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Marketing myopia is a term used inmarketingas well as the title of an important marketing paper written

byTheodore Levitt.[1][2]

This paper was first published in 1960 in theHarvard Business Review, a journal

of which he was an editor. Marketing Myopia refers to "focusing on products rather than customers."

The Myopic culture, Levitt postulated, would pave the way for a business to fail, due to the short-sighted

mindset and illusion that a firm is in a so-called 'growth industry'. This belief leads to complacency and aloss of sight of what customers want.

Some commentators have suggested that its publication marked the beginning of the modern marketing

movement. Its theme is that the vision of most organizations is too constricted by a narrow understanding

of what business they are in. It exhorted CEOs to re-examine their corporate vision; and redefine their

markets in terms of wider perspectives. It was successful in its impact because it was, as with all of

Levitt's work, essentially practical and pragmatic. Organizations found that they had been missing

opportunities which were plain to see once they adopted the wider view. The paper was influential. The oil

companies (which represented one of his main examples in the paper) redefined their business

asenergyrather than justpetroleum. By contrast, when theRoyal Dutch Shellembarked upon an

investment program innuclear power, it failed to demonstrate a more circumspect regard for their

industry.

One reason that short sightedness is so common is that people feel that they cannot accurately predict

the future. While this is a legitimate concern, it is also possible to use a whole range of business

prediction techniques currently available to estimate future circumstances as best as possible.

There is a greater scope of opportunities as the industry changes. It trains managers to look beyond their

current business activities andthink "outside the box". George Steiner (1979) is one of many in a long line

of admirers who cite Levitt's famous example on transportation. If a buggy whip manufacturer in 1910

defined its business as the "transportation starter business," they might have been able to make the

creative leap necessary to move into the automobile business when technological change demanded it.[3]

The marketing myopia theory was originally proposed by Theodore Levitt. The theory

states that marketers should look towards the market and modify the company and

products accordingly rather than looking towards your own company, its potential and

then catering the market. The needs of the market should receive first priority.

Theodore levitt asks a very interesting question as an example for marketing myopia.

His question is, if Hollywood were into television rather than movies, wouldnt it have

profited more? This is true because as we know the major crowd of hollywood is

concentrating into making movies and actually money is more into television.Thus, if hollywood would have catered to the television market, they would have earned

more. And Theodore levitts marketing myopia theory has turned right as hollywood has

entered television with renowned movie maker twentieth century fox as well as sony

televisions and other channels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Levitthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Levitthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_outside_the_boxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_outside_the_boxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_outside_the_boxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking_outside_the_boxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_powerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Reviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_myopia#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Levitthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing

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According to the marketing myopia theory, to cater a market a company not only

needs to be technically sound and product oriented but it also needs to be customer

oriented. It needs to know what are the needs of the customer and what further

innovations can the company bring to maintain customer interest or how it can adapt to

the changing business market.

Implications of the Marketing Myopia theory- Marketing myopia can be used by

marketers as well as advertisers to determine whether or not they are catering the right

market. Should they adapt their products to cater a larger market. What kind of

advertising strategies should they use. How can they bring about synchronization

between the production capabilities of companies and the demand in the market.

In Summary, Marketing myopia asks the companies to do the following

Be more customer focused

Innovate Be in control

Understand customer desires

Conduct marketing research programs

Marketingstrategyshould be developed keeping feedback of customers in mind.

A link for the complete marketing myopia article by Theodore Levitt

http://www.marketing91.com/strategy/http://www.marketing91.com/strategy/http://www.marketing91.com/strategy/http://www.marketing91.com/strategy/