Introduction
Marketing began as a need for companies to strategically set themselves apart from other companies within a marketplace while offering something of value to the customer. Marketing has evolved through many phases and currently has evolved very heavily into E-marketing. “The American Marketing Association offers the following formal definition: Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.” (www.americanessays.com)
Brief History/Developments
A number of different marketing activities have been around for many years, communications has been used since the ways of trade. The trade era consisted mostly of handmade goods thus, communication was important. During the production era that followed the trade era, businesses started manufacturing goods. This became a major development and companies were able to create and fulfill supply and demand. The companies that were offering a value or benefit were the ones getting the customers. Post production era, sales orientation era began and created an opportunity for “marketing, branding and sales which became an important pillar as outputs surpassed demand, and companies competed for customers.” (www.morethanbranding.com)
Major developments have occurred in marketing. Print, radio advertisement, television, computers and internet all mark huge milestones in the growth and development for marketing activities. Slowly, all of these inventions helped to shape marketing and advertising activities. The innovations have made marketing capable of being much more robust and effective. Adapting to new ideas and technology outlets has made marketing more widely achievable. However, it’s not always easy for the industry to adapt to