L. E. Boone and D. L. Kurtz - Four eras in the history of marketing

Sales era (1930s - 1950s)

Increased emphasis on effective sales forces to find customers for output, attempted to match output to demand, assumed customers needed persuading to buy non-essential goods/services

Marketing concept

Companywide consumer orientation with the objective of long-term success

Relationship marketing

Developing long-term, value-added relationships over time with customers and suppliers

Marketing era (1930s onwards)

Emphasis on consumer orientation and the marketing concept

Relationship era (emerged late 20th century)

Emphasis on relationship marketing

Consumer orientation

First determining unmet customer needs and then designing a system to satisfy them

Production era (early part of 20th century)

Narrow focus on production, belief that high quality products would sell themselves