Theodore Levitt Marketing Myopia

Marketing Myopia

The term Marketing Myopia was first stated in a famous article of the same name written by Theodore Levitt for the Harvard Business Review in 1960. In 'Marketing Myopia,' Levitt argued that many companies incorrectly take a shortsighted approach to marketing, viewing it as merely a tool for selling products. Instead, he argued that companies should look at marketing from the consumer's point of view. For example, a company that sells only men shoes should not define its marketing in terms of sales of only men shoes, but market itself as a business apprehensive with outdoor investigation and venture.

Marketing myopia talk about focusing products rather than customer. Because of its lack of preparation, marketing myopia is an inefficient marketing approach. So it’s a narrow-minded approach to a marketing situation where only short range goals are consider or where the marketing focus on only one aspect out of many possible marketing attributes. The combination of the two dimensions produces a matrix with four types of firms:

1. Classic Myopia: Product-definition or single-industry perspective.
2. Competitive Myopia: Customer-definition or single-industry perspective.
3. Efficiency Myopia: Product-definition or multi-industry perspective.
4. Innovative Myopia: Customer-definition or multi-industry perspective.