Although first coined in a Harvard Business Review article by Theodore Levitt, the concept of marketing myopia is still as relevant today as it was when it was written in 1960. In fact Levitt’s article is still required reading in many marketing courses because the basic theory has become the foundation of modern marketing.
The definition of the word myopia means nearsightedness or lack of imagination, foresight or intellectual insight. This gives us a clue as to what Levitt meant when he observed that companies spend too much time and energy in producing goods and services but not enough time understanding or keeping up with what their customers want or need.
One example he uses highlights how one industry could have succeeded if only it had paid attention to the changing needs of the marketplace. “If a buggy whip manufacturer in 1910 had defined its business as a ‘transportation starter business’ they might have been able to make the creative leap and move into the automobile business when this new technological change demanded it.”
Levitt also postulated that there are no so called growth industries. He wrote, “There are only companies organized and operated to create and capitalize on growth opportunities. Industries that assume themselves to be riding some automatic growth escalator invariably descend into stagnation.
The history of every dead and dying “growth” industry shows a self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay. 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. “
One example of a company hit with marketing myopia is Kodak. At one time this giant employed over 145,000 workers and was the fifth most valuable brand in the world. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012, and by the end of 2016 headcount was 6,100 and the company had sold off most of its 1,100 patents to make ends meet.
Levitt’s bottom line revolved around the fact that building an effective customer-oriented company involves far more than good intentions or promotional tricks; it involves profound matters of human organization, leadership and a vision of what’s in store for the future.
Joe Smith is a communications consultant and an accomplished fine artist. He can be reached via email at joesmith@shaw.ca