In this guide, we have delved deep into what causes marketing myopia, how to avoid it, and which companies not to imitate.
A business strategy known as marketing myopia ignores the needs of the customer. A better understanding of marketing myopia will reveal your potential marketing blind spots.
The term “marketing myopia” was first coined by Theodor Levitt in a 1960 marketing essay from the Harvard Business Review.
The gist of Levitt’s rhetoric described a severe issue that many businesses were experiencing, namely unsustainable commercial practices.
What is Marketing Myopia?
A company that has a narrow-minded marketing strategy and concentrates primarily on one aspect out of several potential marketing attributes is said to have marketing myopia.
A classic example of marketing myopia is a company that focuses on creating high-quality products for customers who only care about price and ignore quality.
Top Causes of Marketing Myopia
A Disconnect Between the Business and Its Customers
The most common cause is a lack of understanding of what customers really want. This can occur when companies concentrate too much on their own goods and services and not enough on what customers actually want.
Lack of funding for marketing research can also contribute to marketing myopia. This can occur when companies assume they already know everything there is to know about their clients and the industry.
An Unwillingness to Adapt
Another common cause is a failure to keep up with changes in the marketplace.
This can happen when businesses become too comfortable with their current products and services and fail to adapt to new trends or technologies.
A Focus on the Past, Instead of Future
Because they are overly preoccupied with the past, many businesses develop myopia.
Even when it is obvious that customer needs have changed, they might be hesitant to alter their products or services.
How to Avoid Marketing Myopia
1. Prioritize Customer Needs.
Prior to a few years ago, my favorite color was red, I frequently ate takeout, and the only plants I cared for were fake ones. Today, I cook 90% of my meals, I’m a brand-new (and successful) plant mom, and orange is now more in tune with my personality.
We are all aware that as we develop, our needs and wants change. However, it can be challenging for brands to demand the same behavior from their customers.
It would be easier if consumers stayed the same – you’d only have to do market research once, identify the strategies that worked and stick with them. Unfortunately, the truth is more complicated than that.
A couple of months can make a world of difference in consumer behavior.
When the pandemic started in March, brands were forced to pivot their marketing strategies, and in some cases, their entire business models
Those who failed to see the necessity of this change and solely relied on past success most likely suffered significant financial loss.
However, not every shift is this drastic. Some develop over time.
Take social responsibility as an example. This wasn’t a significant issue for typical consumers ten years ago.
However, consumers now value sustainability highly and it has an effect on their decision to buy.
You can also take a look at the online environment and the way that users are consuming content. Where blogging was 10 years ago podcasting is now.
All of this is to say that maintaining a pulse on the market is essential for avoiding myopic business decisions.
2. Foster Innovation Within Your Team.
There is no guarantee that a method is the best just because it has always been done that way. Marketing myopia results from that way of thinking.
It’s crucial to create an environment where your teams feel motivated to innovate if you want to overcome that.
Which appearance does this have? It’s a combination of big and small actions like:
- Inviting new ideas.
- testing out different approaches.
- allowing risk-taking and failure.
- utilizing a variety of viewpoints in hiring.
You’ll be better able to avoid marketing myopia if you maintain an open mind and flexibility.
3. Invest in Competitive Intelligence.
Maintaining an edge over competitors in your field is one way to stay on top of your game.
Monitoring and compiling information on your rivals using moral and legal means is known as competitive intelligence. The monitoring of social media, the setting up of Google alerts for particular brands, and the downloading of offers to examine content strategy are examples of this.
Sites like Crayon, SEMrush, and Kompyte are great tools to help you leverage this intelligence into actionable insights to propel your company forward.
4. Optimize Your Marketing Strategy.
You run the risk of developing marketing myopia when you become overly accustomed to your strategy.
Even if your marketing strategy is effective, you should still focus on optimization. Because of their enormous success, businesses like BlockBuster eventually failed.
Future events are not determined by the past. However, it can help inform it.
Review your data, take the time to gather insights, and then come up with ideas for how to enhance your performance keeping this in mind.
When Does Marketing Myopia Strike In?
When the short-term marketing goals are prioritized over the long-term ones, marketing myopia sets in. Some examples are:
- More focus on selling rather than building relationships with the customers.
- without conducting adequate research, making growth predictions.
- Without knowing the demand, mass production
- giving weight to only one marketing characteristic without concentrating on what the customer actually wants.
- not adjusting to the dynamic consumer environment.
Business should be based on the needs and desires of the customer because, in Levitt’s view, it is actually an institution for satisfying customers.
Self-Deceiving Cycle
Growth is never guaranteed. A company should constantly adapt to the changing business environment. Businesses that don’t evaluate their own capabilities, competitors’ strategies, customers’ needs, and evolving trends frequently find themselves in a vicious cycle.
Conditions That Lead To The Self-Deceiving Cycle
- a viewpoint that asserts population growth guarantees business growth.
- The belief that there is no competitive substitute for the company’s product
- Because demand is created by supply, mass production is possible.
- excessive product quality claims made without doing any research.
A thinking issue may exist if you ever believe that there won’t be any problems in the future.
Step-Child Treatment
Customers’ needs are frequently treated like a stepchild by businesses, who view their product as their own child. As a result, they invested the majority of their resources in creating their product and little to none at all in marketing and conducting research. This hurts the companies because the stepchild always ends up being the Cinderella of the tale.
Examples of Marketing Myopia
Here are some companies that are suffering from or have suffered from marketing myopia
- Since Kodak wasn’t prepared for the boom in digital cameras, Sony cameras gained a significant amount of Kodak’s market share.
- Nokia is losing market share to Android and iOS.
- Hollywood, which only cared about movies, didn’t even try to enter the television market.
- After losing to Google, Yahoo!—worth $100 billion in 2000—was acquired by Verizon for approximately the same amount. $5 billion (2016).
Marketing Myopia in Future
- Dry cleaners – The demand for dry cleaners will decline as a result of new types of fiber and chemicals.
- Grocery stores – Grocery stores will vanish as society transitions to a digital lifestyle.
- Facebook: With the new GDPR and data privacy laws, Facebook will either need to change its business model or it risk losing social media market share to other data-privacy-focused social media platforms.
How Can Your Business Avoid Marketing Myopia?
See five crucial ways that your company can avoid developing marketing myopia.
1. Always Put the Customer First
Customer-first is the key; don’t even consider being customer-centric.
Always keep the needs, desires, expectations, frustrations, and issues of your customers in mind.
If you are getting feedback that what you offer doesn’t satisfy your customers, work hard to rectify it — and follow up with a new and improved version of your products or services.
2. Define a Clear, Realistic Plan and Vision
Recall our statement about future planning? Avoiding marketing myopia requires doing this.
Regardless of how well your business is doing right now, you still need to have a distinct vision for the future.
Try to anticipate any potential issues and opportunities, and come up with creative, productive ways to handle them.
3. Keep Focusing on Great Marketing
Once you have introduced a new product or service, marketing doesn’t stop.
Keep at it by continuing to promote your brand across different channels and engaging with your customers at every touchpoint.
4. Keep a Close Eye on Your Competitors
“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer” works a treat in marketing.
So, we strongly encourage you to always monitor your rivals if you want to avoid marketing myopia.
What are they up to? Have they launched a new product or service that seems particularly appealing to your customers? Exist any fresh dangers or chances for you?
5. Embrace Change and Innovation
In particular when it comes to your business, trying something new can be intimidating.
But, as they say, “fortune favors the brave” — so be brave and invest in changes and innovations that make sense for your brand.
Experimenting can also show your customers the lengths you are willing to go in order to satisfy their ever-changing needs and wishes, which in turn boosts customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Conclusion
The dangers your business faces, if you don’t pay close attention to the needs of your customers, are best illustrated by marketing myopia. Levitt thought that business leaders shouldn’t try to predict the future because they can’t. Companies could be better prepared for whatever the future would bring if they focused more on satisfying customer needs than on selling products—by always remembering the business they’re really in.
