Approaches to the Study of Marketing
You should understand right from the onset that the contents of the course are to be worked at and understood step by step and not to be read like a novel. The best way is to read a unit quickly in order to see the general run of the content and then to re-read it carefully, making sure that the content is understood step by step. You should be prepared at this stage to spend a very longer quality time on some units that may look difficult. A paper and pencil are necessary. Ensure that you make necessary notes and summaries where necessary for future references.The Evolution of Marketing
Marketing develops as the society and its economic activities develop. The need for marketing arises and grows as the society moves from an economy of Agriculture and self-sufficiency to an economy built around division of labour, industrialization and urbanization.
In during agrarian economy, the people largely self-sufficient – they grew their own food, produce their own clothes, built their own houses, etc. There was no marketing, because there was no exchange.
However, as time went on, the concept of division of labour began to evolve. People began to produce more than they needed of some items. And whenever people make more than they wanted, the foundation was laid for trade, and trade (exchange) is the heart of marketing.
At first, the exchange process was a simple one. The emphasis was largely on the production of basic needs which usually was in short supply. Little or no attention was devoted to marketing, and exchange was very local.
Then came the era of marketing, when some producers began to manufacture their goods in large quantities in anticipation of future demands. At this juncture, it can be stated that marketing evolved in the United States as a by-product of the industrial revolution. Therefore, up to 1910, the American economy was very low. It was characterised by shortages of economic resources (goods). The middlemen were very strong. The main problem was that of production and distribution. Modern marketing came of age after the World War I and II when surplus and overproduction became an important part of the economic activities. In 1929 (the manufacturing era), there was manufacturing of goods and services, but below the expected demand. The main concern was to produce enough to meet the demands hand.
Between 1930 and the 1940s (sales era/depression era), there was enough production of consumer goods and services. The major problem in hand was that of marketing distribution. The concern was to design the most effective channel of distribution among the various alternatives.
Between 1940 and the 1950s (war era), all efforts were geared towards the production of war equipment at the expense of consumer goods. When the war came to an end, there were shortages of consumer goods. Hence, efforts were geared towards the production of consumer goods.
During these periods, various authors came up with different theories such as Professor Joe Robinson, who wrote on monopolistic economy.
His assumption was that if a company can produce an item in such a way that the marginal returns will offset its price from the marginal costs, and the markets are segmented equally, then such company would be able to maximise her profits. Later, people became interested in this theory.
There was another author named Wanded Smith. He wrote an article on ‘Why people must segment their markets and differentiate their products’. His argument was based on the fact that various companies
use different machines for the production of war equipment. Besides, consumer purchasing power and tastes are not the same.
During this period, the marketing concept evolved. ‘Marketing concept’ is a business philosophy that states what the consumers want –
satisfaction - is the economic and social justification for a firm’s existence. It is a managerial philosophy for performing business activities, which sees the entire business activities as a unit to be
planned, and mobilised to produce goods and services to satisfy consumers’ needs in such a way as to enhance the profit of the firm.
1960s (Marketing Control Era)
This is the period when the marketing department became well known and so much important in the U. S. A. One of the authors of the time,
Peter Drunker states that marketing department is so complex that it can’t be handled by a single individual. The attention at this period was directed toward markets. Also, consumerism came up due to the failure of the marketing concept. Consumerism is an organised movement of citizens and government to strengthen the rights and power of buyers in relation to sellers. Consumerists seek to increase the amount of consumer information, education and protection.
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