The author points out that in the past, marketing .......

The average consumer would probably define marketing as a combination of advertising and selling. There was a time when marketing was an incidental concern for businesses. The main emphasis was on production. Goods were produced and made available for customers to buy, with a minimum concern for what customers might want. What was on the market at any one time was determined by production managers. Most successful businesses now are dominated by an orientation toward marketing, not toward production. This means that firms begin by anticipating what consumers want. They then plan their products accordingly. It is estimated that at least half of the cost a consumer pays for a product is accounted for by marketing expenditures.