Discuss what Is meant by the term “customer orientation” for an organization in the context of the marketing mix. Please discuss two elements of the marketing mix and Illustrate your answer with examples of products or brands of your choice. This essay Is for discussing customer orientation and analysis how customer orientation works. During this essay, I will show you what Is customer orientation and compare It with other different orientations. In addition, I will talk about marketing mix in customer-oriented organization.
Finally, I will show you two brands as example or discussing and comparing about their marketing mix. “Customer orientation” means an organization, which is running by producing or providing affordable goods or services then making customers satisfying and raise the customer value. “Competitor orientation” Is an opposite mode to compare with “customer orientation”, as competitor oriented organization, they paid more attention on what did their competitors do and how to do a better work than their competitors.
There’s another orientation called “marketing orientation”, it is a kind of mode between customer orientation and competitor orientation, not only concern about hat their customer need, also care about how to make them more competitive than their competitor, they do keep a balance In both customer orientation and competitor orientation. As companies and organizations, they need to choose proper marketing tools what are depend on their orientation. So, “marketing miff is often crucial when determining a product or brand’s offer.
Normally, “marketing mix,” means McCarthy ups theory, which is included Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. Afterward, the ups have been expanded to the ups and even more. There is another theory, which is called ACS; Robert F. Letterbox put this theory forward. This theory Is Involved ups and ups theory, the ACS put its emphasis on customers as a customer oriented version. Following is some comparing between ups and ACS: (Roy Mclean, 2012) ;Consumer wants and needs (vs.. Products) You can’t develop products and then try to sell them to a mass market.
You have to study consumer wants and needs and then attract consumers one by one with something each one wants. Author of the movie Field of Dreams, J. P. Canonical may have exclusive rights to the phrase “build it and they will come”. In most cases, you have to find out what people want and then “build” it for them, their way. ;Cost to satisfy (vs.. Price) You have to realize that price – measured in dollars – is one part of the cost to satisfy. If you sell hamburgers, for example, you have to consider the cost of driving to your restaurant, the cost of conscience of eating meat, etc.
One of the most difficult places to be in the business world is the retailer selling at the lowest price. If you rely strictly on price to compete you are vulnerable to competition – in the long term. ;Convenience to buy (vs.. Place) You must think of convenience to buy instead of place. You have to know how each subset of the market prefers to buy – on the Internet, from a catalogue, on the phone, sing credit cards, etc. Lands End clothing, Amazon Books and Dell Computers are just a few businesses that do very well over the Internet. ;Communication (vs..
Promotion) You have to consider the communication instead of promotion. Promotion is manipulative (ouch! ) – it’s from the seller. Communication requires a give and take between the buyer and seller (that’s nicer). Be creative and you can make any advertising “interactive”. Use phone numbers, your web site address, etc. To help here. And listen to your customers when they are “with” you. Actually, in my point of view, customer orientation has more advantages and it is DOD approaches, which can make their products, get into the marketing in a short time.
By knowing what do customers need, the companies are able to adjust their marketing strategy as soon as possible for making customers satisfied. Moreover, customer orientation can motivate more creative during the produce. Because the customer oriented organization have undertaken more responsibility of customers, they are able to build a much more positive brand image in customers than other orientation, at the same time, customers can get more choices as well in the customer oriented marketing.
As for being a customer oriented organization, racketing research is the most important part, as we know, research is the best way to know customers’ need for reaching customers’ expectation. In addition, classify product into different categories for making customers more convenience during there expend is necessary, as well as satisfying customers who are in different classes and having consumption habit. What I need to emphasize here is, segmentation is assignable tool to be a customer-oriented organization.
Not only it can put their product into an exact marketing positioning, also can make needs of customers into a more specific categories classified. For example, companies can put their customers into different groups by consider about geographical factors, age factors, personality factors, lifestyle factors, behavior factors, nationality factors, religion factors, occupation factors and more. It is really influence an organization in a positive aspect, like finding out and developing more new business chances, and put their resources into marketing by a proper way.
It does increase effective uses of their resources. The customer oriented organizations also need to improve customer value, for example, like providing services more than customers bought, keeping intact with customers even customers do not spend money at their organization at these moments, trying keep customers’ costs lower and lower on their product than a same of other, having actions after customers give advises and complaints… As a successful customer oriented organization, they must earn trust and customer loyalty from their customer as the first step.
Then build a strong positive image and finally keep a long-term friendly relationship with their customers. Next, I will show you two different brands and analyze them by marketing mix, from product and promotion these two aspects and simply compare them. Ezra is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Artesia, Galatia, and founded in 1975 by Manioc Ortega and Rosalie Mere. It is the flagship chain store of the Inedited group and the world’s largest apparel retailer as well. As we know, the biggest characteristic of Ezra is the “fast fashion” mode.
This amazing group can complete a mount of product from design, produce to ready for selling within only 1 5 days. Moreover, Ezra can push over 120000 kinds of style in a year, but only a few mounts for each will be sold in one flagship store. It means, you may not able to find the cloth you had seen it few says ago, and when you were shopping in Ezra, you can see the totally different clothes with last week. Actually, Ezra is a typical customer oriented organization, they shows the newest fashion to customers even the fashion is Just imitative fakes.
They can let their customers catch fashion as soon as possible but do not need to afford the expansive costs as buying luxury brand. For these reasons, Ezra does not need sales promotion to motivate customers consume, they have already built a strong customer loyalty and own a positive public relations, customers always can get meeting within their budget at Ezra. Also, Ezra let all their customers know, most of their clothes are made in Europe for showing their lineage.
As for another brand, Gucci is an Italian fashion and leather goods brand, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company Kerning formerly known as PR. Gucci was founded by Gucci Gucci in Florence in 1921. As everyone knows, Gucci is a luxury brand and lead the top fashion nowadays, their products are only provide to high consumption of social classes by a quiet expansive price. But even the price is not affordable, they till attract a mount of customers by their Luxurious, simplifies and top fashion design.
Not only it is a symbol of luxury, it also reflects a high level taste of fashion. There is no doubt that Gucci always keep their products in a superior quality for being a luxury brand. Moreover, Gucci is really good at making use of celebrity effect for raise their brand value, and Gucci always let their customers feeling that, Gucci means the upper class. I have to say, it is really a smart promotion method, which combine public relations and advertising -? make a equal between their brand mage and luxurious by let celebrities to be their advertise.
So even I do not think Gucci is a pure customer orientation, they do make a great success in their field. Positioning. Gucci is in a brand group who truly lead the top fashion, and produce high-end and exquisite product. Different with Gucci, Ezra is Just produce “fake fashion” by imitate, but can make a huge profit by the marketing mode. I cannot decide which one is better, but they are both successful that we cannot deny. In the paragraphs above, I have talked definitions about customer orientation, impetigo orientation and marketing orientation.
Then, I discussed about marketing mix and compared ups theory and ACS theory. Afterward, I talked about advantages and necessary elements for being a customer oriented organization. At the final part of my essay, there are two successful brand were showed by me and I compare the different mode of them in the last paragraph. Reference Roy Mclean (2012) The 4 Co’s versus the 4 Up’s of Marketing. [blob entry] 19 October. Customization’s. Available from http://www. Customization’s. Com/news/2012/10/19/4- CSS-versus-the-4-as-of-marketing/ [Assessed 12 October 2013]
