Marketing orientation

Types of market orientation

Marketing orientation is the way in which firms view customers.

• Market led where outward looking firms only make what they can sell

• Product led where inward looking firms try to sell what they make

• Asset led where firms combine a market and product orientation and make products they can sell that match their own strengths and customer requirements

How does orientation affect a firm?

• Imagine a board room where the directors of production and marketing are having a heated discussion about product development.

• What is the likely main focus of marketing and production?

Product v market orientation

• Can you identify the brand

• If so, list products you know sold by the brand.

• If not, list words that are suggested by the logo

Innocent products

Identify USPs

Identify some USP unique selling points of the innocent smoothie

Juicy Water

In 2005 Innocent Drinks launched ‘Juicy Water’, clearly branded as a part of

Innocent Drinks.Why were sales disappointing?

Juicy Water

Sales were disappointing, as people saw the product as, literally, a watered-down

version of an Innocent Smoothie

Product Orientation

• It can be argued that Juicy Water flopped because Innocent appears to be simply re-packaging the same products and re-marketing them under a different name

• ‘We have the right products, it’s just that you consumers don’t get it’.

Market or Product Orientation?

• In 2008 the brand was relaunched as ‘This Water’,

• Packaging makes no reference to the Innocent brand. Why?

Market or product orientation?

Market or Product Orientation?

• Why is This Water not even mentioned on the Innocent website?

• The company is determined that This Water must stand on its own, to avoid confusing the Innocent Smoothie proposition.

Market or product orientation?

This Water product range

Market Orientation

• Innocent is responding to customer feedback on the awkward position of ‘Juicy Water’ when seen alongside Innocent.

• Who wants to buy a watered–down drink? Juicy would always be in the shadows of ‘the real thing’ – an Innocent smoothie.

• So it was market-orientated to find a new, separate existence for the relaunched This Water.

Innocent: asset led?

• The analysis in this presentation is a personal view

• It can be argued that Innocent have always been customer led.

• This Water clearly meets a customer requirement now – the inital marketing was ‘wrong

• Discuss

What next for Innocent

• How can Innocent grow

• Strategy

– Secure extra funding

– Secure improved distribution

• Task: using the internet research Innocent and find out about its strategy for growth

• Prepare to feed back to the rest of the class on the business and ethical issues raised