Market the marketing in travel and hospitality industry [Archives:2000/25/Business & Economy]

By Shams Tabrez
Director Marketing
Co. United Travel
& Tourism, Sanaa
The evolution of marketing
Production-Orientation Era (1920s) -> Sales-Orientation Era (1930s) -> Marketing-Department Era (1950s)->Marketing-Organization Era-> Marketing Orientation Era->Societal-Marketing Orientation Era (1970s)

1)Production-Orientation Era
The production-orientation era was the first evolutionary stage in the development of marketing; it began with the industrial revolution and lasted into the 1920s. During this era, the production capacities of factories could not keep pace with demand. Demand exceeded supply. Every item that was manufactured could be sold. The management’s emphasis was on producing as many goods as possible. Customers’ needs and wants were of secondary importance.

2)Sales-Orientation Era
Gradually, technological advances in production and increased competition changed the emphasis of marketing. Beginning in 1930s, there was enough capacity to meet demand. As competition intensified, the emphasis switched from production to selling. Customers needs and wants were still of secondary importance; beating the competition by outselling them was first priority. This was the sales-orientation era, which lasted until the 1950s.

3)Marketing-Orientation Era
The marketing-orientation era resulted from even more intense competition and technological advances; supply now exceeded demand. It was also a result of greater management sophistication and the advancement of marketing as an academic discipline Organizations began to realize that selling alone didn’t guarantee satisfied customers. Customers wanted more choices than ever before and could select the products and services that best matched their needs. It made good sense to give customers needs a higher priority than just selling. During this time, organizations began adopting the marketing concept (acting on the assumption that satisfying customer’s needs and wants is first priority).
The era had two stages – the marketing-department era and marketing organization era. In the marketing-department era, the need to set-up new departments to coordinate marketing activities gained acceptance. Sales departments and divisions were renamed and reorganized; their responsibilities were expanded to include the related functions of advertising, customer services and other marketing activities. It was more effective to have all marketing responsibilities in one department, rather than dividing them among several different departments. Marketing was not yet looked at as a long-term activity.
“That is not our problem: it is the Marketing Department.” This might have been a typical statement of a factory-floor supervisor in the marketing-department era. It shows an attitude that satisfying customer’s needs is solely a marketing department’s responsibility and not the concern of other departments in an organization. (As a matter of fact, we are still in this stage.)
However, wide change of attitude occurred with the onset of the marketing organization era.
“It is everyone’s problems if our customers are not satisfied” is a statement that typifies this attitude. The marketing department might have the prime responsibility for marketing-related activities, but all departments played a role in and were affected by customer satisfaction levels. Marketing was seen as a long-term, organizational concern. Survival of the company hinged not only on satisfying customer needs in the short-term, but also in the long-term.

4) Societal-Marketing-Orientation
This is the final evolutionary era. Beginning in the 1970s, organizations started to recognize their social responsibility, in addition to their profit and customer-satisfaction objectives.
Societal market idea envisages that the organizations should determine the needs, wants, and interest of target markets and deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that maintains or improves the consumer’s and society’s well being.

——
[archive-e:25-v:2000-y:2000-d:2000-06-19-p:./2000/iss25/b&e.htm]