During the production concept era (from the industrial revolution until the 1920s), most companies focused solely on production. Demand was often greater than supply, and the prevailing mind-set was that a good-quality product would simply sell itself.

During the sales concept era (from the mid-1920s through the early 1950s), technological advances meant that production increased more sharply than demand for goods and services. “Push” selling and heavy advertising in all available forms of media became prevalent.

During the marketing concept era (from the 1950s through the 1990s), production continued to expand more quickly than the growth in demand for goods and services. The marketing concept changed the focus from finding the right customer for a product to producing the right product for a customer and doing it better than the competition.

During the societal marketing era (1960s to the present), companies began to realize that they must work for the benefit of both consumers and society.

During the customer relationship era (from the late 1990s to the present), organizations have worked to establish long-term relationships with individual customers to foster loyalty and get repeat business.

Marketing identifies and satisfies human needs and wants. It provides value to customers by providing them with benefits that exceed their costs. In turn, sellers benefit because marketing enables them to survive.

Businesses that most successfully satisfy customers generate higher profits, and investors benefit from the profits earned. Employees benefit from successful marketing as well because their jobs and livelihoods are more secure.

Society in general benefits from marketing because scarce resources are more efficiently allocated to goods and services most desired by society.

Criticisms of marketing include price gouging, the production of shoddy or unsafe products, and confusing and deceptive practices. The criticisms of marketing should not be taken lightly. All companies should have a code of ethics and policies in place to curb unethical behavior within their organizations.

The two basic elements of a marketing strategy are the target market and the marketing mix .

The four Ps of the marketing mix are product, price, promotion, and place .

The marketing process involves (1) identifying a need, (2) conducting market research and developing a marketing plan, (3) determining a target market, (4) implementing the four Ps of the marketing mix, and (5) nurturing good customer relationships.

The application of the marketing process is as much an art as a science. Producing a high-quality product with a unique brand properly promoted that consistently delivers value to customers at a fair price when and where customers want a product are common ingredients for marketing success.

The marketing environment includes environmental influences, such as the competitive, economic, technological, and sociocultural environments, as well as the political, legal, and regulatory environments. Because these factors are beyond a firm’s control, they constrain an organization’s ability to manipulate its marketing mix.

Market research is an ongoing process of gathering and analyzing market information to gauge changing market conditions that may lead to better ways and opportunities to provide services to customers.

The marketing research process involves (1) defining the marketing need or opportunity, (2) collecting relevant data, (3) analyzing and interpreting the data, and (4) acting on the research’s conclusions.

A marketing plan is a written document that specifies marketing activities designed to achieve an organization’s objectives.

Four elements emerge from a good marketing plan: (1) a clearly written marketing objective, (2) a situational analysis, (3) the selection of a target market, and (4) implementation, evaluation, and control of the marketing mix (the four Ps).

Another type of situational analysis is looking at other factors of marketing: company, collaborators, customers, competitors, and the climate of the industry and economy.

In a business-to-consumer (B2C) market, buyers are households that purchase final consumer goods. In a business-to-business (B2B) market, businesses buy from other businesses. There are many more B2B markets than consumer markets. In B2B markets, purchases are often made by a small group of highly trained individuals who buy in large volumes and have much closer relationships with marketers. B2B buyers are also more geographically concentrated.

Consumers and businesses use the same five-step decision-making process when making purchases. However, some of the factors that affect business purchases are different.

The marketing process remains the same for all markets: identify a need, conduct research to come up with a marketing plan, select a target market, implement and control the marketing mix, and always remember to nurture good customer relationships.