oriented activities represent a major resource investment for a firm. Activity-based costing (ABC) provides an enhanced means for marketers to assess the cost-versus-benefits of such activities. This article describes the usefulness of ABC to marketers at various levels of decision making: unit level, product level, channel level, and segment/customer level. Examples are provided to illustrate the potential for improved marketing decision making when ABC is utilized versus traditional accounting systems. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc
