Marketing: Disciplinary Perspective
As bartering became more difficult, societies evolved into the simple trade era where producers could make products for themselves and their neighbors. In this era, families traded their excess produce to local distributors who then sold these products to other consumers (Perreault, 2013). Marketing didn’t really change much until the Industrial Revolution resulting in the production era after the 1920s. During the production era, most companies were mass producing with a mantra “if we can make it, it will sell.” Since companies mass produced during that era, the objective was to beat the competition, hence the emergence of the sales era. After 1950s there was a need to combine purchasing, production, shipping, sales and research. As a result, the marketing department era emerged (Perreault 2013). Most firms since the 1960s moved from a marketing department era to a marketing company era with a more marketing management outlook (Perreault 2013). Thus, the job of the marketing executives evolved and they are expected to project long range plans; five or more years and the company effort is guided by a marketing concept; satisfying the needs of the customer. Additionally, marketing executives are encouraged to understand marketing analytics, quantitative data and monitor current trends that might impact the company’s strategy.