Analysis of Article about Marketing Myopia Authored by Theodore Levitt - Essay Example

? Marketing Myopia 5th, November, Marketing Myopia, written by Theodore Levitt, was published in the Harvard Business Review. It won the McKinsey award in 1960. This is a business article that asks the question, “What business are you really in?” It talks about the strategy of doing business and marketing. Levitt argues that for a business to do better, focus should not be on selling products to customers. Rather focus should be on the customer needs and meeting those needs. According to the writer, most businesses that do not grow, or whose growth keeps declining have a management problem. This management is of the top executives of a company since they are the policy makers and implementers. For a long time, companies have been focusing on the kind of products they think suits the customers. This has led to failures of this company or stagnating growth, to say the least. Theodore Levitt is remarkably insightful in arguments about the failure of management. It is argued that the failure is with the top executives whose work is to make policies. An example is given of the transportation industry, where railroad has been replaced by other means of transport that meet the needs of the customers. The railroad failed to meet the needs of the customer. This is because they had a wrong definition for their business, which is product oriented. They instead should have defined it as customer oriented. The second example is Hollywood, whose focus was in production of movies and not providing entertainment. They have since been overtaken by TV, which meets the needs of the customer by providing entertainment. Levitt’s other examples are of companies whose orientation is customer based. They are nylon and glass-based companies respectively. They have both customer and product advantages that emanate from their excellent technical competence. They apply this technical competence to make sure the products produced are of quality. The focus is on the customers’ needs but not on the product. They apply excellent technical competence to fulfill those needs. In his examples, Theodore Levitt compares different companies that are in different sectors of an economy. The writer is critical in arguing that there is an error of analysis in judging companies according to their products. Success of a company is not on the product, which is a narrow way of classification. Companies die because of a lack of imaginativeness in the management and a lack of will to fulfill the needs of the customer. A railroad industry lacks the imaginativeness to fulfill the needs of the customer, which in this case is transportation. This point is made clearly and shows that companies that have narrowed down their product line are doomed to fail for having a wrong business definition. This gives a serious point for management to think, evaluate their business strategy, applicability, survival, and plan appropriately. The writer argues intuitively that the success of a company is sometimes attributed to lack of competition. These companies have since gone under a shadow. Why is that? The dry cleaning companies have been replaced with other customer-friendly companies that discovered how to reduce the amount of dry cleaning required for clothes. The use of chemical additives and synthetic fibers is about to make dry cleaning obsolete. Another company that the writer examined is in the electric utilities. They have no competition, yet, they are not growing. This is because other companies are replacing electricity lines with a small cell electricity transmitter. Grocery stores, on the other hand, have been replaced with large chains of supermarkets. It is argued that the growth industry is non-existent. Arguably, there exist companies that create and capitalize on growth opportunities. The self-deceiving cycle thrives on the ever-expanding population, lack of competition, mass production, and product focus. A company can focus on mass production of goods to meet an expanding population. It cannot be convinced that it can be rendered obsolete in the near future. Inventors who understand that it is not about the population will soon render the petroleum industry useless. The petroleum industries consider themselves as indispensable and lack competition. The writer analyses the petroleum industry from its birth to its unfortunate demise that is about to happen, unless they consider redefining their business. Mass production is triggered by a reduction in the unit prices of production. Once many products have been produced, the focus shifts to selling instead of marketing. This focuses on the needs of the seller and not the buyer. This is a common trend in the automobile industry. The examples used in this article are straightforward and concise. They bring out the reasoning of the writer to the business world. The examples used are critical since they bring out a paradigm shift in the way of doing business. From this article, young businesses are able to learn from the mistakes that these companied in the article made. A complete evaluation of policies, strategies and an imaginative top executive are crucial for the survival of companies in the future. Innovation, imaginativeness, the customers’ needs are to be the driving force in the business world. Companies should know that they are not expendable in their area of production. Instead, rare commodities that are driven by monopolies should be packaged to the customers’ needs in order for the business to be appreciated by the customer. The writers’ opinion about the gasoline industry is honest and to the point. Consumers do not like gas stations because they are a tax-collecting stop. They, however, do enjoy riding their cars. Having a substitute to the tax collector would immediately render gas stations obsolete. The writer’s way of looking at companies from the consumer point of view is a revelation for business entrepreneurs. However, varieties of examples from other sectors are lacking. Emphasis was on the petroleum industry than any other industry. The article does not have technology based examples and an analysis of internet/online based businesses. This article is recommended as a must read for individuals with business stakes. This is because of its provocative tone that creates a paradigm shift in the mind of the reader. Marketing is about the consumer. This position by the writer has an impact in products based companies. From this article, executives will change their policies and appreciate competitive advantage as a survival tactic in business. Because of the article, changes are expected in production. Quality and customer fulfilling products will be available. Competition will no longer be about the product but customers’ needs fulfillment. Reference Levitt, T. (2004). Marketing Myopia. Harvard Business Review, pp 1-14. Read More