What the Hell is Market-Oriented?

            A market oriented company is much more than just getting close with the customers. In fact, it’s a process that touches on all aspects of the company.  The old “getting close to the customer” goal is no longer meaningful because there are so many unique customers with different wants and needs. Therefore, getting close to one customer would be not help for another customer with different needs. As stated in the text, a company can be market oriented only if it completely understands its markets and the people who decide whether to buy its products or services.

                Effective marketing begins with the understanding of what the company has to offer as well as their strengths and weaknesses.  Therefore, it is important for a company to understand itself just as much as it needs to understand its customers. Some ways to better understand a company is to gain knowledge of who’s buying your products, who isn’t, and why?

                Essentially, being market oriented means to see things through the customers’ eyes. This doesn’t necessarily mean to make an incredible product but rather solve the problems that the customer is facing. The company should create a product that will become a solution to the customer’s problem.  They can show you how product will be helpful in a specific situation.

When creating a high priced item, the customer is going to need a lot of information on the product and most likely several follow ups before they are completely sure of their purchasing decision.  If a company can study its customers’ needs and purchase behaviors, then a good marketing strategy can be implemented to meet the customers’ needs.

A successful market oriented company will have a good understanding of its customers’ needs and how they will go about meeting those needs. They key is to ultimately know the customers and know what they want.