The Single Market and National Marketing Thinking.

The European Community is process- or product-oriented, not customer-oriented. This is nowhere more clearly indicated than in the recent adoption of the slogan single market. For all but commodities, and industries the economics of which are uncontainable within a single European nation state such as aircraft production, the directional movement is towards segmentation rather than singularisation of markets. Professional marketing thinking believes markets exist at a moment in space and time when customers and products or services come together to gain benefits in use. Different customers can satisfy quite different needs and wants from acquiring exactly the same product or service. All can place quite different value in use on it. Furthermore, increasing levels of education and technological capabilities make it possible for one to afford to be different. The current disaggregation of Europe's longest running so-called single market, the Soviet Union, shows how little progress had really been made therein, despite very determined attempts at overcoming cultural differences and delivering postulated benefits.