Evolution of Marketing

Business has evolved significantly in the past 200 years, progressing through various phases of evolution. There has been a sea change in the concept of functioning of business. Businesses need to survive and grow and for these reasons new philosophies had to be derived and the existing ones were regarded obsolete. Prior to the Industrial Revolution in 1700’s, production was done by people in their homes. The Industrial revolution in the 1800 and 1900’s led to establishment of machinery and factories. This revolution helped to increase the number of goods and variations in the traditional products. Mass production coupled with advancements in technology and transportation meant that business houses needed a better strategy to sell their product which is very similar to the competitor’s product. This led to new and creative strategies to sell products. Following stages will give you an insight towards marketing stages:

First Stage: Production Era

Manufacturing was the prime focus at this stage. Business houses developed products they wanted to sell in the market and used to sell them to customers at a price. This concept was popular because of shortage of products in the market which led to supply creating its own demand.

Second Stage: The Sales Era

At this stage companies started to realize that more units can be sold if more efforts are done to focus on sales. Because the competition was growing, it became necessary for organizations to win over their competitors by selling more units. Sales promotion techniques were invented in this era where the “push” concept was developed which says that in order to sell products you have to push products in the market and convince the customers to buy them. Although an old concept, sales strategy is still used widely in many industries.

Third Stage: The Marketing Era

From the second half of the 20th century, the increasing cut throat competition led the organization to believe the sales concept has gone obsolete. A new concept named Marketing was born which implied that any organization should understand the needs of customers and then make the product accordingly so that customer needs are fulfilled. This concept brought a major change in the strategies of companies and also led to higher customer satisfaction. It was related to the “pull” concept wherein your product is so good that it attracts customers all by itself without much hassle of convincing the customers.

Forth Stage: The relationship Marketing Era

The relationship Marketing Era began with the notion that to focus only on customer satisfaction may not be enough for the company’s growth. There was a need to develop customer loyalty towards the brand to enhance and maintain the sales figures of a company. To achieve this, companies started to enhance relationships with their customers to make them feel connected to the brand. Companies realized that the cost of attracting a new customer is higher than keeping a customer happy.

Fifth Stage: The Social Marketing Era

Social marketing was developed in the 1970s, when Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman realized that the same marketing principles that were being used to sell products to consumers could be used to "sell" ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Social Marketing aims at changing the attitudes or behavior of customers for the betterment of society and not for the company itself.

These stages describe the journey of the marketing concept through all these years. Marketing continues to evolve and this concept is here to stay for long.

 Ms. Silky Gaur

Assistant Professor

Department of Management Studies