MARKETING ORIENTATION

the wants and needs of customers and potential customers to drive all the firm's strategic decisions. The


firm's corporate culture is systematically committed to creating customer value. In order to determine

customer wants, the company usually needs to conduct marketing research. The marketer expects that this

process, if done correctly, will provide the company with a sustainable competitive advantage.

The concept of marketing orientation was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Harvard University

and at a handful of forward thinking companies. It replaced the previous sales orientation that was

prevalent between the mid 1950s and the early 1970s, and the production orientation that predominated

prior to the mid 1950s. Since the concept was first introduced in the late 1960s, it as been modified,

repackaged, and renamed as "customer focus", "the marketing philosophy", "market driven", "customer

intimacy", and "the marketing concept".