An Analysis of Theodore Levitt's Marketing Myopia

Monique Diderich, Elizabeth Mamali

• Publisher: Macat Library
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781912302161
• eBook ISBN: 9781351352468
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Business

Theodore Levitt's 1960 article "Marketing Myopia" is a business classic that earned its author the nickname "the father of modern marketing". It is also a beautiful demonstration of the problem solving skills that are crucial in so many areas of life – in business and beyond.

The problem facing Levitt was the same problem that has confronted business after business for hundreds of years: how best to deal with slowing growth and eventual decline. Levitt studied many business empires – the railroads, for instance – that at a certain point simply shrivelled up and shrank to almost nothing. How, he asked, could businesses avoid such failures?

His approach and his solution comprise a concise demonstration of high-level problem solving at its best. Good problem solvers first identify what the problem is, then isolate the best methodology for solving it. And, as Levitt showed, a dose of creative thinking also helps. Levitt's insight was that falling sales are all about marketing, and marketing is about knowing your real business. The railroads misunderstood their real market: they weren't selling rail, they were selling transport. If they had understood that, they could have successfully taken advantage of new growth areas – truck haulage, for instance – rather than futilely scrabbling to sell rail to a saturated market.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Ways in to the Text
• Section 1: Influences
• Section 2: Ideas
• Section 3 Impact
• Glossary of Terms
• People Mentioned in the Text
• Works Cited