Evolution of Marketing Models

INTRODUCTION

Marketing is one of the vital functions of any organisation. The marketing efforts enables the firm’s products to be visible and desired by customers. Marketing decisions can be made based on certain predefined theories and models, that enable a marketer to make an educated decision (Van Bruggen and Wierenga 2000).

The term ‘marketing model’ refers to any diagrammatic, mathematical or tabular representation of information that can provide insights to the user in a logical manner (Lazer 1962). Marketers have been using various marketing models since the end of World War II. Since then, the models have changed drastically to adapt to the business environment (Leeflang and Wittink 2000). Some of these are: brand equity models (Kamakura and Russell 1993) diffusion models (Simon 1994), brand loyalty (Dekimpe et al. 1997) and the like.

Keeping this in mind, this report focuses on how marketing models have evolved from the post World War II era to the present. It then goes on to discuss whether these models hold any importance in today’s business environment. By using an example, the report also examines how the use of models result in a successful outcome for the organisation. It also shows the need of models to be updated to meet the changes in the business environment.

THE EVOLUTION OF MARKETING MODELS

Leeflang and Wittink (2000) divide the evolution of marketing models into five stages. The first stage is defined by the application of management science (MS) and operations research (OR) to marketing practices. These models are classified into descriptive, predictive and normative models, based on their primary application. Descriptive models are those that describe and discuss the marketing process (Cye...

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