Business is marketing” or even if you read it backwards i.e. “Marketing is Business” the implication remains unchanged. In fact, in the modern economy the bond between the two is quite inseparable. Moreover mushrooming of marketing agencies and consultants refl ect upon a very signifi cant development that has established marketing services as a business category in itself.

During the industrial revolution (IR) days, the focus had always been on the production side. Gradually until the brink of 21st century Privatization, Free economy and Globalization collectively brought about the paradigm shift from production side to the marketing side. Albeit, this transition was obvious and purely market driven but the fact remains that during this period the business equation has undergone a complete metamorphosis, from a sellers market it has now become the buyers market.

Let us fi gure out how it all happened. Managements’ focus was understandably on the production, during 18 century and other labor related issues kept them busy. Triggered by technological advancements machines gradually started replacing men and eventually by the 20th century most of the manufacturing processes became fully automated in the developed countries. After the second world war, opening of world economies and globalization saw even smaller countries taking on to the giants. Japanese cars and other electronic goods capturing the US market is the classical example. Automation, mass production & economies of scale ensured that production is no problem instead problem was now of selling the produce. Consequently, marketing came out of the small 35 mm frame to envelop every inch of the mega cinemascope canvas.

The journey from IR* to ITR* has effected and changed every sphere of our life, be it social, political, cultural, economical or business. If machine replaced men at work then later half of the 20th century saw emergence of service sector taking precedence over the manufacturing sector. Today service sector on an average contributes about 65-70% of the GDP in all the developed economies. Role and responsibility of Marketing is much more significant and wide. Although basic marketing principals remain the same but a lot has changed in perception and execution of marketing plans & strategies. Marketing therefore is the biggest challenge in the modern times.

Marketing concepts a comparative view Modern Marketing professionals have much more to do than designing product brochures, developing media plans and allocating advertising and promotional budgets. In this IT age even the global giants are consolidating their operations focusing on their core competency while outsourcing most of the other services in order to stay cost effective and focused. Marketing in the IT age has become more scientific and undoubtedly multi dimensional.