Marketing

Myopia
Team Hard Core

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Sequence
 What is marketing myopia.
 Causes for marketing myopia.
 Shadow of obsolescence
 Population myth
 Production pressure
 Dangers of R & D
 Examples for marketing myopia.
 Strategies for overcome marketing myopia.

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Marketing myopia
THEODORE LEVITT
(1925-2006)
 American Economist

 Won Several Awards

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What is marketing myopia?

 Adopting a short-sighted approach to

marketing.

 Constricted Vision.

 Defines Industry Horizons.

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What is marketing
myopia?
 Marketing myopia is described as a firms
shortsightedness or narrowness when it is
attempting to define its business.
 Firm define it self as a product producer.

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Causes for Marketing
Myopia
 Shadow of obsolescence

 Population Myth

 Production Pressures

 Dangers of R & D

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Causes for Marketing
Myopia
 Shadow of obsolescence
Almost all major industry one time qualify for the
appellation of growth industry.
So, they were focusing on more sales (sales
oriented).
But, with available of substitutes those industries
were in trouble.
One by one these celebrated industries has come
under a shadow of obsolescence.
Eg: Dry cleaning, Electric utilities, Grocery stores
etc,,

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Causes for Marketing
 Population Myth
Myopia
Belief that profits are assured by an
expanding & more affluent population.
Believed that benefits through expanding
population.
Having a generic products, no competitive
substitutes.
Focused on We increase the efficiency of making
our products, rather than boosting the value
those products deliver to customers.
Occurred marketing myopia.
Eg: Petroleum Industry
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Causes for Marketing
Production Pressures
Myopia


Mass production companies impelled to produce all they

can.
All efforts focused on production.
Mass production move the products.
Emphasized on selling not marketing.
Focused on the needs of the seller not satisfying the
needs of customers.
Eg: Ford

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Lessons to Learn from
Henry Ford
 First of all we know him through a wrong
concept,

Production Genius

 Is he ?

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 In-fact he is a Marketing Genius
 Mass production was a result, not the cause, of his low
prices
 He invented the assembly line because he had
concluded that at $ 500 he could sell millions of cars
 His policy was to reduce the price, extend the operations
and improve the article (First priority to reduce the price
– customer oriented thinking )
 The new price will forces the costs down ( Usual way is
to calculate the cost first and then determined the price )
 Low price makes everybody dig for profits

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 Lag in Detroit
This is a good example where mass producing
automobile state got surprised when they monitor the
market share to other small car manufacturers.

They spent millions on consumer research and yet

failed to reveal the above.

What went wrong ?

 Detroit never realy researched customer wants
 They only researched their preferences between the
kind of things it had already decided to offer them
 They were maninly product oriend, not customer
oriented

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Causes for Marketing
Myopia
 Dangers of R & D

Profit possibilities through technical research

& developments.
Believe that a superior product will sell itself.
Firms continues to be oriented toward the
product rather than consumers.
It develops the philosophy that continued
growth is a matter of continues product
innovations & developments.
Eg: Electronic products

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Examples for Marketing
Myopia?
The Rail Roads
 Fastest, cheapest & reliable mode of transport in those
days.
 Now in trouble, not because that need filled by others (cars,
trucks, buses & airplanes)
 Not filled by railroads themselves.
 Believed that growth is assured by an expanding & more
affluent population.
 Narrowly defined as railroad business rather than
transportation business.
 Product oriented rather than customer oriented.

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Examples for Marketing
Myopia?
 Petroleum Industry

Pioneered the oil recourse exploration.

Possessed advance technology & know-how.
Enjoyed confidence of sophisticated investors
Limited itself to the technology of oil
exploration, oil production & oil refining.
Didn’t think of alternatives (natural gas)

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Examples for Marketing
Myopia?
 Petroleum Industry conti….

Focused on a generic product, but failed to realize

its supportive products.
Improved the techniques of production & not the
product.

“Complacency & wrong headedness can

stubbornly convert opportunity in to near
disaster”

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Strategies for minimize
marketing
 myopia
Take a generic view of the industry (define the firm &
industry broadly)
 Monitor other industries & be aware their marketing
strategies.
 Recruit marketing people & have brainstorming sessions
between those new & existing managers to yield new
strategies.
 Be flexible enough to apply unique solutions to the
problems.

“Business will do better if they concentrate on satisfying

customers needs rather than on selling products”

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Conclusion

 To ensure continued growth for

your company, Concentrate on
meeting customer’s needs rather
than selling products.

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 Thank You

03/10/10 Team Hard Core 20