Marketing Orientation and Product Orientation - Assignment Example

Marketing Orientation and Product Orientation’ Hiba Essa Module:Lerisa Roberts Janine Joyce 13thApril Confidentiality: I have read, understand and adhere to the KOL Confidentiality Policy. Click here to access the KOL Confidentiality Policy. Academic Integrity Statement:I have read and understood the Academic Integrity guidelines for Kaplan Open Learning and the University Of Essex, and declare that this assignment conforms to all of the rules and regulations contained therein. Please note: the guidelines can be found in the Student Handbook (see section 6.4). Assignment Checklist Please make sure you have completed the below points before submitting your assignment: Spelling and grammar check Referencing completed Word count fulfilled Proof read completed All parts of the question answered TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Differentiation 3 a. Product orientation 3 b. Market orientation 3 II. Positive and negative aspect of marketing and product orientation 3 a. Positive aspects of marketing orientation 3 b. Negative aspects of marketing orientation 4 c. Positive aspects of product orientation d. Negative aspects of product orientation 5 III. Steps business may undertake to adjust orientation and challenges using STEEPLE model 5 IV. Conclusion 6 References 7 References Introduction This assignment will open our eyes to a wide prospective vision of marketing strategy. Marketing is all about looking out and meeting the customer needs and wants and developing a strategy that will meet customers’ demand. Two things needed to understand the marketing world are orientations of the product and marketing. (Time, F. 2015). Businesses look at these two things differently, and therefore shape their marketing strategies accordingly. Time, 2015, differentiates these two approaches according to direction. I. Differentiation a. Product orientation Under the product orientation, a company manufactures as many products as possible at the cheapest possible price. According to Time, 2015, a business with product orientation does not pay close attention to the needs of its customers and is focused primarily on making the maximum number of products. If customers are dissatisfied with its product, a business with a production orientation is more likely to look for a new set of customers than to alter its product. On a separate strategy, product orientation is used by firm on the assumption that as long as the product is of high standard, people would buy. (Boundless, 2015). Under this strategy, management concentrates on developing high quality products which can be sold at the right price, and not giving considerate attention to what customers really need and like. b. Marketing orientation As differentiated from product orientation, market orientation strategy is all about the consumers. Market-oriented companies respond to marketing research and tailor their products in accordance with what they perceive to be the demands of the market. A business with a marketing orientation is essentially led by the needs of its customers. Marketing research outcomes determine how much of a product is produced--old products may be discontinued and new products invented based on the needs or desires of consumers II. Positive and negative aspects of marketing and product orientation a. Positive aspects marketing orientation When companies have a good understanding of what the market needs or wants, they have better ability to market effectively to them. Marketers research the market well to understand not only what is needed, but how to convey messages that clarify how their products align with those needs. Familiarity with the market allows marketers to build emotionally impacting appeals into ads and generate more business. b. Negative aspect of marketing orientation Successful approach to market orientation involves a systematic approach to researching customer behavior. Missing the mark in this process creates a system where a company is using ineffective data in its approach to reaching out to customers. Working with wrong data is often worse than working with no data at all. In short, a company that is very small, lacks research resources, or has high segmentation between its departments is at a disadvantage when it comes to establishing market orientation. Markets that rapidly change have just as great an impact on a companys market orientation strategy as educated consumers. New players entering or exiting the market, advances to existing products and an ever-changing cost of raw materials, products and services all impact market orientation. Following an established market orientation and failing to take new external factors into consideration can put a company at a disadvantage. Understanding what the customer wants and needs is not enough to guarantee a market share in todays economic environment. Branding and corporate perception has grown to be just as important in the minds of consumers as price and quality. Building a marketing orientation concept around price and service alone puts a company at a disadvantage. All factors related to corporate perception must be calculated to ensure a solid, functioning and effective approach to market orientation. Long run profitability Consistently understanding and delivering what the marketplace wants leads to long-term profitability. Companies can turn one-time buyers into repeat customers, with an ultimate goal of developing many loyal customers. Loyal customers buy more frequently and in larger volumes. They are also less susceptible to competition and more willing to pay higher prices. All of these business benefits mean the company has much better ability to remain viable and successful as long as it retains the marketing concept. c. Positive aspect of product orientation One advantage of a product-oriented business model is that it allows the business to focus on product quality. With the product-oriented method, the small business is not worried about what the customer wants to buy or what the market says will sell in a certain economy. Instead, the sole focus is on creating a perfect product. The small business can focus all its money and efforts on the design of the product so it works to specifics d. Negative aspects or product orientation Brand selling message that concentrates only on the product’s features, cost, quality or other facts devalues the current product’s selling point. This can put company out of business when a new competitor, change in technology or other market factor comes around. Without an image that tells consumers you provide a benefit, customers may not trust that you can respond to market changes and provide an improved product. Even if you can, it might take critical time to react, costing you a permanent loss of market share. III.Steps business may undertake to adjust orientation and challenge using STEEPLE model Companies, regardless if it is new or long in business should consider doing an analysis to guide them in business orientation. One step is STEEPLE analysis that provides insights into the seven factors that affect business operations; these are social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal and ethical. Taking the example of Nike, this paper analyzes how STEEPLE is applied. Nike is a leading brand that provides world class athletic shoes, equipment, apparel and accessories. Nike spends heavily on advertising, promoting and marketing its own brands, and sells an assortment of shoes and apparel for sports and outdoor activities. Social analysis needs company to look at social and cultural changes in the business environment. This requires a market research to see trends and growth, consumer attitudes, or lifestyle changes. Social changes are changes in beliefs, attitudes in the society that may affect business operations. Taking Nike’s strategy for changing product orientation, we find it pursuing an attitude of style that adheres to product quality than price. It uses celebrity endorsements to encourage people to “Just DO It”. It implies what is good for them is just as good for anyone else. Technological. Companies should keep abreast on technological changes as this will improve production. Using technology, Nike is able to produce an array of sportswear and equipments that is adaptable for outdoor and sports activities. Nike takes advantage of technology and describes its growth partly from its web’s presence and social media efforts. (McCormick, J. 2013). Economic. Economic situation affects unemployment, trade and growth. Knowing this information allows company to plan production and marketing strategies. In order to offset adverse effect of economic conditions, NIKE has staged global presence. Nike has global presence in 190 countries worldwide, including the BRIC economies. (McCormick, J. 2013) Environmental. This represents study on wastes and sustainability. Nike has established policies to conserve water, increase energy efficiency, reuse and recycle. (Nike, Inc.) Legal. This pertains to regulations and taxes and government policies that a company has to follow. Nike operates globally, and for that reason are exposed to different sets of regulations, tax schedule of the countries they operate in. These regulations affect prices, distribution and company culture. Ethical are values that govern the business. One example is the social responsibility of the company. Nike employs more than 800,000 employees worldwide, with whom it has established a global policy of improving their working conditions.(Nike, Inc.) III. Conclusion Nike realizes the importance of both marketing and product orientation and has implemented them in its operation. Nike produces mass production of its several products to capture a larger base of global market, and creates highly priced quality products to a select market. To the select market, price is not relative to owning a Nike product. These strategies led the company to become a leader in the industry, a brand and a name that resonate loyalty to consumers. Celebrity endorsements provide people a special connection with their idols and takes pride in wearing same shoes or gear. Thus, the importance of the concept of market and product orientation has played an important role in its development. Product orientation is a more appropriate strategy for commodities that are used for daily consumption. Generally, products for mass consumption are all the same; e.g. soap, toothpastes, milk products, soft drinks. Manufacturers are concerned with quantity of production. What differentiates them are the advertising strategy employed to make them stand out from the rest. Shoes, for instance, are all the same, and what makes them stand out is the kind of marketing strategy company uses. In this case of Nike, it is concluded that market orientation is more appropriate strategy as it considers the needs and wants of people. It is also one way to establish business sustainability and profitability. References Boundless.com. 2015. Product Orientation. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/introduction-to-marketing-1/evolution-of-the-marketing-orientation-19/product-orientation-116-4859/ Cross. V. (2015) Examples Developing Market Orientation. Demand Media, Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-developing-market-orientation-13126.html McCormick, J. 2013. Nike’s success with Global web operations. Lionbridge. Retrieved from http://blog.lionbridge.com/marketing/2013/04/08/nikes-success-with-global-web-operations/ Nike, Inc. Corporate Responsibility report. http://www.nikebiz.com/crreport/content/environment/4-1-0-overview.php?cat=overview Time , F. (2015). Differences between Marketing Orientation and Product Orientation. Small Business at Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-marketing-orientation-production-orientation-31092.html Read More