What business is your company really in? That's a question all executives should all ask before demand for their firm's products or services dwindles. In Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt offers examples of companies that became obsolete because they misunderstood what business they were in and thus what their customers wanted. He identifies the four widespread myths that put companies at risk of obsolescence and explains how business leaders can shift their attention to customers' real needs instead.

What business is your company really in? That's a question all executives should all ask before demand for their firm's products or services dwindles. In Marketing Myopia, Theodore Levitt offers examples of companies that became obsolete because they misunderstood what business they were in and thus what their customers wanted. He identifies the four widespread myths that put companies at risk of obsolescence and explains how business leaders can shift their attention to customers' real needs instead.

NEW from the bestselling HBR’s 10 Must Reads series. Stop pushing products—and start cultivating relationships with the right customers. If you read nothing else on marketing that delivers competitive advantage, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you reinvent your marketing by putting it—and your customers—at the center of your business. Leading experts such as Ted Levitt and Clayton Christensen provide the insights and advice you need to: • Figure out what business you’re really in • Create products that perform the jobs people need to get done • Get a bird’s-eye view of your brand’s strengths and weaknesses • Tap a market that’s larger than China and India combined • Deliver superior value to your B2B customers • End the war between sales and marketing Looking for more Must Read articles from Harvard Business Review? Check out these titles in the popular series: HBR’s 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Communication HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Collaboration HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Innovation HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leadership HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Making Smart Decisions HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Teams

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.

A unique approach to the marketing/ management concept discusses product and marketing objectives, the relationship between client and supplier, the industrialization of service, and other facets of effective marketing strategies.

Stop pushing products—and start cultivating relationships with the right customers. If you read nothing else on marketing that delivers competitive advantage, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you reinvent your marketing by putting it—and your customers—at the center of your business. Leading experts such as Ted Levitt and Clayton Christensen provide the insights and advice you need to: Figure out what business you’re really in Create products that perform the jobs people need to get done Get a bird’s-eye view of your brand’s strengths and weaknesses Tap a market that’s larger than China and India combined Deliver superior value to your B2B customers End the war between sales and marketing

The 4A framework helps companies create value for customers by identifying exactly what they want and need, as well as by uncovering new wants and needs. (For example, none of us knew we "needed" an iPad until Apple created it.) That means not only ensuring that customers are aware of the product, but also ensuring that the product is affordable, accessible and acceptable to them.