Production+Oriented+Era

The production-oriented era of marketing management dominated the first half of the 20th century. During this time, companies were focused upon production efficiency, with little regard to differences in customer needs or preferences. The prevailing thought was that good products would "sell themselves," provided that they were accessible and affordably priced.

The Production Oriented Era of marketing management is exemplied by Henry Ford's famous comment, "Customers can have any color they want so long as it's black."



Although the production-orientation approach is no longer dominant, there are still successful production-oriented companies today. Can you think of good examples? What types of products do these companies sell? How would you characterize their business environment?