Put marketing on the target market
Most traditional business is always done with a product-oriented. The work done by focusing on how to improve the competitiveness of the products on the market. This pattern of a company or business will only survive if able to produce a product with a particular specialization and low cost in terms of production.
As a result the price of the product to be low so as to compete in the market. But when the competition is very tight and a lot of quality products that your business is time to change from product-oriented to market oriented.
Market-oriented business is to emphasize the sales function for the continuation of a business. Press the point of business activity is to attempt to sell something that can be made in various ways. Business advantage to be gained from product sales volume of business.
To switch from product oriented to market oriented, there are some important things to note.
1. Always think from the target market.
So, instead of starting with existing products and new thinking for whom this product. Is the target market should be studied in advance to reduce the risk of error. Market analysis, including target market analysis, does not always require a high cost.
For small-scale enterprises, there are several ways you can do, such as observing and talking directly with customers and potential customers to work with. Cheap way: go directly to them and do a quantitative depth interview to gather feedback on various issues including the opinions, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of consumers. These data are very rich in providing meaningful input to the preparation of the necessary marketing strategies.
2. Do the improvement of the product concept.
If necessary to improvement needs to be done to meet the desired specifications of the consumer based on the survey results mentioned above. Thus, the marketing department needs to communicate closely with the R & D, production, finance, and related sections. This communication process will gradually change the thinking patterns of all the departments that the consumer is a major stakeholder. Patterns of thinking are very dependent of the corporate culture created by top management.
3. Changing top management attitude and culture of the company’s products to market orientation.
There may be reluctance at the beginning because they felt it was successful only by product oriented as it is now. By inviting outsiders to speak and conduct a campaign in the company, the management is expected to have openness to change.
4. Perform ongoing benchmarking.
If it is not market oriented, at least was able to identify the strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors. Then do a repair weaknesses to achieve excellence. Be careful to apply it, not to get stuck into competitor oriented and not market oriented because that competitor-oriented decision-making impacts could result in a price war. Thus, the focus on price rather than the product or the customer anymore. Market oriented contains two things, namely the orientation of the competition rather than competitors and orientation to the customer (customer oriented)