Marketing Myopia is the name given to companies that are short-sighted and look no further than their own product. The business model of Uber and Lyft are an excellent example of this. In this article, well look at what marketing myopia is and the impact it can have on your business. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. (Levitt 1975) In essence it implies that organizations should not define their business based on their products and should attempt to identify the business based on customer centric A couple of months can make a world of difference in consumer behavior. But by 2009, the company had filed for bankruptcy. In 2004, Nokia's sales grew by 25 percent to 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion). Nokia's foolhardy reliance on device-based software led to a chaotic and conflicting 57 Symbian versions. Below are some examples which put forward the phenomenon of Marketing Myopia and how can companies look beyond it. Take heed of customer complaints and suggestions. Kodak is another example of a company that fell victim to marketing myopia. Ensure that you are all on the same page regarding objectives. Let's look at the factors that knocked Nokia out. The company was so focused on its existing business model that it failed to adapt to the changing marketplace. What causes it when people should know better? These vital technological breakthroughs were sourced from Asia and the United States. Electronics A mobile device company that believes customers need a smart phone when what they really need is access to computing, communications and networks from anywhere. Entertainment They want a quarter-inch hole!. Luckily, there is a cure for marketing myopia. Optimize for the most engaged users, not the largest group, Ask open-ended questions that lead your survey takers, Dont put too much explanatory text or youll risk leading your customers. Marketing Myopia is the short-sighted approach of management of focusing on a particular product and not identifying the correct industry the organization is in. Marketing Myopia is the title of a marketing paper written by Theodore Levitt that was published in the Harvard Business Review in 1960. People who apply technology to ad targeting dont necessarily think they are in a particular industry. Companies need to give a more consumer-centric goal to their business and think beyond just selling their products. 1. Eventually, the Supreme Court stepped in and disbanded the company in 1911. Marketing myopia remains an important reminder of the risks your company runs if you dont pay close attention to your consumers needs. Deighton says that the concept of industries has also been challenged over the last decade or so. Innovation is expensive because you invest a lot of money for products and services that may not catch on. An age-old product that has been developed for decades can easily be replaced by a more innovative one in a few years. At a certain point, an industry will stop developing and begin to stagnate. Instead, you should connect with your customers to the point that you can easily predict how they would behave. Theres a simple two-step process you can employ: Let me know what you think about marketing myopia in the comments and dont forget to share. Remember that what works for your business today might not do so tomorrow. Six years after EarthLight's dim 1994 launch, Philips rebooted its energy-saving lightbulb with a different name and design in 2000. Your essay must include an introduction. Learn the potential future issues for your target segment and incorporate those solutions into your product or service's design. Eisai, a Japanese pharmaceutical business, leveraged its relationship with local medical schools and hospitals to develop and register potentially revolutionary novel molecules. This article was written by Teddy Cipolla. Netflix simply made Blockbuster's services obsolete. Deighton says that the best way for leaders to answer that question is by asking themselves another: What are we really doing for the customer? Myopia means 'near-sighted'. And while customers might be the engine that drives this selling machine, you should always attend to your stakeholders' needs too. Its a difficult road to tread but no one said your business would be easy. For example, programmatic ad buying is one ever-changing ecosystem. Customer development makes sure youre always abreast of the wants and needs of your customers. Understand the job your customer needs to get done but also think of novel ways to achieve the end goal. People change. Some examples are: More focus on selling rather than building relationships with the customers. Successful companies focus on customer needs, not their own products and services, which canand willbe replaced by competitive alternatives, either ones they make themselves or those produced by existing or potential competitors. Philips marketed the "Marathon" lightbulb with a five-year lifespan. As quoted in Oxford dictionary, marketing myopia is - "A failure to define an organization's purpose in terms of its function from the consumers' point of view. Employing an anchoring business strategy allows for major overhauls with ensuing stability. One of the most common causes is the business landscape. In 1975, a Kodak engineer called Steve Sasson created the first digital camera. Organizations invest so much time, energy, and money in what. So, how did a business that dominated 50% of the United States' home rental market crumble in such a dramatic fashion? But while many companies will try to put a green spin on their products, this kind of sustainability doesn't always impress consumers. Example of Marketing Myopia What four things are unique about sports marketing? Its first product was a tee-shirt that wicked away sweat. Those who failed to realize this shift was necessary and relied solely on prior success likely experienced great financial loss. His Harvard Business Review piece on marketing myopia advised a business model that focused more on the consumers' needs than the company's. -confusion between promotions and marketing. Suddenly, the technology that Kodak's leadership had spurned was starting to make waves with consumers. With this in mind, review your data, take the time to gain insights, and then come up with ways to improve your performance. This innovative lightbulb promised to ease our collective load on the grid and the environment, but its weird shape and perplexing packaging left it in the dark. The term "marketing myopia" was first coined by Theodor Levitt in a 1960 Harvard Business Review marketing paper. One of the main reasons so many product launches fail is insufficient prerequisite marketing. You could efficiently address your customers' related needs, as well as the ones that your products or services do. Do you remember fidget spinners? Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. - Preferably the four examples should be a split of college and professional sports Marketing myopia focus on producing and selling goods and services rather than on identifying and satisfying the needs and wants of consumers and their markets. Now, its part of a niche movement and most people cant be bothered. Thanks for sharing such informative stuff. The past doesnt dictate the future. Try another search, and we'll give it our best shot. You can get more detail in the follow up call. Marketing Myopia Examples. Weve covered many examples of rigid companies that failed or refused pivot. What went wrong? Its a theory that states companies focus on their needs and short term growth strategies. Marketing myopia is a shortsighted approach to business that excludes customer needs. According to Levitt, businesses should address the practical aspects of their product in a societal context, rather than merely trying to sell things as best as possible. Often their failures stem from a narrow obsession with sales instead of taking the broader consumer context into account. Levitt believed that executives couldnt predict the futureand shouldnt try. They were all the rage a few years ago. Companies like Nokia, Kodak, and Blockbusters believed that their products would always be desirable. In sports marketing, messaging is the foundation of an organization's public communication. Athletic wear is playing an increasing role in consumer wardrobes. Its an intermediate step between interacting with their brand and becoming a customer. Get smarter at building your thing. The millennial generation has shown a preference for casual sports attire that could increase the demand for sportswear. What causes marketing myopia in the first place, Look at and understand their jobs to be done, Marketing Myopia Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The following section will detail how you can avoid marketing myopia. Oakland Athletics is the team that was featured in the film Moneyball. We each have a job we want to get done when we buy a product or service. One of the best ways to remain progressive and innovative as a company is to work with what IBM calls "Renegades and realists" to help "Drive bold change.". There are countless small businesses thatve failed under similar circumstances. After all, companies like BlockBuster saw immense success until they didnt. Other businesses in your industry might have a far more appealing product or service. Its stock price has fallen to around $21 a share from its all-time high of $51 in 2015. Theyll reach out, complain on social media, and a few will leave. You might have seen QR codes at your local restaurants and scanned them to see their menus. Rather, companies can capitalize on "growth opportunities.". Free and premium plans, Customer service software. Marketing Myopia Examples 1. With this allegiance at hand, STMicroelectronics was able to reap everything that it needed to know about making HDD systems. Indeed, many countries are beginning to ease their lockdown restrictions, and life seems to be slowly returning to normal. Under Armour has shown signs of accepting this myth by ignoring the sports apparel industrys focus on the consumer that wears athletic wear for everyday activities. Its not that the companies werent innovating they were. While we aren't sure who hurt Levitt, he didn't seem to have the highest opinion of consumers. Under Armour has shown signs of accepting this myth by ignoring the sports apparel industry's . Marketing Myopia in the Transportation Business There are two major methods of overcoming marketing myopia: Geat post! Out of many marketing myopia examples that Levitt used in his ''Marketing Myopia'' article for the HBR, the oil industry example had a major impact on the modern . Things go in and out of style. Remember that selling is a well-oiled machine made of many nuts and bolts. Instead, they clung to their brick-and-mortar stores and DVD rentals, which eventually became obsolete. Published: -the belief that winning absolves all other sin. Under Armour made its name as a tech-focused sports apparel company. Suddenly, competitors like future industry giants like Huawei, Samsung, and Motorola eagerly adopted Android. That is not to say that Nokia did not have its own operating system, called Symbian. "Marketing Myopia" is a seminal piece published in 1960 by the Harvard Business Review. There are several examples in the article that illustrate the main concept, that your product is not your business. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you know what your consumers need, as Blockbusters or Nokia did years ago. But while Nokia was on top of the world, companies like Apple, Android, and Samsung were unleashing their touchscreen wonders. The transportation industry was soon flooded with air travel and other more convenient forms of public transportation. . On the other hand, Blockbuster was sinking with its numerous legal disputes and business issues. The perfect example of this is Blockbuster. At the beginning of 2018, it peaked at nearly $20,000 a pop. If a company focuses solely on product sales, it can cause myopia or short-term growth. All rights reserved. While your product or service might be thriving in today's market, that doesn't mean that consumers will always need it. Take, for example, a watch repair business. The glut in supply resulted in the shoes ending up on the sales rack. What many businesses neglect in their upgrades are the basic needs of customers. So many bright businesspeople have come up with otherwise great products that didn't have a selling point. If those leaders had seen themselves as helping customers get from one place to another, they mightve expanded the business into other forms of transportation like cars, trucks, or airplanes. It became a global industry leader. A better understanding of marketing myopia will reveal your potential marketing blind spots. There seems to be a myopic attachment to the word publish that is a production-oriented take on the industry. A once-successful company may have been part of a former 'growth industry,' but it eventually became redundant or even failed due to the business owner's marketing myopia. Entertaining and motivating original stories to help move your visions forward. Google isnt enough, either. How one man managed to set an indisputable maxim in 1960 that still stands true today is phenomenal. Only a production-oriented publisher would defend the form of delivery over the value of the experience it delivers., There are, of course, contemporary companies that are taking Levitts advice to heart. If you own a small business, you should still consider whether you are too set in your ways, and whether your customers are still satisfied with your product or service. Clearly, Sasson did not bury his digital camera in his backyard, and the technology soon caught on. Some marketers went too far with Levitt's influence, with a narrow fixation on the consumer. When was the last time you bought a physical magazine, book, or newspaper? Even if theres no competition, continually innovate so when you do encounter competitors, youll be lightyears ahead of them. Abstract. While Levitt's posit might have been put forward many decades ago, it still stands true today. Unfortunately, they let other companies seize those opportunities and steal away their passengers instead. First, customers become dissatisfied with an aspect of the product or service delivery. Marketing itself is the field in which research is conducted into how the market can best be conquered and where customers also remain customers through repeat purchases and related products. Industries are always falling in and out of favor. Marketing myopia might have a rather broad definition, but you will find that its application has precise results in your marketing practices. Most importantly, it has to know when it's time to jump ship and board another. Overconfidence: Imagine a successful publishing company that sells many physical copies of books and is confident they will continue to sell hard copy books since they have a loyal customer base. Copyright 2018-2020, KyLeads. -The belief that winning is absolute. Perhaps the most famous is the railroad lines, which Levitt argues fell into steep decline because they thought they were in the train business rather than the transportation business. Mobile phones were rapidly becoming a fashion accessory in countries like Japan, beyond their functional uses. If you click an affiliate link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (you pay nothing extra). Examples: Success 1) PEPSI Pepsi-cola is a good example where Marketing Myopia is absent. Kodak's cameras were kicked out from the market. It occurred to me after reading the article that Under Armour is suffering from a case of Marketing Myopia. The need for something new and original is a very real one. With Google's operating system at hand, Nokia's rivals began seizing large chunks of the market from Nokia. What causes marketing myopia? Free and premium plans. As a result of this apparent series of wins, managers can become lazily satisfied. But its often difficult for brands to expect the same of their customers. Knowing it exists isnt enough though. Let's now look at some modern examples of marketing myopia to put Levitt's cautionary tale into perspective. Your email address will not be published. Some small business owners might wonder where they fit in with the current market. Seeing what the other team is up to is a common tactic in marketing, but monitoring it through the lens of marketing myopia will upgrade your detective work. Products and services are constantly improved according to technical and market standards. People stop by Starbucks in the morning to drink coffee but the job theyre getting done is filling their stomach. You can get by doing what youve always done. While it seems that life is becoming somewhat safer and freer today, the way business is conducted in general has shifted radically. But Netflix did, and it was doing incredibly well. In the 20s women were required to wear skirts that were a certain length. The concept has stayed in tact over the last 50-plus years. Creswell, J. and Draper, K. (2020) How Under Armour Lost Its Way, The New York Times, 29 January, p.B1. While these causes of marketing myopia can be seen in the recent past, businesses should still heed Levitt's advice in the 2020s. The article stated that three former Under Armour executives said that decisions around products were often driven by instinct, rather than consumer analysis of the market. The reason why marketing myopia affects businesses is that they lose touch with their customers. A company only truly begins flourishing when it knows and has a relationship with its ideal customer. These Parisian chains, along with a new Gien-based production line, propelled Shiseido out of its rut. With this kind of connection, a small business can be in-tune with its customers developing needs, even when a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic hits. Curry 1 shoes had sold out and faced with the possibility of being able to sell the shoes out again; executives decided to overproduce the product. At the same time, the smartphone revolution was underway. Recently, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Under Armour, Kevin Plank told attendees at a conference, The world did not need another competent apparel footwear manufacturer. Customers might just wish for their classic paper menus back in the meantime. Rather, Levitt wished to set a timeless standard, or rather a provocation. As long as we have the ability to make decisions and change our minds, no product will last forever. Its a theory that states companies focus on their needs and short term growth strategies. It produced an expensive juicing machine with expensive refill packs. Experimentation is one of the few ways to appeal to consumers refreshingly. Except that it didn't join the Google gang as you might have expected. Long before phones had large, high-resolution touchscreens and countless apps, Finnish tech company Nokia paved the way for mobile phone innovation. -ignorance of competition inside and outside sport. Sadly, others continued to pump their chunky television sets and faded into obscurity. HBR Learnings online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Marketing Essentials. More than relevant, however, Levitt's rules are today's marketers' doctrine. For more information, read our affiliate disclosure. That year, Nokia finally parted ways with its stuffy operating system.
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