Marketers with the ability to plan end cap/gondola end displays with the retailer, manage advertising agencies, and balance a research portfolio on sales and usage were deemed "classically trained marketers". Customer service was not the priority of marketers; the movement of product was paramount. Job descriptions reflected the segmentation of task, not customer, clusters. The training was generally on-the-job., in the field, enacting time-honoured practices in sectors such as FMCG, Durables, or Motor Manufacturing.
Ironically, there were often very few marketers at all in retail or service companies, who were actually at the customer face. WHAT ABOUT THE NEW RECRUIT? The titles of marketing jobs have barely changed over the last 30 years. All the roles have had one thing in common - they are all company-focused and inward-looking, and not customer-focused. gives some examples. Typical titles Task Product manager Profit, quantity shipped Category manager Profit per square foot/metre Customer, not consumer focus Key account manager Trade focus Customer service manager Managing retail complaints Company-focused marketing titles. What sort of people were being recruited for the task in the 1970s and 1980s?