How has marketing management changed in recent years?

Marketing is always in a state of evolution as the needs and wants of consumers change. In recent years, there has been a movement from focusing on how to get consumers to buy our product to how can we create a product that will satisfy the needs of our targeted consumers.

The importance of creating products that satisfy needs of a target market is best visualized with the example of the Segway scooter. This was a product that was mass marketing and failed because it failed to meet a market's need. In this case, Segway's target market was everybody and it was marketed as a replacement for cars. There was no evident consumer need or desire to find an alternative to automobiles and therefore, the product failed.

Marketing management today is ensuring that your product conforms to the consumer, instead of trying to conform the consumer to your product.