Marketing is concerned with what goods and services to produce, how to distribute them, the promotional efforts (including advertising) that go into supporting those products and services, and the pricing strategy that is used. Traditional companies do not generally move beyond this marketing mix. However, companies are increasingly discovering that shifting to a customer-targeted marketing orientation can increase profitability as goods and services are specifically targeted to various types of customers for different purposes. This research considers the critical factors of traditional marketing, and considers the key factors for success in changing to a customer targeted marketing approach.
Product management is a critical part of the marketing process, and companies that engage in product management are introducing new products and evaluating the progress of their existing products on a regular basis. Product management is also a key factor in customer-oriented marketing (Schnaars, 1998). New products are key to a company's business because they offer the path to long-term growth and viability; however, new products often fail despite high levels of market research and product planning. A new product that is successful must be carefully monitored and given appropriate product support in order to help it progress through the product lifecycle, and to gain as much market share as quickly as possible.
In determining what type of product to produce, the company must consider its target market. The type of customer they want to reach may well determine the product they manufacture; similarly, if a company already has technical expertise in a specific product area, they may seek additional target markets to which to sell the product ("Point," 2001). For example, an automobile manufacturer may offer many types of vehicles in order to satisfy the needs of various target markets. In this way, General Motors manufactures compa...