This paper evaluates the extent Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Delta State Nigeria adopt and practice marketing orientation and the extent innovative marketing has affected their performances. It hypothesizes that the adoption of high level of marketing orientation practice and creation of value added offerings among SMEs; and the development of marketing competencies among SMEs would improve their performances. Using a sample of 213 SMEs drawn from a population of 496 registered SMEs as contained in the 2013 Delta State Business Directory, the study used a survey to collect data from randomly selected respondents from the area under study. Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Chi-square Test of Association were used to analyze the collected data. Results show that there was a weak positive correlation between marketing orientation and value creation; and an association between marketing strategic competencies and performance of SMEs in Delta State. The poor results indicate low adoption and practice of marketing orientation and very shallow knowledge of innovative marketing among SMEs in the State. It was therefore recommended that an investment on the project of training the SME operators on the purpose and processes of marketing orientation will be of immense benefit to the SMEs as it will help them to improve on their performances as well as contribute to national development.
Keywords: Innovative Marketing, Value added, leverage performance, strategic competencies
