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tactic was not to cut air fares but
to offer better customer service.
Marshall saw that the customer
experience went beyond check-in,
in-flight, touchdown, and passport
control, and he introduced the Marketing is not the art
world’s first arrivals lounges. of finding clever ways to
dispose of what you make.
Customer experience It is the art of creating genuine
Other full-service airlines have customer value.
adapted the BA model. Most Philip Kotler
airlines now rely on optimizing
customer relationships in order to
gain a long-term, competitive Theodore Levitt
advantage. United Airlines, for
example, has implemented a Acknowledged as one of the
most original management
system that lets staff identify high-
thinkers of the modern age,
value frequent flyers and proactively for inflight use. Enhancing a
Theodore “Ted” Levitt was
offer them special services if their customer experience through
born in Vollmerz, Germany but
flight is canceled. American Airlines internet access and applications on
emigrated to the US with his
has promoted its use of technology iPads, tablets, and cell phones is
family at ten. He served in the
to make the flight experience more now a vital consideration in many US Army during World War II,
appealing for customers, becoming sectors of industry, something on returning to enroll at Ohio
the first with permission from the which Google has capitalized. University. With his PhD in
Federal Aviation Administration In 2005, Google purchased a Economics, he joined the
(FAA) to allow flight attendants to little-known company called Android faculty of Harvard Business
use tablets to help them manage the Inc., which was developing a School in 1959, writing his
onboard experience more efficiently. smartphone platform. Two years famous article “Marketing
It was the first major commercial later Apple released its iPhone and Myopia” just a year later. For
airline to provide branded tablets to rapidly dominated the market; the next 30 years he taught at
Harvard, contributing 26
First Class and Business passengers customers loved it since they could
articles to the Harvard
replicate the world of the Internet
Business Review, of which
on a handheld device. Online
he was chief editor from 1985
search giant, Google, saw that it
to 1989. In its 2004 edition,
risked becoming beholden to Apple
the journal cited marketing
for access to sell its applications so, myopia as the most influential
with other cell-phone makers, it marketing idea of the past
developed an alternative—an open- 50 years. Levitt created a
source operating system that would similar stir in 1983 with
work on all mobile devices. Google another article, “The
now had a platform through which Globalization of Markets,”
it could generate profit with sales of which led to him being
applications and in-app advertising. credited with popularizing
Kotler cites Google as a model the term “globalization.”
of innovation, always seeking new
Key works
ways to solve customers’ problems
and help them manage vast amounts
Airport arrivals lounges were 1960 “Marketing Myopia,”
offered to BA passengers to enhance of information. Levitt would have Harvard Business Review
their experience of traveling with the agreed with the first line of Google’s 1983 The Marketing
airline. Rather than cutting prices, BA corporate philosophy: “Focus on the Imagination
chose to focus on customer service. user and all else will follow.” ■