Marketing Orientation Sample Essay

Marketing orientation is a concept of an organization which underlines that the company`s success is mainly based on customers` satisfaction. The stress here is put on valuing consumers` needs and wants first of all. â€Å"A marketing oriented firm (also called the marketing concept, or consumer focus, or customer focus) is one that allows the wants and needs of customers and potential customers to drive all the firm’s strategic decisions. The firm’s corporate culture is systematically committed to creating customer value. The rationale is that the more a company understands and meets the real needs of its consumers, the more likely it is to have happy customers who come back for more, and tell their friends† (wikipedia). Marketing orientation concept evolved between the late 1960s and early 1970s. Firstly, it was developed at Harvard University. Marketing orientation replaced production orientation and sales orientation which were prevailing before. By this time numerous researches were made in order to investigate marketing orientation more thoroughly and make necessary conclusions about the influence of this concept. However, understanding of marketing orientation is not clear and is discussed from different points of view. There are studies which propose philosophical approach towards marketing orientation and there are those which turn to behavioral notion of marketing orientation. I would like to mention opinions of several researchers towards the topic of marketing orientation. Desphande and Webster, like many others, share ideas of philosophical and cultural qualities of marketing orientation. â€Å"In their study in 1992 they use the term  «customer orientation » to describe a specific set of beliefs that puts the customers’ interests first and ahead of those of all other stakeholders (e.g. owners, managers, employees) which, in their view, should be considered as part of a broader, and more fundamental, corporate culture† (mcm.aueb.gr/†¦/Gounaris/Marketing_Orientation_and_Its_Development.pdf). On other way, marketing orientation is viewed as specific company behavior. Trout and Ries (1985), for example, perceive marketing orientation as an effort to compile market intelligence upon which the effort to build a competitive advantage is based. Elliot (1987) considers satisfying customers` needs important but insufficient, and proposes strategies for achieving customers` satisfaction to be just a part of marketing orientation concept which should combine many other features. More developed marketing orientation improves company`s performance—there is a direct connection. Many companies may prosper using marketing orientation, and some fail. The difficulty is that marketing orientation is specific, it combines particular culture and behavior of a firm. So, once a company decides to concentrate on consumers` satisfaction and apply marketing orientation there are many challenges and innovations coming into company`s philosophy. First step of the company is to investigate customers` expectations. Later, products or services are produced considering the information obtained from performed investigation. The final part is to follow and evaluate consumers` satisfaction in order to make necessary adjustments. And so it becomes a continuous process for the company in order to keep track and continue to improve business. There are many methods and approaches used in marketing orientation. The ideal model of marketing oriented company would include all necessary marketing activities. There is marketing research in order to identify customers` wants, research and development production developing the products according to consumers` wishes, pricing which undermines value of the product to customers, distribution to the right place at the right time, and promotion in order to inform customers of the product. Marketing oriented company should also possess characteristics such as: marketing research and product innovation techniques, broad product lines, possibility of ancillary services, customer support, tight organizational structure. I consider marketing orientation to be a very positive and necessary concept. Basically, customers are those who make business prosper. So, the more company listens to the expectations of consumers and the more loyal and understanding is the philosophy of the company, the more customers it will attract—and more profit will be attained using rather ethical, as to my opinion, approach to business. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Avlonitis G. and Gounaris S., â€Å"Marketing Orientation and Company Performance: A Comparative Study of Industrial vs. Consumer Goods Companies†, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 26, no.5 (1997) 2. Bonoma T., â€Å"The Marketing Edge: Making Strategies Work† (1985) 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_orientation 4. mcm.aueb.gr/†¦/Gounaris/Marketing_Orientation_and_Its_Deve lopment.pdf