Discuss what is meant by the term “customer orientation”. Illustrate with examples how companies demonstrate their customer orientation by reference to at least two elements of the marketing mix.
BA(Hons) Business and Management
Dr. Clair May Seminar group: I
Marvin Taria (14474868)
Word count: 1700
This essay will start to explore and define the meaning of customer orientation in depth. The marketing concept and the marketing mix will help discover after what it means to be a customer focused firm. This will occur through the scrutiny of the term in respect to product, price, place and promotion.
To define customer orientation in respect to the philosophy underlying The Marketing Concept (May, 2014) is to explain their theories. A Customer orientated business (May, 2014) places the customers’ needs and satisfaction at the centre of all their decisions. Its prioritised goal is to collect and research customer information to design their strategy and process to fit their customers’ needs and wants to profit. (Cross, 2014) Akin to The Marketing Concept (Jobber and Chadwick, 2013) which is described as corporate success coming from satisfying customer needs, customer centrality. This is achieved through integrated efforts of the all staff, accepting responsibility for directly or indirectly creating customer satisfaction. (Cross, 2014) Both notions view the customer as their priority for success and to achieve their corporate goals and profit. This is why customer orientation can also be called market orientation. A Case showing this business strategy would be Subway whose mission statement states that their success depends on “consistently offering value to consumers through providing great tasting food that is good for them and made the way they want it.” (Jurevicius, 2013) This shows that the customer’s value perception of subways food is their main priority. Their main focus is to satisfy their customers’ needs and wants. So their
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