It was during the market-oriented era that firms first discovered "marketing." In what timeframe did this occur?

The market-oriented era started around the 1950s and lasted until the 1960s. It is also known as the marketing department era because during that period the marketing department was defined, unifying advertising, sales, promotions, and other marketing related activities under one single department.

As a result of discovering the advantages of marketing, businesses started to focus on the needs of their customers, instead of just simply trying to sell what they produced. This led to product diversification, reaching out to customers and ultimately paying attention to the needs and desires of customers.