What is Marketing?
There are hundreds of ways to define Marketing. But in simple, it is continuous process of understanding customer requirement and
satisfies those requirements in most effective way and get in a long term relationship with the customer.
Marketing revolves around segmenting the market, targeting a profitable segments and position offering in a unique way to compete over the others.
Evolution of Marketing Concept
Old concept of marketing was to make goods available so that people who had needs can buy. But as human needs changes and many players offering same goods, the concept changes from making available to satisfying needs.
The core concept of marketing “exchange process “have stated since human civilization and it has transforms through many phases into modern marketing management today.
Exchange oriented Stages:
After the stages of nomads people started to settle on the banks of rivers and engaged in agriculture and other economic activities. Then the problem of deficit and surplus in production came into existence. In order to have smooth exchanges “Barter System” came into existence. This is the starting point of marketing activities.
Production oriented Stages (1760-1830):
This stage came with the dawn of industrial revolution which started during 1760. The concept behind this stage was if you can offer products with reasonable price and quality, nothing can prevent you from selling and making profits. Here producer gave more emphasis on their production not on the customer requirements.
Sales oriented Stage:
Technological development, improving living standard, development in communication and transportation lead people to believe that they can demand more quality goods from the producers than they were offering. Producers started realizing consumers will normally not buy enough unless approached with a substantial selling and promotional efforts. Under this concept the greater emphasis was on increasing the sales than on customer satisfaction
Marketing oriented Stages:
As the consumer demand and producer’s supply came into equal positions, the producers were forced to rethink over the selling concept and thus it leads to introduction of marketing concepts. Moreover, intense competition in the market made producers realize that products could not be sold without having a strong understanding of consumer needs and preferences.
Consumer oriented Stage:
This stage have totally opposite view than the other stages above. Here producers started producing products keeping in mind the requirement of the customer. Production process are adjusted and re-adjusted in order keep align with ever changing needs of customers. Competition becomes a keen factor here.
Management oriented Stages:
This is the present stage of the evolution of marketing concept. Consumer marketing became an accepted marketing philosophy. Today marketing is the most crucial in business planning and decision-making.