The majority of product launches fail, despite a lot of time, and resources going into their creation, production and marketing. One cited cause of this high failure rate is that companies continue to have ‘Marketing Myopia’. This concept, first identified in 1960, relates to a focus on selling products and services, rather than really understanding what consumers really want.
In an article recently written by Amy Gallo for the Harvard Business Review, Amy reported on her interview with John Deighton, a professor of consumer behaviour at Harvard Business School. The interview was to better understand Marketing Myopia and its relevance to organisations today.
Theodore Levitt, who first coined the phrase, argued that companies were often too focused on producing goods or services and didn’t spend enough time understanding what consumers wanted or needed. He encouraged companies to stop focusing on what they could make and instead focus on what consumers wanted. You may have heard Levitt’s much quoted “people don’t want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole!” motto.
Often because of time or resource limitations, companies don’t have the right insight on what they are really doing for their own customers. A famous example is the railroad lines, which Levitt argued fell into steep decline because they thought they were in the train business rather than the transportation business and didn’t see cars and airplanes as competition.
The cure for marketing myopia is for businesses ask themselves: What business are we really in? What are we really doing for our customers? Successful companies focus on customer needs, not their own products and services, which can, and in all likelihood will, be replaced by competitive alternatives, either ones they make themselves or those produced by existing or potential competitors.
The Marketing Myopia concept has only slightly evolved over its 60 years. In 2010, Smith, Drumwright and Gentile, published “The New Marketing Myopia.” In their article they argue that it’s not just about listening to consumers now but about hearing from all of the stakeholders who contribute to your company’s success, such as employees, suppliers, shareholders, competitors, media, and community members.
Marketing myopia remains an important reminder to pay close attention to your consumers’ needs rather than solely focusing on products.
What is your product really doing for your consumer?
For more information contact karen.tyner@bordbia.ie
