Marketing is the primary arm of any business or non-profit enterprise. Modern marketing encompasses a variety of techniques and tactics, from more traditional practices similar to print promoting to probably the most revolutionary processes of digital marketing. We have come a great distance, and marketing approaches and practices have evolved in ways that might not have been predicted many years ago.
What is marketing?
Marketing is the method by which services and products are developed to satisfy the needs of consumers and their effective pricing, promotion, promoting and distribution. Unlike promoting itself, whose primary goal is to encourage and shut sales, marketing strives to comprehensively satisfy the buyer/customer.
Why is that this distinction between promoting and marketing so necessary?
A satisfied customer is far more helpful to the corporate than a dissatisfied customer – they usually tend to:
1) Buy again in the longer term
2) Give positive recommendations
3) Become a lead generator
It can be easier to win back an existing, satisfied customer than to create a recent one.
In 2023, the last word goal of selling is to develop, nurture and maintain positive, long-term business-customer relationships.
However, this goal has not all the time been achieved, and the trendy approach to marketing is a comparatively recent phenomenon. The way firms sell their products to their customers has evolved dramatically over the past 200 years.
The evolution of selling
1) The era of straightforward trading
Before the Industrial Revolution, consumption was based on a purely subsistence economy. Since precedent days, people used what they’d, made probably the most of what they consumed, and sold or traded unwanted or surplus goods for other goods they needed. With the very limited availability of “luxury” goods, there was no real need for marketing (other than a really area of interest, wealthy market) in our understanding, because households generally produced what they consumed themselves.
This approach modified with the arrival of the economic revolution. Many commodity producers have now turn into business enterprises versus households, and because the producer of the product was not the buyer, the processes of exchange have also modified.
2) The era of production
From the mid-1800s to the Twenties, marketing relied heavily on promoting. The goal of the businesses was to achieve market share over their competitors. Companies focused on mass production and low production costs, and products were inexpensive and available to consumers. The focus was on quantity reasonably than quality of production. The ads actively promoted low prices and the ads provided detailed explanations.
3) The era of sales orientation
From the Nineteen Thirties to the Forties, sales tactics became far more competitive. Companies continued to focus more on sales volume than on customer satisfaction and achieving sales driven by low prices – product quality was still not an important thing.
Companies sought to draw consumers’ attention through sales promotions and advertisements that were more image-based and crowd pleasing. Marketing was considered only after the product was produced and focused solely on sales. The saturation of itinerant vendors was born on this era. Advertising used newspapers, radio, and eventually television.
4) The era of selling
In the late Forties, within the era of mass production, firms began to know that focusing solely on business didn’t necessarily ensure customer satisfaction. With more competition, customers also had loads of options to go elsewhere for what they needed. As such, marketing tactics have evolved to contemplate what the purchasers themselves need and wish – identifying and meeting those needs.
This is how the marketing concept was born, in response to which business success required anticipating and meeting customer needs and delivering them to their satisfaction. The campaigns emphasized product differences, with the identical company producing different product lines for various goal consumer segments.
In the Eighties, it resulted in a recent concentrate on consumer needs that became the main target of selling. Advertising and marketing eventually focused on iconography, with brand marketing on the forefront (e.g. Mcdonald’s or Coca-Cola).
5) The era of relationships
Relationship marketing has been a spotlight because the Eighties and has never been more necessary than it’s today.
Consumers are much smarter, and constructing customer relationships is an important aspect of business marketing. Customer engagement with an organization or brand is a must – and that is achieved by cleverly combining traditional marketing with modern, modern practices, including Internet marketingsocial media marketing, content marketing, email marketing and corporations’ visible commitment to sustainability, fair trade and social justice.
In the 2020s, marketing must enable real connections and conversations between businesses and consumers – engagement, loyalty and retention are essential. It’s about engaging storytelling, providing solutions, and constructing relationships.
When it involves the longer term of selling – it’s an exciting prospect!
