B
y Upendra Mishra
BOSTON – In a landscape saturated with AI utilities, endless data streams, and relentless digital progress, marketing feels like a constantly shifting terrain. Yet one principle remains a steadfast guide: Theodore Levitt’s concept of Marketing Myopia.
First published in 1960, Levitt’s thesis is strikingly relevant today: consumers purchase solutions, not mere products. His central warning is that firms collapse not because demand vanishes, but because they confine themselves to a narrow self‑definition. The decline of railroads, for instance, stemmed not from a drop in travel needs but from executives who saw themselves as railroad operators rather than transportation providers. Hollywood’s misreading of television—viewing it as a threat instead of a new medium—illustrates the same error.
This myopia manifests when a company focuses on its output instead of the customer’s value. Levitt contrasts “selling,” which pushes existing goods, with “marketing,” which seeks to understand and fulfill real customer needs. He argues that marketing is not a separate department; it is the entire enterprise. A business should view itself as a creator of customers, letting product design, service, and every interaction flow from that mindset. “An industry starts with the customer and their needs,” he writes, “not with a patent, raw material, or sales skill.”
Consequently, the purpose of a company shifts from manufacturing to acquiring and retaining customers. This demands a customer‑centric culture where every team, decision, and touchpoint reflects deep empathy for the client. Levitt stresses that avoiding myopia requires visionary leadership that champions this mindset across the organization. Without such direction, firms drift, oblivious to their own decline. “If an organization does not know or care where it is going, it does not need to advertise that fact with a ceremonial figurehead. Everybody will notice it soon enough,” he cautions.
In the age of AI and algorithms, Levitt’s insights gain new urgency. Big data reveals what people do; machine learning predicts how they might act; automation scales outreach. Yet none of these tools uncover the underlying motivations or emotions that drive purchase decisions. When every company has access to the same technology, the true differentiator becomes the depth of customer understanding.
Thus, the fundamentals of marketing—empathy, clarity, and a relentless focus on solving genuine problems—remain paramount. Properly executed marketing is not about pushing products; it is about cultivating relationships, generating loyal customers, and ensuring a business not only survives but thrives.
Upendra Mishra is the author of *Precise Marketing: The Proven System for Growing Revenue in a Noisy World* and President of The Mishra Group, a Boston‑based consultancy that helps organizations achieve sustainable growth through strategic clarity and customer‑centric execution.
