MARKETING MYOPIA

MARKETING MYOPIAHarvard Business Review (July August 1960)By Theodore Levitt Presentation By,Satish BhadraManisha BoseAbhijeet ChauhanGaurav Chaohan

Presentation bySohan Paturkar 41Abhijeet Pawar 42Shreyas Purohit 43Neeraj Rajpal 44What is Myopia ?Myopia in simple terms refers to being short-sighted.

It can also be termed as lack of foresight ora narrow view of something.Now what is Marketing Myopia ?This concept was first discussed by Theodore Levitt, who was then a lecturer in Business administration at Harvard Business School, as a HBR article in 1960.

In this famous HBR piece written by Theodore in 1960, he asked the famous question What business are you really in ?. Definition : Marketing MyopiaShort sighted and inward looking approach to marketing that focuses on the needs of the firm instead of defining the firm and its products in terms of customer needs and wants.

In simple words it suggests that the businesses would do better in the end if they concentrate on meeting customers needs rather than on selling products.Causes of Marketing MyopiaNarrow minded approach to marketing situation where only short ranged goals are considered.Company is product oriented rather than being customer oriented.Shadow of obsolescence. Marketing Myopia also occurs when the company becomes self centered and begins believing that :

We are our own competitors.Customers will buy whatever we will sell to them.Customers love our products and services regardless of what happens.

Impacts of Marketing MyopiaShort sightedness affects the mission and the vision of the company over a long run.

Growth is affected and it may also lead to bankruptcy or company getting dissolved.

Modern day relevanceToday we live within a society that is :Fast-paced.Continuously evolving.Customers seek instant gratification.Competition is stiff.Companies either have to evolve as per emerging trends and customer needs to survive OR die.Avoiding Marketing Myopia : Diversification Do not bite off more than you can chew OR Jack of all trades , but master of none The above two phrases may be a good piece of advice in other aspects of life but business.Todays biggest empires and leaders of all industries have proven that diversification is a must do if you want to survive in todays competitive world.

All the leading industries and companies today are competing in various trades , yet they are mastering at least one of all the markets.Examples: Success

PEPSI Pepsi-cola is a good example where Marketing Myopia is absent.

For a long time Pepsi cola continued to be the long lasting runner-up to Coca-Cola until it decided to diversify.The company began to penetrate into different markets like chips and soft drinks.Currently, Pepsi Cola is second in the market in carbonated drinks, but they have become the leaders in soft drinks and chips making almost double the amount of net income for the year 2010.

2) NIKENIKE was originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) and it initially operated as a shoe maker distributor.

However Nike inc. chose to redefine their company beyond what it was their original or initial product.

Today Nike Inc. has successfully diversified their products becoming one of the leaders in the sports gear and apparel industry.

Other Examples :3) Samsung4) Apple5) LGExamples: Failure

1) Kodak

Kodak film company is a great example in which marketing myopia was present.

Kodak did not view Sony , basically an electronics company , as a potential competitor.

2) Hindustan Motors Ambassador

Ambassador is now in a rut which is its own creation.The company took the customers for granted and refused to change when the entire market changed.The brand did nothing when faced with competition from Tata's and Maruti.Instead of changing its core DNA, the brand relied upon cosmetic changes. When the brand needed a drastic revolutionary change, HM decided to get stuck with the old product.

3) Sony What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak .

CONCLUSION:

Pay Attention to your CustomersNever Stop EvolvingPractice Self-CannibalismListen to the Experts