#This morning Ive a feeling to share out with you a word of business which I believe my benefit you in one way or another. Let us start with #MARKETING? It would be a mistake to think that marketing is a phenomenon of the 20th century. Its origin can be traced back to early civilisation. When communities began to specialise they produced surpluses in certain products which they then sought to exchange with other communities. The need to exchange goods encouraged the emergence of local markets where different products could be brought together in one place for sellers and buyers to trade. In these simple market structures, the sellers had a fairly good idea of what pleased their customers, since often they were neighbours. However, at the start of the Industrial Revolution, producers and merchants tended to operate on a small scale, concentrating their operations in very localised markets. The Industrial Revolution brought with it advances in technology and production techniques which meant new processes, greater output and a transformation of the economy. Industry now became more remote from its markets as it sought power and fuel to generate its machines. Increased output meant an even greater desire to trade, while large-scale production forced the development of distribution channels to enable the demand from wider, larger markets to be met. The era was founded on the principle of supply in trying to satisfy even greater demands by increasing production efficiency. It laid the foundation of the modern industrial society, with sophisticated systems of marketing institutions and finance, all of which are based on the fundamental concept of carrying out trade through exchange. Improvements in technology and production processes meant that the 20th century witnessed a transition from a production society to a consumption society. Service industries such as banking and hospitality grew substantially in the latter half of the century. Increasing competition, not simply local or regional but national and international, meant that the problem became no longer one of supply but of anticipating demand. Towards the end of the 20th century the invention of the internet had a major impact on businesses and the way customers purchased products. Customers had wider access to products and services, more information to inform their purchase decisions and more transparent pricing. Businesses now faced both opportunities and threats, for example being able to reach new and wider markets but being exposed to increased competition.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 04:10:46 +0000