Beginning in the 1970s, Harvard Professor Theodore Levitt and other academics argued that the sales orientation model was ill-equipped to deliver products tailored to customer wants and needs. Instead of manufacturing products for the sole purpose of generating profit, they argued for businesses to shift their strategy toward developing products based on customers' desires, insights, and opinions. Using this customer intelligence, companies could produce products that supported their overall business strategy, competed effectively in an increasingly global and competitive market, and delivered solutions for current and future customer needs.
Source: Boundless. “Marketing Orientation.” Boundless Marketing. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 19 Jan. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/36/introduction-to-marketing-1/evolution-of-the-marketing-orientation-19/marketing-orientation-118-6857/
Source: Boundless. “Marketing Orientation.” Boundless Marketing. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 19 Jan. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/36/introduction-to-marketing-1/evolution-of-the-marketing-orientation-19/marketing-orientation-118-6857/