Orientations:
A marketing
orientation has been defined as a "philosophy of business
management." [18] or
"a corporate state of mind" [19] or
as an "organizational culture" [20]Although
scholars continue to debate the precise nature of specific orientations that
inform marketing practice, the most commonly cited orientations are as
follows: [21]
Product[edit]
A firm
employing a product orientation is mainly concerned with the quality of its own
product. A product orientation is based on the assumption that, all things
being equal, consumers will purchase products of a superior quality. The
approach is most effective when the firm has deep insights into customers and
their needs and desires derived from research or intuition and understands consumers'
quality expectations and reservation prices. For example, Sony Walkman or Apple
iPod were innovative product designs that addressed consumers' unmet needs.
Although the product orientation has largely been supplanted by the marketing
orientation, firms practising a product orientation
can still be found in haute couture and in arts marketing. [22]
Sales[edit]
A firm using
a sales orientation focuses primarily on the selling/promotion of the firm's
existing products, rather than determining new or unmet consumer needs or
desires. Consequently, this entails simply selling existing products, using
promotion and direct sales techniques to attain the highest sales possible.[23] The
sales orientation "is typically practised with
unsought goods." [24] One
study found that industrial companies are more likely to hold a sales
orientation than consumer goods companies. [25] The
approach may also suit scenarios in which a firm holds dead stock, or otherwise
sells a product that is in high demand, with little likelihood of changes in
consumer tastes diminishing demand.
Production[edit]
Further
information: History of marketing § Production orientation
A firm
focusing on a production orientation specializes in producing as much as
possible of a given product or service in order to achieve economies of scale or economies of scope. A production orientation may
be deployed when a high demand for a product or service exists, coupled with certainty
that consumer tastes and preferences remain relatively constant (similar to the
sales orientation). The so-called production era is thought to have dominated
marketing practice from the 1860s to the 1930s, but other theorists argue that
evidence of the production orientation can still be found in some companies or
industries. Specifically Kotler and Armstrong note that the production
philosophy is "one of the oldest philosophies that guides sellers... [and] is still useful in some situations." [26]