Marketing Made Simple

1	Marketing explained

1.1 Introduction

Marketing is neither complex nor original. Personal dialogue has always existed between customers and producers. At one time craftsmen knew their customers personally and to gain repeat business they had to provide satisfactory service and ‘care’ for customers. The Industrial Revolution brought about mass production and mass distribution so dialogue became more impersonal. Once the link between producers and customers had been broken the problem facing manufacturers was to estimate demand for goods and this was done through distributive intermediaries including wholesalers and retailers.

Based on the principle of consumer sovereignty, marketing has developed as a management discipline. The way in ...