Marketing has come a long way in 100 years. It was about 100 years ago that the industrial revolution was cranking up and so was mass production. With mass production came the need to sell all that the economy could produce…and thus was born the modern discipline of marketing. For an early discussion of public relations and marketing click here.

Today’s world of marketing has a number of precursors that give us the opportunity to serve consumers in a direct manner. Just-in-time production and other production techniques have given firms the ability to produce products that are customized to the needs and wants of the customer. Meanwhile the internet has given companies the ability to communicate directly and to do business effectively and directly with customers. From DELL to Porsche, customers are getting exactly what they want.

The function of marketing today is about assuring production of goods as consumers want them and working within the firm for efficiencies to assure a strong value proposition. Today’s research of customers helps firms to niche the marketplace to target customers better. Much of research has been about ASKING questions…today, marketing research starts more with listening, and especially listening on the Internet. (See www.geeyee.com)

In 1936, the AMA was formed as a coming together of two predecessor groups…a group of economists and a group from psychology. Consumer behavior and market mechanics are still at work in modern marketing…and these continue to evolve, ever faster then before.