Module two (chapters 3 4 & 5) is all about conducting research to help the company figure out what their markets (read as: customers and customer segments) need. Another way of putting it is the company needs to figure out what problems their customers have so they can then design a product/service to solve that problem. When companies operate this way we say they are 'market oriented'. This means their focus is on their customers and solve customer problems. However, Apple, one of the biggest consumer brands in the world does very little if any market research. They focus their attention on refining their products based on what they, the people at Apple (not their customers) think will make their products better, believing that whatever they come up with, their customers will like it enough to purchase it. This strategy seems to be working well for them.

In this week's post please explain which strategy you would use if you were trying to build your company and improve sales. Would you opt for a market orientation or would you be more product focused like apple. Please explain your answer. Please support your answer with some real world examples.