NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF COMMERCE

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

EMBA MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Prepared by Mrs O Gwate-Hall

2012

EMBA MARKETING MANAGEMENT MODULE

1. THE MARKETING CONCEPT
Business philosophy has experienced three major shifts during the history of commerce in the United States. It has moved from a production orientation to a sales orientation to the current consumer orientation. Each of these philosophies has reflected the economic environment of its time.
From the early years of the country into the late 1920s, businesses had limited production capacity and continuous demand for their products. Under those circumstances, it was inevitable that the prevailing philosophy would be "produce as much as you can and it will sell." Business goals based on that belief naturally focused on production. Marketing concerns were limited to order taking and product distribution.
With the introduction of mass production in the late 1800s, the gap between production and the demand for goods and services began to narrow. By the 1930s, production capacity had caught up with and, in many areas, exceeded demand. In order to maintain or regain production and sales levels, businesses adopted a sales oriented philosophy. This philosophy held that "if you do enough advertising, promotional activities, and direct selling, you can convince the market to buy all of your output." Initially, companies capitalized on the emergence of the radio as an advertising vehicle and the employment of large sales forces to reach prospective customers in new markets. In the 1940s, the introduction of television enabled them to expand sales efforts even