Marketing Orientation Essay Example for Free

Marketing Orientation EssayThere have been many studies of the term merchandising preference, and its presence within organisations. Marketing orientation is an approach that companies take which centres its activities towards achieving node gaiety by dint of effective merchandising. It is where guests form the basis of an organisations performance and overall success. In order to reach out successful marketplaceing orientation, a caller must organise an effective structure through planning its activities, products and services successfully.This pull up stakes help the company on snap its aims and objectives on the require and requirements of its customers, in order to establish a relationship that leave increase performance and success. Market orientation is the organisation wide development of market intelligence pertaining to customer needs. (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990. p12) Two approaches to merchandise Orientation have been suggested by Avlonitis and Gounaris (1999), focusing on the practices and subtlety that the company adopts. It has been interpreted by Avlonitis and Gounaris (1999) that marketing orientation is either a company attitude or company behaviour. This is whether a company is customer orientated or focuses on a competitive service through marketing orientation. Other authors have similiar thoughts upon these approaches to marketing orientation. Drucker (1954) believes that customers perceive marketing as an activity involving the sinless organisation, rather than being a specific company process. The authors view coincides with the sketch of Avlonitis and Gounaris (1999), as he focuses on the attitude organisations have in repleteing customer needs. The other position to this approach is the significance of a companys culture towards marketing orientated activities.Felton (1959) states It is the attitudes and beliefs of a work force that control the level of orientated activities a company strives to achieve, implyin g the focus is on themselves competing rather than putting the customer first. Trout and Ries (1985) perceive marketing orientation as an effort by companies to increase competitor advantage, rather than satisfy customer needs. Therefore the companys culture is focusing its strategy on competitor orientation in order to achieve success. An organisations performance is a very(prenominal) important aspect of successful marketing orientation.Narver and Slater (1990) state that marketing orientation is based on 3 performance measures, which include customer and competitor orientation, and inter-functional coordination. Introducing effective performance measures can have positive influences on companies, as it helps the companys culture set aims and objectives for a successful approach to marketing orientation. Jobber (2007) also describes the importance of these measures, stating A marketing concept culture that manifests in corporate activities to prepare superior value for customer s. However, specific marketing activities relating to the behaviour of a company have emphasis on managerial control rather than the pictorial culture of the organisation (Ellis, 2004), which relates to the work of Trout and Ries (1985) and their beliefs of companys influencing the importance of competitor orientation over the satisfaction of their customers. Sharp (1991) argues the approach to marketing orientation as described by Drucker (1954), saying that its more than than notwithstanding about customer focus Market orientation has a principle element of focusing on available markets and customer needs.Sharp criticises this view of orientation, as costs of maintaining customer focus will incur in unstable markets, affecting a companies orientation plan. In order to balance this procedure, a company needs equal focus in its approach to marketing orientation, which will help achieve success and efficiency. The link between organisational strategic thinking (Sharp, 1991) and ma nagerial control (Ellis, 2004) helps towards a successful company through competitor orientation. Ellis states that effective performances increase through analysing competitor actions, in order to create a competitor advantage.However, companys still need to be responsive to customer needs collect to volatile markets. Overall increases of a companys orientation, resulting from effective customer satisfaction, will then ladder to greater performances (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990). The relationship between performance and marketing orientation is analysed negatively to strategic marketing. Sin (2005) considers the remote environmental aspects of marketing orientation, emphasising the importance of linking performance and marketing orientation in order to meet the needs of customers.Sin believes that if companies developed their approaches towards linking these two factors, a more in depth examination of customers needs could be undertaken, which would lead to higher performances with in the company. Sin agrees with Sharps views, by describing the inclusion of customer needs as strong as company aims and objectives. A strategic way of thinking is described by Sharp, where marketing orientation is described as being the most relevant, as it focuses on company, and not just market characteristics.The analyses of various journal articles relating to marketing orientation has led me to understand the different issues relating to marketing orientation. I agree with Kohli and Jaworski (1990) that a company should balance its orientation between customer focus and its aims and objectives, for effective performances. The authors were very clear and focused on what strategies were effective in approaching marketing orientation. I felt that this psychoanalysis helped me understand the best method of adopting marketing orientation and how to effectively respond to customer demands, as well as creating a competitive advantage.Limitations to the analysis were discussions fr om Felton (1959) and Trout and Ries (1995). The views of these authors concentrated on companies who adopted marketing orientation to create a competitive advantage as its main priority. The context of this article focused totally on businesses success and shadowed the importance of customer orientation, something which I feel is crucial for overall success.