The Role of Marketing in Today's Business Environment

Kenton (2009) writes that the fundamental purpose of marketing is a process of defining a relationship with the customer. That if a company gives a customer viable value offerings that fulfill that customer's perceived needs, wants and demands; in response; the company is given a valuable relationship in return.

The advent of new technologies has created the biggest change in society in the last twenty years. Wind (1999) writes that we now have devices and services like cellular phones, digital cameras, satellite networks, email and the internet that connects most of us globally twenty four hours a day. Generally the overall rate of all forms of human communication has increased. For the marketer; some benefits include increased global communication speeds for faster delivery to a potential customer and faster result metrics. Tariq (1999) writes that innovations in technology have created a shift to a global environment with the internet at its center. The internet enables instant communications and gives consumers a way to contact, buy, complain or complement companies about their products. Marketers can now benefit from making use of the global linking of the internet and will continue to do so in the future.

Marketing processes are changing to reflect the new reality. James (2008) writes that in the past the "old style marketing "was seen as "the engine that drove sales" and created demand. James (2008) says that the "old style of marketing" has now died. Ala (1997) writes that if a business has had unsuccessful marketing results in the past the success of other businesses using new technologies will influence them to follow. Evans (2007) writes that banner ads, and all web multimedia are here to stay, so companies should use the latest technology to get their sales points across to potential customers on the internet. Payne (2009) praises the new technology saying that marketing delivery to target segments is no longer hit or miss. James (2008) writes that as a result of the new technologies marketing is under pressure to measure results because of the technological capability of being able to actually measure results. Evans (2007) writes that most businesses now have an internet presence and this allows for customer contacts and general marketing metrics to be tracked.

Generally these writers agree that the technology changes can assist marketers with their marketing campaigns. Tariq (1999) writes about the past and future of marketing and theorizes that it will be the proficient application of all the old and new technologies that will separate good marketers from the pack. He relates that sound business principles coupled with long-term planning united with "marketing and distribution techniques" also determine the degree of a businesses' success. Wind (1999) concurs and writes that the future of marketing is all about using these resources to create the best business plan possible and then implementing it to gain the best ROI possible. Kenton (2009) writes about marketing in today's business environment; he believes it has to be structured as a business plan of deliberate actions to take advantage of all the newest technologies (including access and usage of current demographics) available. All the writers agree that attracting and retaining customers is the ultimate goal of a marketing system.

The future of marketing will be all about the consumer being in control. Payne (2009) writes that "the technology may change, but human nature remains the same!" and points out that offering "a good product, at the right price, at the right time, at the right place" will always be the basis of marketing. Consumer buying behavior will control the mutualistic symbiotic relationship between marketer and consumer. Marketers will have more accurate data, be able to alter strategies and deploy conceived material quicker and to focus on specific niche areas. Companies will be able to position themselves more accurately and waste less money. However the perceived value by a customer will stay the same for that customer. Consequently the customer is king and will remain king in the future.

References

Ala, M. (1997 January 1). Keys to success in today's business environment. Business Forum AllBusiness.com. Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.allbusiness.com/management/631286-1.html

Evans, A. (2007). Business Marketing Technology is changing the face of marketing for businesses. Business Journal.com. Retrieved on March 21, 2009 from http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2007/09/03/focus3.html?ana=from_rss

James, G. (2008 December 11). How Technology Killed Marketing. BNet.com. Retrieved March 23, 2009 from http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=655

Kenton, C. (2009). The Ultimate Purpose of Marketing. Executive Decision Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2009 from http://www.chriskenton.com/marketonomy/articles/ed06April_PurposeOfMarketing.html

Payne, J. (2009). The Technology May Change, But Human Nature Remains The Same. TopArticleChoice.com. Retrieved March 24, 2009 from http://www.toparticlechoice.com/computers-networking/article1872.htm

Tariq, M. (1999). Technology that will change marketing on the Web. FindArticles.com. Retrieved March 24, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_5_30/ai_57943402

Wind, J. & Mahajan. V. (1999 October 13). New Rules of Digital Marketing. Marketing Knowledge@Wharton. Retrieved March 22, 2009 from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=79