At the end of the 1980s, the most astonishing development happened with the collapse of the Soviet and the switch of Russia and the other constituent states to market-led economies.
Earlier many countries in the west embarked on a journey which was marked by an unexpected resurgence of the capitalist system.
Many countries in the other parts of the world followed and decreased the role of governments in providing goods and services.
It seems that a shift was happening from the needs of the business to the needs of the customers in this era.
It was like rediscovering an old forgotten fact, but it was becoming commonplace to see businesses that does not follow this course will most likely be unsuccessful in the long run.
Any business will most probably suffer the consequences of bankruptcy in the short run because it is the customer who decides whether to buy or not to buy.
For this reason, the essence of the marketing concept shifted from the shareholder concept to the stakeholder concept in which the central role of the customer, buyer or consumer was emphasized.
In the economic systems of the of the 21st century, most businesses, including those in the public sector, use profit as the measure of their success.
For those in the private sector, profit is truly essential for long-term survival.
Profit only comes from sufficient revenue at a sufficient margin over costs.
Ultimately, profit cannot be generated and sustained without the support from customers.
It became obvious again that the whole future success and even continuation of the business depends on offering customers what they want at prices they will pay.
This is one of the most important reasons why the marketing concept be so vital again to a business since the 1980s.
Soon the argument of 'profitability' also infiltrated the services in the public sector.
It began to be recognized that public services cannot be sustained unless the investment in them produces worthwhile returns.
Despite the difficulty in defining "returns" in the public sector.
the profitability arguments in the public sector was soon firmly established.
The public services institutions who came under heavy fire by unsatisfied citizens had to change their strategies imitating the institutions in the private sector.
Consequently, privatization became an important instrument for the implementation of these new strategies.
The quality of public services have improved considerably after the introduction of the new market-led forces in public services.
source: http://en.
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