Since the early beginnings of the formalization of the modern industries a need for a sales approach that addresses the specific requirements of different industries from their suppliers’ side emerged. In the early stages all efforts in this arena were individual, not formulated and depend largely on the situation, personal influences and relations.
2.1.1 The past
As early as late 19th century and the beginnings of the 20th century the need to serve mass markets started to influence, and sometimes burden, the industrial community. This situation was driven by, as well as driving at many cases, the advancements in technology and production capabilities of industries across the board. This created a production driven environment where whoever can produce and supply will be selling and profitably.
By mid 20th century (post WWII) the production driven scene was changing; technological advancements pace was getting faster and the world started to see products that have comparable performance, specifications, and simply serves the purpose and this created what we know now as commoditization and fired the first bullet in modern price wars. Producers realised this shift and started to concentrate on sales and marketing activities on their quest to capture bigger market share and ensure continuity and profitability. Again there was an upwards trend in the sales and marketing theories and concept evolution, the same what happened with production earlier. This trend was driven by, and again driving at many cases, how markets perceive products and react towards certain approach.
Till this point in time marketers and academics were not distinguishing between consumer markets and industrial markets; serving mass markets was the main focus. As O’Malle ...