Marketing Oriented Business

Business organizations differ in their orientation. Starting from production to sales then

marketing. In a production oriented business, the main emphasis is to produce large volumes of output and thereby, enjoy economies of scale. Sales orientation means to sell larger volumes of output irrespective of whether the output is required by the customer. As such in both the production and sales orientation, the focus is on inward perspective of a business.

Marketing orientation of a business is to have an altogether different mindset i.e. to focus on the  on the customer first and the needs of the business thereafter. It is an acknowledgement that a business organizations main purpose is to satisfy the needs of its customer, which is an outwards perspective. A further step in the marketing orientation of a business, is what is refereed to as a marketing philosophy. This means that marketing is not merely a function of the business, but actually a way of conducing business. Everybody in a business organization, that satisfying the customer is their business.

What are the tenets of a marketing oriented business?

It is important to examine the principles on which the customer oriented business can be developed. Creating a customer focus through the business, is the starting point. The business must revolve around satisfying satisfying and fulfilling customer needs. Listening to the customer is important but many businesses simply forget this cardinal principle. By only listening to the customer can you understand their needs. Another important aspect is to measure and manage customer expectations.

Measurement of customer expectations, should be based on good feedback, which is dependent upon two way communication. Management of customer expectations requires, requires an excellent customer care program in a business. In a marketing oriented business, quality is defined by the customer. This quality is no in term of the product, but encompassing the entire offering made to the customer. Customer loyalty and relationship building is another important aspect of subscribed to by a customer oriented organization. Relationship building and loyalty are long terms strategic activities and therefore require an appropriate orientation within a business.

Marketing oriented businesses, define their activities as service activities, carried out towards the satisfaction of their customers. In other words they define their business as as a service business with customer service being the most important business activity. A further principle principle subscribed to b customer oriented businesses is to make customer value the guiding star. Customers remain loyal to business organizations who are able to provide continuous value which is required and appreciated by customers. Last but not least the organization culture of marketing oriented business are conducive to supporting customer needs and delivering on expectations.

The above stated tenets or principles are not exhaustive. However, they reflect the important aspects.

How marketing oriented is a business? A checklist

1. Do we know who are customers are? Without knowing the customers there can be no marketing leave alone an orientation
2. Do we have a profound understanding of our customer needs? Knowing who your customers are is not enough. You need to understand their current and future expectations.
3. Do we recognize employees customers as internal customers? Marketing starts as home. Therefore, emphasis should be given to employee needs and expectations. It is only the most satisfied employees who are willing to serve customers well.
4. Are marketing decisions preceded by the question "will our decisions affect our customer?" if the answer is yes then then is it positively or negatively? Simply all business decisions have an impact on the customer. Marketing oriented businesses are aware and recognize the fact.
5. Do we make decisions affecting our customers based on facts? This requires an excellent marketing information system, that collect sorts analysis and interprets pertinent information to marketing decision makers. As such marketing oriented businesses can make decisions based on marketing intelligence and marketing research.
6. Are the competences of the businesses regarded as important by the customer? It is a futile exercise to develop competencies which are not important to customers.
7. DO we have an environmental scanning and monitoring system? Marketing oriented businesses have well developed environmental scanning systems, because they know that comprehending the environment is essential for business success.
8. Are pricing decisions made with complete a complete understanding of its impact on customers? Often in non marketing oriented business organizations, pricing decisions are made with inward perspectives such as costs, markups and return on investment. Marketing oriented businesses strive to achieve a balance between customer and marketing oriented businesses inward and external perspective.
9. Do we structure the organization based on the strategies that require implementation? In other words does structure follow strategy, which is what marketing oriented businesses strive for The organization must be structure in a way that that is able to closely interact with customers.
10. Do we invest in brand building, developing new brands and innovation? Brands are the  vehicles through which we make marketing happen. Therefore to be marketing oriented we have to develop commitment to brand nurturing.
11. Are marketing activities managed by marketing professionals? This seems to be a ridiculous question but many companies do not staff the marketing function with dedicated marketing professionals.

How to develop marketing oriented business?

It is useful to revisit Peters and Waterman (In Search of Excellence). They identified the following characteristics of high performing companies

1. Closeness to the customer - intimacy and a profound understanding of their needs.
2. Productivity through people - Recognizing that employees are the most important internal customers of a business.
3. A bias for action - Doing- as opposed to talking about doing
4. Value driven - Providing continuous value to customers through products and service offerings.
5. Simple form lean staff - organization structures that facilitate customer interaction.

McKinsey's Seven S system is suitable in developing marketing organizations

1. Systems - Does the organization have a well developed marketing information system.
2. Strategy - Is the enterprise profit driven rather than value volume driven
3. Style - Is the leadership of the business focused on delivering customer value
4. Structure - Is the organization structure in such a way that it is more responsive to its customers than to its competitors.
5. Shared Values - Is it understood that marketing is the responsibility of everyone in the organization.
6. Skills - Do managers within the organization make full use of the marketing research inputs in decision making?
7. Staffing - Does he firm employ staff in  the marketing are who are marketing professionals

Developing a marketing oriented firm is a long process and needs to be thought of as an investment. It is not a quick fix activity as some individuals believe. The most important factor in achieving a marketing oriented firm is changing the culture of the organization.