Historically, B2B companies have been product-driven: the offering has been limited to core products and product-related services pushed through the value-adding chain to the ultimate demand driver. They focused their efforts on creating value for their immediate customers and depended on those immediate customers to capably create value for downstream customers and, ultimately, the end user/consumer. Often, the objectives of each level in the value-adding chain are at odds with each other, creating a vertical competitive environment even greater than their in-kind competitive interactions.

For a B2B company to better serve their existing customers and more successfully address the dynamics of appropriate levels in the value chain, they must develop a market orientation and marketing competency in their organization. Market orientation expands the business potential to participate beyond their existing product sell efforts by focusing on the value systems of the value-adding chain and redefining their offering to meet those critical values of the demand drivers.