Part 1: Marketing Orientation

Build a business that's ready for growth.

Before your business can begin to think about growth, it's important to understand its flaws and weaknesses. The process of marketing orientation involves understanding every touchpoint that a business has with its stakeholders, and optimising them. Has your product really accounted for customer needs? How are your social media team handling complaints? Is the order process simple?

A marketing oriented company is one that is receptive to the ever changing world that is the market. We cannot predict the future, but we can build companies that are flexible to change and responsive to developments - companies that are ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

Good innovation is good marketing

I value entrepreneurial thinking above anything else when it comes to business. Innovation has been called the 'lifeblood of business' but I would argue it's more akin to its soul. It drives everything, from the broader vision to the day-to-day running of the company.

It doesn't matter whether you want to be the next Apple, or you're happy running a lifestyle business. Change is a necessity.

To not consider a process of constant innovation is to make wrong assumptions about your market and industry. It is to assume that your customers will stay the same over months, years, even decades. It is to assume that you're competitors won't up their game. It is to assume that the world is static.

The world is not static, and to assume that your business will be okay regardless is to welcome the decline.

Understanding innovation

Typically, when we think of 'innovation' and 'entrepreneurship' we think of new products and offerings for our customers. It's considered difficult and risky, and it's not a surprise that many companies are turned off the idea out of fear of failure. There is just as much risk of failure, if not more so, in standing still.

In truth, innovation can happen across the organisation. An in-depth analysis at your organisation's activities can reveal holes which need to be patched up, or opportunities that can help take the business to the next level. Understanding the way the market is moving and building your company to capitalise on those opportunities is actually an incredibly cost-effective exercise. The risks are minor in comparison with the payoffs, and with the correct approach and analysis the odds are ever more weighted in your favour.

Mechanisms for change

You may  be thinking 'I can't afford R&D' or even some basic market research. However, the truly entrepreneurial company doesn't need to. It builds in sensory mechanisms that give it the edge in listening, understanding, and adapting. These will differ for every organisation, but understanding the process of learning from the business environment will help you adapt to it.

Innovation comes easily from there. It becomes a case of prioritising based on your marketing strategy.

For guidance through the innovation process, get in contact with me.