Marketing Myopia.

Normal.dotm A4 US English
Theodore Levitt's article "Marketing Myopia" is a classic piece of marketing literature that continues to be relevant today. Levitt argues that companies often focus too narrowly on their products and fail to see the bigger picture of what business they are in. He contends that the problem is not that companies are unable to grow, but that they do not understand what business they are really in.
One of the strengths of Levitt's argument is that he provides examples to support his thesis. He illustrates how the railroad industry was in the transportation business but failed to recognize that they were competing with other forms of transportation such as automobiles and airplanes. By failing to recognize this, the industry saw a decline in profitability and relevance. The lesson from this example is that companies must focus on the broader industry they are in, rather than just their specific product or service.
Levitt's argument is also supported by his discussion of the shift from mass marketing to segmented marketing. He suggests that companies that fail to recognize the need for segmentation are also...