Marketing orientation
The marketing concept is that, in order to survive in the long term, a firm must ascertain the needs and wants of specifically defined target markets and then produce goods and/or services that satisfy customer requirements profitably. Under the marketing concept it is the customer who becomes the centre of business attention. The firms no longer see production or sales as the key to prosperity, growth and survival, but the identification and satisfaction of customers' needs and wants. The marketing concept is shown schematically in fig. 2.3.
The main difference between production and marketing orientation is that while the management of a production-orientated firm focus its attention on existing products, paying scant attention to the changing needs and wants of the market place, the marketing-orientated firm produces goods and services which it has determined the prospective customers actually want to purchase.
The main difference between sales and marketing orientation is best summed up by Theodore Levitt:
Selling focuses on the needs of the seller; marketing on the needs of the buyer. Selling is preoccupied with the seller's need to convert his product into cash; marketing with the idea of satisfying the needs of the consumer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering and finally consuming it.
Sales-orientated firms tend to use rather short-run production methods and are preoccupied with achieving current sales targets. In such a company, customer considerations are often restricted to the sales department. In a marketing-orientated organisation, the whole firm appreciates the central importance of the customer and realises that without satisfied customers there will be no business. To be able to progress from a sales to a marketing orientation, the senior management of the organisation must work to cultivate a company-wide approach to customer requirements.
The main problem facing a sales-orientated firm in progressing to a marketing orientation is the management of organisational change. The marketing department is likely to require proportionally more influence and authority over other departments in order to bring about an integrated and cohesive organisation which is pulling in the same direction'. Unless the philosophy of marketing permeates the entire organisation from top to bottom it will never achieve its full potential. It is quite natural, for other departments such as sales and production, which may experience the sense of anxiety often brought about by major organisational change, to resent having to adjust their activities in line with marketing requirements. The human implications of such a change need to be taken into consideration. The reallocation of power within the company can be an uncomfortable experience for those with a vested interest in keeping the status quo.
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needs and wants and services of and services and
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upon certain customer's
segments of the requirements.
target market.
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defined target through customer
markets. satisfaction.