The Development of Marketing over the Last Century Research Paper

The Development of Marketing over the Last Century - Research Paper Example This marketing concept became applicable from the 1900s to the 1950s. Therefore, the current marketing concepts involving branding, communication, and intensive ads that characterize the modern business environment are merely a rebirth of the concepts used by marketers at the start of the 20th century up to the 1950s (Belz, 2006). At the turn of 1960, a new marketing concept known as marketing orientation emerged. This concept became common from 1960 onwards. This marketing concept emerged because of market saturation that triggered intense competition. Marketing also became a strategic thinking process for managers. Today marketing as a discipline has become an outward looking discipline where strategies and actions depend on the external environment of a company. As such, any change in the external environment affects the marketing strategy adopted by a company (Belz, 2006). The world has also experienced radical changes in technological, economic, and socio-cultural environments s ince the beginning of the 20th century. These changes have created new marketing opportunities and challenges. Globalization has transformed marketing concepts by bringing regional and global societies and economies together. Some of the opportunities that globalization has brought include increased number of market opportunities. For instance, globalization has made it possible for companies to set up businesses in other countries easily. In addition, globalization has transformed marketing by making it easier for companies to penetrate some markets with more ease than ever before. Further, it has provided companies with the opportunity to develop and implement cost-effective international marketing strategies (Johnson, 2007). Despite the benefits that globalization has brought in the... The Development of Marketing over the Last Century This discourse attempts to explore the developments of marketing throughout history and the implications of the developments to marketing organizations. The history of marketing dates back to early 1900 although some marketing practices can be traced back to 1700 B.C according to Dix et al. (2005). Segmentation, marketing developments, promotion, and branding are some of the marketing activities practiced today that have a long history. The origin of these marketing activities dates back to as early as the pre-colonial era. Dix et al. (2005) notes that the marketing concepts of relationship orientation and ‘domesticated markets’ began during the agricultural era. As such, the current popularity of relationship marketing is merely a rebirth of the marketing practices of the pre-industrial period when consumers and producers interacted directly with each other and built structural and emotional bonds in their economic market behaviors. History shows that marketing was init ially based on production orientation. This was the marketing concept that was applicable during the industrial revolution. According to this marketing concept, the focus of marketing was based on efficient production and distribution. Marketing has undergone many changes over the years. It has become apparent that as new technologies emerge, consumer behaviors also changes. As a result, marketing managers must be able to respond to the changes appropriately for the companies they manage to survive, otherwise they will be faced out.