Sport Marketing The Notion Of Marketing Myopia example essay topic

Sport Marketing The notion of 'marketing myopia' has haunted marketers since Theodore Levitt published his famous article 'Marketing Myopia' in Harvard Business Review in 1960. Levitt argues that companies which narrowly focus on the product to the detriment of customer requirements (i. e., dispensing with the marketing concept) suffer from marketing myopia. Myopia or shortsightedness is often apparent within organizations. Several types of marketing myopia can be identified including classic myopia, competitive myopia and efficiency myopia. Companies displaying one of these three elements are clearly distinguishable from innovative firms which embrace the marketing concept in practice and which have a much broader scope than is required for a single business sector. In order to overcome myopia and become innovative, the following is recommended: Companies should hold a generic view of themselves and of the industry in which they operate Companies should also take the crucial step to monitor other industries Benchmarking should be conducted Marketing staff should be recruited but not necessarily from the same sector Companies should be flexible and seek unique solutions.

The biggest reason for market myopia is the lack of research or the inefficiency of that research. Almost all of the myopia could be avoided if research and the researchers were trained and the thought process was developed in a good fashion. All of marketing whether it is in sports or out of sports all revolves around the same basic principles the four P's. In all of marketing the P's are: Product, Price, Place and Promotion, however in sport there is an added principle and that is Public relations. Even the best marketers can come up short according to these principles because it does not matter how much you know but rather in a service business such as sport it most important to be able to interact with the consumers.

A great example of a lack of interaction is here at Merrimack College. Our sport programs do not get enough marketing coverage both on and off campus. Our Sports Information Director does not place fly ers in the student union and also he does not advertise on the college television channel. Here at Merrimack, they lack the Promotion aspect of their sports, which includes our division one hockey program. A great example of this lack of communication was the fact that when the hockey team was playing against then #1 Maine, the campus was not informed of this huge game.

Because the Athletic Department felt that they would rather sell the tickets to outsiders that give them to the students at the school. When this type of behind the back antics happen to the fans then they feel as if the are not wanted and they will not spend their money on the product being sold. Not many students realize what the school did to them, however I work for the department and I knew what was going on, maybe I should have done something. This shows that anyone can be the smartest but there is also a need to be communicative with your paying consumers. Market research is used in situations where the cost of the research is much less than the risk involved in proceeding without research. Thus, one of the first elements to determine is the cost of making a mistake that could have been avoided with good information.

For example, what is the cost of proceeding with a new product design without confirming the customer acceptance of the design? Sometimes this is trivial, but usually the cost of going ahead with a product without testing is very expensive because of tooling, training, inventory and promotion. Failed products are legend in the marketplace and the costs of the failed products have included the failure of the producer. Here is some marketing research weaknesses that effect businesses today: Every day brings more problems to solve. Finding the right answers is critical to effective performance. There are more places than ever to look for answers -- databases, CD-ROMs, the Internet.

But the sheer volume of available information is overwhelming and confusing. There's no time to search or master the process and find insightful answers, not mere data. In a recent survey of NASCAR fans across the country race fans were asked to identify which, from a list of hypothetical sponsors, were completely inappropriate as a sponsor of a Winston Cup car. Ranking dead last, below the sins of 'Condoms', 'Penthouse Magazine', 'Absolut Vodka', and 'Mitsubishi televisions' was 'Politicians' with as much as 83% ranking them as completely inappropriate NASCAR sponsors.

Not to say that NASCAR fans are not supportive of their sponsors. To the contrary, according to Jed Pearsall, President of Performance Research, 'NASCAR fans provide one of the highest levels of brand loyalty and sponsorship support of any one of the hundred or so sports and special events we " ve tested'. In this study, where over 1,000 nationwide, random NASCAR fans were interviewed, over one-half (57%) indicated that they had a higher trust in products offered by NASCAR sponsors. In comparison, only 16% of the general public holds a 'Higher' trust in Olympic sponsors and only 5% have a 'Higher' trust in sponsors of World Cup Soccer.

In addition, nearly three-fourths of the NASCAR audience (71%) reported that they 'Almost always' or 'Frequently' choose a product involved in NASCAR over one that is not, simply because of the sponsorship. In comparison, only 52% of professional tennis enthusiasts, and 47% of PGA golf enthusiasts 'Almost always' or 'Frequently' choose products based on sponsorships. Studies have shown that given the choice between two products of equal cost, 72% of NASCAR fans would almost always or frequently choose the brand they associate with NASCAR over one that is not associated with NASCAR. Interestingly as well, when there is a price differential, a strong 46% mentioned that they would purchase a brand costing as much as ten percent more if associated with NASCAR over a less expensive brand that is not associated with NASCAR. In fact, 43 percent of NASCAR fans were influenced enough by NASCAR sponsorships to switch from their normal brand of a grocery store item to try a different brand. Tide came up as a beneficiary of this sentiment with 20 percent of all consumers questioned switching from their normal brand to try out Tide.

Among others mentioned most often were Kellogg's, Cheerios, Coca-Cola, M&M's and Budweiser. The current demographics of NASCAR fans were recorded in this study as well. The typical fan was measured as male (68%), married (73%), a high school graduate (97%) with a total household income of $50,000 or more (68%). These two studies are obviously very similar in their attempt to gather information and they both do different things to come up with these statistics.

The first study was conducted at racing venues both before and after the days events had taken place. This could have had some influence on how people reacted to the questions. However, the second survey was a telephone survey conducted of NASCAR fans having been to one or more events. Both studies show very beneficial information to the industry and without this type of research sports may never know how loyal their fans were and continue to be. Many factors influence the sport fan into their particular interest and these factors actually develop their love and dedication to that sport.

There are a number of "environmental factors" that push a person to be committed to their sport. One of these factors is the exposure to a particular sport due to an involvement by a close friend, relative, or peers. Perhaps the biggest influence in a youth is that of their parents, because they are the ones to start the little kids at the sport and encourage them to stick with what they love. Many marketers have realized this and understand that an early influence by parents can instill a love for the sport in a child which will keep him or her committed and loyal throughout their entire life. A significant amount of sport loyalty can come also from that which is related to someone's race.

It has been reported that most inner cities are not heavily involved in ice hockey but rather basketball and baseball. This type of influence could perhaps be the strongest because if a person can not afford a certain sport than how wills he or she be able to participate and build a love for that sport. The NBA is mostly made up of minorities who have come from broken families and poor communities were their only outlet is the game of basketball or other less expensive sports. Gender also plays a huge role in the development of commitment and love for a sport. Most females do not play football or even understand the game enough to watch it every Sunday.

So this type of information is good for marketers because they know who should be their target markets. Most males will sit through an entire game and just watch without interruptions, however a female is more likely to work while she watches and pay less attention to the game itself. Many studies have been done by researchers and this information is so valuable to sport marketers. The sport opportunity structure is very important also because it describes to the marketers who their audience is and how willingly they will be able to spend their money. Just like we learned how cash cows and other groups are structured we also get a better idea through this model. This type of factor falls under the class section and shows us that depending on a particular persons disposable income that's what he or she will be able to spend on their favorite sport.

There are also individual factors, which effect the consumer loyalty and commitment. The largest factor seems to be the stage in life or family cycle. The book shows a great table which illustrates the different periods in one's life and what they are willing to do spend their money towards. Perhaps the biggest stage for sport loyalty is that when one is single and in or right out of college. At this time a person a few expenses and usually as had a pay increase or has found a new job out of school and is more willing to spend his or her money on sport and sports related products. This is usually the most popular time for people to attend professional games because of the lack of a family commitment and monetary straps held on a married couple.

Physical characteristics are said to be an influence in sport commitment however, I feel that this does not have much to do with the sport loyalty of a fan. I know I am terrible at football but my love for the NFL could be greater that my love for women... hahaha! But seriously just because someone can not play basketball that has no relevance on how they will spend their money. The exception is golf and tennis, I know many people that hate watching golf and that is because they do not play but I love the game probably because I am an avid player. Motivation could also play a key role in fan involvement in sport.

If he or she plans to be physically active then they might purchase a membership at a club and some running sneakers, shorts and other necessities. This type of loyalty is driven by the motivation of a person rather than a desire to watch or go to an event. However, this motivation can lead to other sports or even other jobs that allow more activity. Attitudes is a huge factor in deciding fan loyalty, because if someone sees antics that involve a certain professional team than they might be inclined to reject the entire sport as a whole.

For example, if a women reads that a Dallas Cowboy player was accused of raping women and the media exposed this story then that women might start to hate all of the football players due to a stereotype. This is a huge situation recently, since Ray Lewis and the Rae Carruth incidents of the recent past. Many people have been turned off by these occurrences and if these types of actions continued then fan loyalty could diminish severely. These are the main factors that I believe induce fan commitment and loyalty in professional sports and their product, which are being sold.