Marketing Myopia - Term Paper Example

28-05-06 Marketing Myopia Part Summary Over the years greatly admired companies or industries failed/ failing though the market is not saturated. Growth of many industries slowed down or stopped not due to market saturation but because of their own faulty assumptions and vision. Growth: Almost all the major industries at one time qualify for the magic appellation of growth industry and assume strength due to unchallenged superiority of its product and no effective substitute. Yet one often another of these celebrated industries has come under a shadow. In truth there is no such thing as a growth industry. There are only companies organized and operated to create and capitalize on growth opportunities. The history of every dead/ dying industry shows a self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay. Petroleum industry was never been continuously a growth industry. When so ever products innovation took place industry has to face challenges. Customer Orientation: Most of the industries are still product oriented than customer oriented. They are preoccupied with their specific products and do not want to change their products or vary their products according to the wishes and need of the customers. Even best companies like Detriot or Ford who have adopted best practices in the industry are not customer oriented. Some of the companies like nylon and glass industry specifically E.I. du pont de nemours and Corning Glass Work are successful not due to technical competence and product orientation but due to throughout customer oriented policies. It is constant watchfulness for opportunities to apply their technical know - how to creation of customer satisfying uses that accounts for their prodigious output of successful new product. Myopic Vision: Industry failure attributed to their faulty, narrow, short term and temporary vision. Due to poor conceptualization companies may not be able to offer more value to their customers and become ineffective. Improperly defined purposes as in the case of railroads and Hollywood films prove fatal for the industry. This narrow vision always results in the stagnation of industries. Most of the industries that define its vision so narrowly, lack of imagination, lacking the will to survive, do not satisfy public inventiveness and skill results in premature demise. Product Innovation: industries which are pretty content with their growth moves into comfort zone and never been able to think imaginatively. They have never been able to develop new products and vary their product according to their customer needs. At times industries not bother to think about product innovation. Petroleum industry is the distressing example of how complacency and wrong headedness can stubbornly convert opportunities into disaster. Most of their product improvement came from outside of the industry. Research & Development: Industries, which are heavily dependent on research and development process and mass production, could not be able to pay more attention on customers need. The top management of the company is wholly transfixed by the profit possibilities of technical research and development. Company's top management heavy with scientist, researchers and technical people seldom knows the exact situation of the market and customer requirements. They are product oriented rather than customer oriented. Part-2 Now in the present situation where information flows across the globe and people are aware and connected with almost all parts of the World marketing management has taken newer dimensions. Marketing can simply be defined, as "meeting needs profitably". (Kotler). Management theorist Peter defined marketing, as "The aim of marketing is to make selling super flows. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or services fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy." (Drucker). "Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals". (Bennett). In the present circumstances no industry can define itself as growth industry. Customers have the information about almost everything and if the industries become complacent and not always be able to keep vigil eyes on customer's need could easily vanish from the scene. IBM a known company entered in the computer industry in 1952 and by 1959 they were dominant player. In 1970, rapid advancement in microprocessor chips has created a whole lot of new customer's and IBM realized that industry was reaching a major turning point and more faster than in the past and the first PC rolled out in 1981. Again and again the challenges came and faced by the IBM. It has never been satisfied with growth otherwise they will be out of the industry. (Slywotzky). All the marketing management definitions shows that how important the customer is for any industry. Each and every industry must be customer oriented. Ever changing World and variation in the customer's need and preferences forcibly diverted the companies to become customer oriented. Customers have almost all the necessary information and companies must carefully monitor their customer's continuously and improve their value offerings. However, seemingly invincible business such as Sears, Levi Strauss, General Motors, Kodak and Xerox have had a rethink their business model when confronted with newly empowered customers. So it is all-important that every industry should be customer oriented otherwise it may be thrown out of competition and die its own death. For any industry to grow for long time to come, its vision and mission must be clearly defined. Actually vision of the company defines its longevity. Industry structure changes are not as unpredictable as is commonly perceived. It may change due to sudden change in technology. Telecommunication industry can be taken as example. So a broader vision is needed to cope with sudden as well as long-term changes so that industry must face the changes successfully. Marketing management is the area where the changing needs of the companies as well as of the customers has been considered as prime objectives and could be fulfilled with broader vision. Successful industries mainly depends upon the product innovations i.e. finding out and anticipating what customers might need or want, generating ideas, developing and launching a product and providing various support services to keep customers happy. Marketing Management also defines that products that satisfy the customer's need sells. Though a new idea does not sell by itself. It has to be sold. So the biggest challenge in product innovation is marketing. Industries, which are more inclined towards technological up gradation and mass production often, ignore customer's need and market situations. They are more interested in enhancing their products technologically i.e., including specific features and facilities and ignored the need of the customer, and become product oriented, rather than customer oriented. In the present circumstances they have to evaluate the market as well as customer's need and develop a cost effective product, which fulfills the need of the customers. Conclusion: From the above discussion we can conclude that the new economy has brought success to organizations that uses and apply marketing concepts like customer focus, good value, quality service and efficient exchange mechanisms for satisfying customer needs and wants. The new economy is based upon digital revolution and management of information about customers, products, prices, competitors and every aspect of the marketing environment. Companies must carefully monitor their customers and competitors, continuously improve their value offerings, carefully define the target market and value proposition and take a long-term view to satisfying customers, stockholders, employees, suppliers and channel partners. ****************** References: 1. Bennett, Peter D. Ed., Dictionary of Marketing Terms, 2ded.Chicago:American Marketing Association, 1995. 2. Drucker, Peter. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. 3. Drucker, Peter F., Post Capitalist Society, Butterworth -Hainemann, Oct, 1994. 4. Kotler, Philip. A Framework of Marketing Management, Pearson education Inc., 2003. 5. Slywotzky, Adrian. Value migration: How to think several moves ahead of the competition, Harvard business school press,1995. Read More