Development of marketing
The period in which factory products were mainly sold by sales staff was
named ’marketing by the world’s best-selling marketing author, Kotler.
Before there was the production concept, in which production and product-oriented management philosophies dominated commercial thought. At
that time, the focus was on the production process and the physical product,
and not on the (potential) purchasers of the product. Increasing mass production was accompanied by an equivalent growth in demand for products.
Between and the selling concept – with the emphasis on increased
turnover – was the dominant management philosophy. In fact, up until
the supplier decided on the availability and usefulness of products – there
was still no real service delivery at that time. Around marketing, as we
know it today, slowly started to take shape, with organisations putting the
desires and requirements of consumers in the central position. The target
group – that part of the market the organisation focused its attention and
efforts on – was now important. The product or service was henceforth
adjusted to the buyer’s needs and wants, with the focus shifting away from
the product and the exchange or transaction becoming crucial. The ‘classic’
marketing concept then developed considerably and the marketing playing
field started to expand to include more variables. Decisions in the field of
purchases, logistics and product development came to be included. The
societal marketing concept now went beyond short-term aims such as customer satisfaction and added long-term thinking in the form of striving for
long-term consumer and public welfare. Organisations no longer had to focus
solely on the buyer, but also on other interest groups (long term). This would
mean that profit became less important than the so-called social goals. At the
start of the first century, companies now want to profile themselves as
socially responsible, using the idea of corporate social responsibility. This
aspect is increasingly receiving attention. In strategic marketing, organisations focus on sustainable competitive advantages and the long-term interest
the buyer has in these advantages. Building up and maintaining relationships
with interest groups and others outside the organisation is becoming ever
more important, in order to retain and build a strong competitive position.
The arrival of information technology, and in particular databases and the
internet, gave rise to ‘marketing ’. Consumers were now much more able
to orientate themselves and choose from the broad selection available from
various suppliers. Marketers attempted to use differentiation and positioning to get through to their customers’ hearts and minds via target group segmentation. Database marketing techniques are used to create one-on-one
marketing relationships. Marketing is characterised by consumer-orientation, yet it is still largely one-way traffic.
We now find ourselves at ‘marketing ’. This still involves meeting customers’ needs, but the customer is now approached as a fully rounded person
with heart, mind and spirit. This is also the age of participation, with consumers talking back to providers.
Values, as well as the perceived company vision, mission and values, now
play a decisive role in consumer selection of product, service and, above all,
brand. Social media, crowd sourcing and user generated content can help
marketers to launch innovations, while platforms such as Facebook, Hyves,
LinkedIn, Foursquare and Twitter, as well as blogs and communities, facilitate communication between users and with suppliers. Consumers are even
taking over some of the marketing tasks.