MARKETING MYOPIA WITH EXAMPLES

Marketing Brief

Marketing myopia asserts that businesses are likely to do better eventually if they focus on meeting customer's needs instead of concentrating on selling products and services. In other words, marketing myopia is a fault of paying extra attention to an entity's products rather than the experiences and value proposition produced by these offerings. The phrase marketing myopia was first articulated in a renowned article dubbed "Marketing Myopia" written by Theodore Levitt in 1960 for the Harvard Business Review. In the paper, Levitt opined that many entities incorrectly assume a shortsighted approach to marketing, considering it purely as an instrument for selling merchandise. Conversely, he argued that enterprises should look at promotion from the consumers' perspective. In essence, he suggests that organizations should not define their business based on their products and should try to identify business based on customer-centric evidence (Levitt, 1960).

Organizations invest a lot of time and funds in what they presently do and are often sightless to the future. Organizations get pacified into thinking they are a growth entity that, per Levitt's assessments, does not exist. These companies are preoccupied with progression chances. In his article, Levitt gives a vivid example of famous railroad lines, which Levitt suggests fell on a steep decline since they thought they were in train trade instead of transportation. Suppose the leadership of the railroad lines had considered themselves as helping clients move from one point to another. In that case, they might have strategized to expand the business into other forms of transportation, such as trucks, cars, and airplanes (Levitt, 1960). They did not realize the opportunities in the transportation business, so they allowed other companies to grasp those opportunities and steal away their customers.

According to Krause (2020), the cure for marketing myopia is for the leaders to concentrate more on consumer's needs and strive to meet those needs, even if it means rearranging their business model. For instance, when COVID-19 engulfed the United States of America, North Texas businesses, such as software development companies, started to manufacture masks to curb the shortage of COVID-19 protective gear while at the same time assuming social responsibility for cushioning their customers against the virus. This is an ingenious way of adopting based on the changes in the marketplace. O'Brien's software development company commenced producing 3D-printed respirators for local healthcare facilities and nurses to help meet the shortage. The Leather Sofa Company in North Texas also retooled its production lines and started producing protective masks in its Lewisville plant. Addison-based Mary Kay also retooled its business lines and fused the cause by committing its factories to producing hand sanitizers. These companies illustrate marketing myopia in the sense that a firm that has conventionally made sofa sets will generally market itself as a manufacturer of sofa sets. By idea, it restricts itself and its market. Following the same line and being reluctant to change with the prevailing market circumstances, the company can be said to be creating a marketing myopia. By adapting to pandemic changes and starting to manufacture safety kits for the COVID-19 pandemic, the company can be seen as attempting to suppress marketing myopia.

This sort of limited thought is disastrous and dodgy. If the company offerings unexpectedly become outdated, this firm will have no options to survive in the ever-competitive business landscape and eventually collapse. The end of the usefulness would make the entity product dead, and there will be no demand for the product, thus rendering the product out of the market. To prevent this condition, the company could devise alternative plans if it had previously thought of it and carefully examined factors like market trends and updated them. It can easily overcome this problem (Czinkota et al., 2021).

As per the classic theory, customers shape the market by letting the producers know the products they want with the medium of economic behavior. It is the responsibility of the entities to take advantage of this behavior by properly conducting research and feedback on the latest trends in spending and buying patterns of the customers. A classic example of marketing myopia is the development of the Edsel brand of a passenger car by the Ford Motor Company of the United States of America. The Ford Edsel was introduced in the 1950s as a car that would revolutionize the automotive industry in the world. The car was clubbed and modeled to be stylish to support the wishes of the automobile for millions of Americans and their families. Even though Edsel was promoted in various media channels, it crashed the consumer market. The brand name Edsel crashed due to its failure to recognize consumers' needs (Czinkota et al., 2021).

Furthermore, Levitt argues that businesses can suppress marketing myopia by profiling the customers to understand their persona. Knowing the ideal customer is the beginning of a successful marketing strategy and dealing with unpredictable circumstances. The better the business understands its target audience, the better it will be prepared to turn inward in turmoil situations. Validating assumptions about the customers is another strategy to reduce marketing myopia. This implies that businesses should base marketing decisions on surveys instead of what customers say or do (Patel, Feng, & Guedes, 2021). Executives should take an open-minded approach and look for opportunities in the market ecosystem to develop innovative products and services that drive clients to satisfaction. Watching competitors' activity is vital in understanding what type of products will attract more customers to the business than the competitors. Notably, it is vital to have a comprehensive picture of flexible business strategy. Enormously successful entities have failed because of the refusal to pivot, believing they have hugely successful offerings. This implies that companies should refrain from assuming that what works now will continue to do so in the future. Staying alert to the changes in the market ensures that companies have a business vision that anchors them when they need to pivot or re-pivot in the future (Tereza & Silva, 2021).

Conclusion

? As noted in this paper, marketing myopia is a critical reminder of the risks that companies encounter if they fail to pay close attention to customers' needs. Levitt holds the belief that company executives cannot predict the future and that they should not try. As such, they should concentrate on satisfying customer needs rather than selling products. Companies should always keep in mind the business they are in; with this, they could be better placed and prepared for whatever the future brings forth.

References

Czinkota, M. R., Kotabe, M., Vrontis, D., & Shams, S. M. R. (2021). Marketing Research and Information.?Springer Texts in Business and Economics, 177–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66916-4_5?

?Krause, K. (2020, April 21).?North Texas businesses reopen factories to produce public health supplies. Dallas News; The Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/health-care/2020/03/27/north-texas-businesses-reopen-factories-offices-to-produce-public-health-supplies/?

Patel, P. C., Feng, C., & Guedes, M. J. (2021). Marketing capability and new venture survival: The role of marketing myopia.?Industrial Marketing Management,?93, 307–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2021.01.020?

Tereza, A., & Silva. (2021). Business strategies under the new marketing myopia perspective.?Revista Pensamento Contemporaneo Em Administra??o,?15(1), 107–121. https://periodicos.uff.br/pca/article/view/48604?

Theodore Levitt (1960). Marketing ?Myopia. Harvard Business Review. https://nadiamarketing.com.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/mrketingmiopia41336.pdf?