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