This article is an introduction to the historical development of marketing, one of the major functional areas of a business firm. First, marketing is described and defined. Then, the evolution of marketing in the United States is described, touching on several major eras, including the simple trade era, the production era, the sales era, the marketing department era, the marketing company era, and the relationship marketing era.

WHAT IS MARKETING?
"Marketing is advertising, like those false or deceptive ads on television that try to get you to buy something that you don't really want."

"Marketing is like those pushy car salespeople, or those salespeople that come to our front doors selling overpriced vacuum cleaners."

"I hate those rude telemarketers calling at all times of the day and night."

Some individuals think that marketing involves deceptive, high-pressure tactics to get people to buy something they don't really want. Those individuals are incorrect. While marketing usually involves advertising or personal selling, marketing (practiced correctly) should not try to get people to buy things they don't want, nor should marketers use deceptive or pushy tactics to get people to buy. In fact, marketing is really the process of developing products to satisfy customers through proper pricing, promotion, and distribution.

The basic goal behind marketing is to satisfy the customer. Satisfied customers are much more valuable than customers who have been deceived into buying something. For example, satisfied customers are more likely to buy your product again. Furthermore, satisfied customers are more likely to speak well of the product to friends and acquaintances, which can increase the possibility that they, in turn, will buy the firm's product. Indeed, marketing is really the process of developing and maintaining long-term exchange relationships.