The Marketing Mix

Today, we live in a customer-driven economy, and satisfying customer needs is the means to success. The marketing concept has changed over the years in response to shifts in the consumer base and in other economic factors. The marketing concept was first developed in the 1950s at a time of consumer growth after World War II, and at that time manufacturers were poised to dominate packaged goods industries. The emergence of the mass middleclass market with relatively homogeneous tastes and lifestyle aspirations served as an additional incentive for manufacturers to boost volumes. Two other features contributed to this trend. First, retailing groups were not as powerful and did not have as much influence in the market as they do today (and in any case they did not have the management skills to exploit the situation). Second, mass television advertising made a lasting impression on customer perceptions as a medium that was to become the most powerful element of the marketing mix. Changes were brought about by the early 1970s for a number of reasons, among them the following:

* Changes in consumer needs came about because of dualearner households, more leisure time, and increased levels of real income.

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, the seller needs to understand the customer's entire business, both currently and over a longer time frame. The seller must be aware of not only the customer's present market but also potential future markets. With such an indepth understanding, the seller can produce value by helping the customer increase its market effectiveness and/or operating efficiency: Thorough research into the customer's market and operations is crucial to understanding the customer's "value chain." This is more challenging for smaller businesses since they have fewer resources than larger businesses. (This is changing, however, as more electronic data interchange systems are being developed for small businesses) (Sellers and Furth 201). Creativity can do much to help close the resource gap. Similarly, creativity in marketing can be of great benefit to retailers, though it is not easy to make the mix effective in this area, either. A recent book on multicultural marketing refers to the story of Madam C.J. Walker, the daughter of sharecroppers and a former laundress, who exhibited her enterprise and tapped the vital, yet underutilized Black economic market early in this century. She did this by targeting and addressing the selfesteem and f
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Approximate Word count = 1462
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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