Marketing Myopia

Theodore Levitt used the phrase "marketing myopia" to describe a phenomenon in marketing. As the
name implies, this idea focuses on a company's or marketer's shortsightedness when it comes to an
industry, a product, or a service. This article also discusses marketing and strategy. If they want to grow in
the market, the main idea is to meet customer needs rather than sell things.
The primary question it asks a company is “What business are you really in?”
Taking the example of railways, there was a flaw in the industry's long-term vision. They only considered
railroads in terms of railways rather than the overall transportation solution. This is the key reason for it’s
trouble today. They were product oriented rather than customer oriented.

Shadow of Obsolescence:
Threats to products inside industries and a failure to prepare for upgrades damage a company's presence.
- Dry Cleaning: They had the potential to grow however, synthetic fibers reduced their need and
ultrasonics might kill it completely
- Electric Utilities: other power sources like solar and fuel pose a threat to it
- Grocery Stores: After supermarkets gained popularity only those chains could survive that went
into the supermarket business too. They were initially too stubborn to see how supermarkets
might be more successful than the corner stores

A Self-Deceiving Cycle
Companies may not do a proper self assessment and rely on some automatic growth escalator that tends to
descend into stagnation.
There are four conditions that usually guarantee this cycle:
1. The belief that growth is assured by an expanding and more affluent population
2. The belief that there is no competitive substitute for the industry’s major product
3. Too much faith in mass production and in the advantages of rapidly declining unit costs as output
rises
4. Preoccupation with a product that lends itself to carefully controlled scientific experimentation,
improvement, and manufacturing cost reduction.

Population Myth
It is the belief that profits are assured by an expanding and more affluent population.
The main focus of their concerns becomes selling which stems from the needs of the seller instead of the
needs of the consumer. In the example of the oil industry, we see that oil was saved from being obsolete
by innovations that came from outside the industry, even though such innovations should have come from
inside the industry.

Production Pressures
Mass production industries are impelled by a great drive to produce all they can.
In this, marketing is neglected. Through the example of Detroit and Ford we see how Detroit failed to
reveal customer’s wants and was product-oriented. Meanwhile, Ford knew that at a low cost he could sell
more and therefore, developed the assembly line.
However, companies shouldn't fall for product provincialism, wherein profit possibilities of low unit
production costs leads to assumption regarding expansion of demand and leads to creative destruction.

Dangers of R&D
when top management is wholly transfixed by the profit possibilities of technical research and
development. When management is top-heavy with engineers and scientist there is bias in favor of
research and development and marketing is treated as residual activity.
Moreover there is a biased towards controllable variables and Consumers are believed to be
unpredictable, varied, fickle, stupid, shortsighted, stubborn, and generally bothersome.
- Step Child Treatment
There is no interest in basic human needs, questions about the customer and market are not asked
and they are more excited by the product than the customers.
- The Beginning and End
Customer-Satisfying process viewpoint is vital. industries oriented toward technical research and
development themselves violate rules of Scientific Method that states - Define the problem and
develop hypotheses to solve the problem and Customer satisfaction not being considered as the
problem here. Selling might not be ignored, however, selling and marketing are different
- Visceral Feel of Greatness
Leaders need to have a vision that can produce eager followers. Followers are the customers.
Management must not produce products but provide customer-creating value satisfactions. Firms
must think of “buying customers”. Leaders must know where they are going. If a leader goes
down any road, they might as well stay at home.