Marketing Myopia

In the article “Marketing Myopia,” Theodore Levitt, stresses about industry short- sightedness by marketers. The main focus is on meeting customer needs instead of selling products to achieve market growth. Organizations that focus on consumers’ needs will see better outcomes. Consumer-Oriented management is concerned primarily with a company’s brands.

Such emphasis on market share growth can prompt the inability to alter and see the progressions occurring in markets leading to business failure or decline. Marketing myopia affects any business because marketing is crucial for all organizations. As indicated by Levitt(p.30), a culture that’s myopic in any organization leads it to inevitable fall because of the false impression that the organization is growing.

Levitt discusses how failure is at the top where organizational failures are the responsibility of top executives who are responsible for designing strategies. Levitt supports his thought by using the Railroad and Hollywood industry as examples. Levitt explains that railroad failure didn’t arise due to a decline in passenger and freight transportation, however, due to railroad failure in supplying the needs of customers. The Railroads the management had no fault, but the long-term vision of the industry was faulty. The railroads were perceived regarding railways rather than examining it as an entire transportation solution. The marketing myopia concept ascertains that growth is achieved when products fulfill the needs of the consumer, not only attaining perfection on their limited standards. Hollywood industry is another example where movies were produced with a mindset of a movie-oriented sector rather than offering entire entertainment solution. Due to failure by Hollywood to realize that it was part of the entertainment industry, the T.V industry exploited tis opportunity by entertaining consumers as per their needs. The lesson learned was that the problem needs to be solved from scratch instead of solving one problem.

Levitt continues with his marketing myopia explanation by ruling out the population myth. Levitt (p.60) asserts that the population myth believes that demand will increase due to increase in population. Occasionally another product’s demand might be high due to unknown reasons. The petroleum industry made a prudent decision by diversifying into other products. Continuous growth success arises when a company is customer-oriented, and marketing techniques should be replaced with creative ones. Management should first think of customer satisfaction when making a product. Levitt gives an example of the Dry Cleaning industry that was newly invented and service-oriented, however, challenges of obsolescence ideas because customers wanted other alternatives that would meet their needs.

Levitt also discusses the theme of step-child treatment by asserting that companies are concentrating on current product production and forgetting marketing. Their main focus is attaining information increasing product production and sales, hence forgetting that the emphasis should be satisfying the customer needs. Levitt gives an example of a petroleum industry where all industrial activities were search-oriented, but marketing activities were not done.

Levitt discusses how top management focus and obsession with research and development profit outcomes is dangerous. Concentrating only on R& D and ignoring other factors cause dangers. Companies are investing in R& D to create superior products, which aren’t customer-oriented and can fulfill customer needs. Such companies envision that customers will buy the products and that ideas are not necessary.

Levitt discusses how the Dry Cleaning Industry was developing with high pace however when chemicals and the ultrasonic arrival came, they declined. Ceaseless progression in innovation improves the item or administration bringing about favored decision of client and consequently increments in its market. One business should have a long-term vision where it wants to be in ten to twenty years to come by considering all the SWOT certainties. They will think and bring development to hold its client. Levitt affirms that for a growing business sector that it shields the maker from intuition hard or creatively. If the reasoning is a scholarly issue, at that point, the nonappearance of problem prompts the nonattendance of logic. From this, we can infer a suspicion that administration quits rationale of methods for growing the market when the market is extending. The folly of Industry is one of the causes to sink the market. Given the case of the oil industry, the most established one having a lovely record, there are some genuine inquiries concerning its development rate. It might be a period come when oil enterprises face the same outcomes of railways. To put it plainly, the industry endeavors have concentrated on enhancing the effectiveness of getting and making its item on real ones. Besides with the acceptance of Lamp oil and fuel, Oil industry should bring some engaging advancement.

Businesses are currently concentrating on large-scale manufacturing to diminish the expense in product production that this mass production won’t influence the necessities and needs of the client. Not spending on showcasing will in the long run outcome in ignorance of client inclines and evolving taste.

Levitt trusted that the industry growth does not exist, while “there are just organizations sorted out and worked to make and profit by growth opportunities” (Levitt, 1960, p. 140). Levit

asserts that companies can avoid marketing myopia by taking four steps. The first is adapting the market requirements. Second is employing vigorous leaders in the company whose vision and drive sets the company’s pace. Third, the organization must be customer-oriented and focused on satisfying the customer needs. Finally, the company must perceive itself as a purchasing consumer. Modern marketing concentrates on the buyer needs versus the seller. Levitt’s Marketing Myopia work relates to this concept. Companies can no longer enjoy market growth but rather focus on the needs of the customer and taking the required steps to ensure their products are not obsolete. Levitt also discusses the self-deceiving cycle where there is a conviction that an increase in customers will expand the business has an adverse effect as the company will not bother in its business expansion. Levitt gives an example of the petroleum industry that though it had no competitor as oil had no substitute however many refineries have huge oil stock that they cannot be a threat. The self-deceiving cycle has four conditions which include growth as a result of population increase, believing that a major product has no substitute, single product development is a concern, and mass production and decreased unit cost for output expansion. Levitt states that “A market that’s expanding prevents the producer from being creative. If a rational problem response is based on thinking, then the lack of an issue prompts a lack of thinking. If your product market expansion is automatic, then expanding it would be given much consideration.” (Levitt, 1960, p.141) If a market is extending, the administration would not need to consider new innovative ways. If there are no issues, it requires no reasoning. The oil business was before a development industry; however is not anymore a development industry. Preferably, they are a declining industry, since they were smug in their item. Instead of concentrating on enhancing the product or product marketing, the industry focused on the proficiency of making oil, which did not profit them by any means.

Innovative work can be an issue for a company’s growth if service is centered on that viewpoint revenue driven potential outcomes. Giving careful consideration to considering creative work will restrict the organization’s growth opportunities while giving careful consideration to innovative work is additionally awful because the organization is focused on the item rather than the populace who devour it. This makes creative work hazardous because it is product-oriented, not consumer-oriented. An excessive amount of innovative work prompts overproduction of products that is superfluous. Levitt contends “the process of satisfying customers is an industry, not the process of producing goods. Therefore all businesspeople for comprehends how vital this is. An industry starts with the need identification of the customers, not sales skills, patent, or raw materials.” (Levitt, 1960, p.148) The client is dependably the concentration in business. The requirements and needs of the client ought to be fulfilled. All together for the items to offer, clients need to get it or else the business will come up short.

The article’s strength was the full illustrations of businesses that are client-oriented and the growth organizations to determine how they were added to society. The shortcoming of this article was that it did not give individual cases. A precedent from huge companies would be from Apple and Google. Apple iPhones are more items situated than client arranged in light of the manner in which the telephones are made. They don’t take into consideration significant client changes. Then again, Google’s Android telephone gives the client a chance to redo it in any capacity. Be that as it may, iPhones are as yet pertinent on account of the straightforwardness from their telephones that the clients need. It is simple for anybody to utilize. Microsoft puts many of their assets to innovative work, yet they are all around offset in matching it with items for the shoppers. It is hazardous because they are endeavoring to build up their items additionally.

Work Cited

Levitt, Levitt. Marketing Myopia. Harvard Business Review. 1960