A marketing oriented firm (also called market orientation, the marketing concept, consumer focus, or customer focus) is one that allows the wants and needs of customers and potential customers to drive all the firm's strategic decisions. The firm's corporate culture is systematically committed to creating customer value. The rationale is that the more a company understands and meets the real needs of its consumers, the more likely it is to have happy customers who come back for more, and tell their friends. This process can entail the fostering of long term relationships with customers. In order to determine customer wants, the company usually needs to conduct some form of marketing research. Overall, the marketer expects that becoming marketing oriented, if done correctly, will provide the company with a sustainable competitive advantage.

The concept of marketing orientation was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Harvard University and at a handful of forward thinking companies. It replaced the previous sales orientation that was prevalent between the mid 1950s and the early 1970s, and the production orientation that predominated prior to the mid 1950s. Since the concept was first introduced in the late 1960s, it has been modified, repackaged, and renamed as "customer focus", "the marketing philosophy", "market driven", "customer intimacy", "consumer focus", "customer driven", and "the marketing concept".