The Great Depression
During the Great Depression, producers realized that they must focus more on the selling process and not only on the manufacturing process. Aggressive personal selling and advertising was the best way to move products and convert them into cash. Although the aggressive strategies were successful for a while, consumers started to demand more than the products companies were offering. Misleading advertising and high-pressure sales techniques became illegal and a new approach to marketing was created. This approach set the foundation of modern marketing and helped develop online strategies. Today’s companies, which provide SEM, PPC or SEO could not exist without the changes that were made in the 50s.
The marketing concept emerged in the 50s as a management philosophy, making the needs and wants of clients a priority. The key questions became what do customers want and what does it take to keep them satisfied. Companies began to adopt the marketing concept, aligning their functions to focus on customer needs. Long-term profit became a permanent goal, not just the increased sales. Most firms created separate market departments with responsibilities similar to an expanded sales department. Even if these expanded structures still exist, many companies transformed into marketing organizations with a wide customer focus.
Customer focus
The customer focus is an essential element of any successful marketing concept and every company must shape its internal perspective to the customers’ point of view in order to completely understand their wants and needs. A customer focus must penetrate every department, from human resources to finance and production. Managers should make decisions based on relevant market information, taking the marketing implications into consideration. The marketing program or the marketing mix should be planned as a single entity that includes all the elements of a marketing concept. Marketing specialists suggest that the purpose of a marketing concept is to give companies a complete understanding of the buyers so that the service or product they offer can sell itself.
The modern marketing concept
An important marketing concept is based on keeping the brand relevant to customers by creating fresh ideas. Because of the increased popularity of the Internet as a source of information, many companies have embraced the world of blogging. Advertising services and products online are creative marketing concepts meant to reach the computer audience. Moreover, marketing is not as expensive as it was before with the use of modern technology, especially for small starting businesses. SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay-per-click) are other marketing concepts that can be used instead of traditional methods. Modern firms enhance success through a comprehensive integration of marketing communication tools such as sales promotion, interactive communications, direct marketing, advertising and public relations.
According to Peter Drucker, consultant, author and educator, profit is not the primary goal of a company, but an essential condition for its continued existence. Serving the customers is a company’s primary responsibility.
