Marketing orientation

Market driven companies display customer concern throughout the business. All departments recognize the importance of the customer for the success of the business. In internally focused businesses, the convenience of the company comes first.

Market driven businesses know how their products are being evaluated against competition by customers. Internally driven companies assume that certain criteria, perhaps price and performance, are uppermost in all customers’ minds. They fail to understand the real concerns of customers. Businesses that are driven by the market, base their segmentation analysis on customer differences that have implications for marketing strategy. Businesses that are focused internally segment by product and are vulnerable when customer requirements change, primarily because they never understood customer requirements in the first place.

Market driven businesses recognize that expenditure on marketing research is an investment that can yield rich rewards through better customer understanding. Internally driven businesses see marketing research as a non-productive activity and prefer to rely on anecdotes and received wisdom. Market driven business welcome organizational changes that are bound to occur as an organization moves to maintain strategies fit between varying customer requirements and its strategies. Internally oriented companies cherish status quo and resist change.

Marketing spend is regarded as an investment that has long term consequences in market driven businesses. Internally driven companies view marketing expenditure as superfluous that never appears to produce benefits, but the company has to incur them to be on par with competitors.

In market oriented companies those employees who take risks and are innovative in serving customers in more effective ways are rewarded. Internally oriented business reward time serving, and ability to not make mistakes.

Market driven companies are sensitive, fast and flexible to be able to respond to changes in the market. Marketing oriented companies strive for competitive advantage. They seek to serve customers better than competition. Internally oriented companies are happy to produce me-too copies of offerings already in the market.