Success in marketing leads to success in business. A proper strategy can facilitate the growth and development of a business, while an inadequate strategy will guide the business into rapid decline. With so much at stake, it's obviously important to choose the right marketing strategy, but what is the right strategy? Theodore Levitt published the highly acclaimed article “Marketing Myopia” in 1960, which outlined a consumer-driven strategy. “Marketing Warfare” by Al Ries and Jack Trout states a very different method being that marketing is like war, your adversaries must be your priority. Each perspective presents interesting facts and opinions about marketing strategies, which will be explored in relation to the other and dissected based on their relevance to current market environments. The two perspectives on marketing strategy are very different overall. Levitt suggests that one must focus on the needs and wants of the consumer to succeed in business. This focus on the consumer leads to defining your business broadly, so as not to harm your growth opportunities. An example of this idea can be illustrated in the snow cone industry. Instead of defining your business as being in the sno-cone industry, Levitt would advise you to define it as being a "treat" business. This broader definition allows for expansion to cupcakes, various dessert coffees, smoothies, and many other treats to grow your business. Likewise, Ries/Trout's focus is on competition. In war, a group faces many adversaries and it takes a lot of thought to determine the rivals' plans. To succeed in business, Ries/Trout argue that it is necessary in marketing, as in war, to spend significant time outside the middle of paper......the marketing strategies described in "Marketing Myopia" by Levitt and “Marketing Warfare” by Ries/Trout can help everyone develop their own perspective on marketing. Both consumer-oriented and competition-oriented methods have their pros and cons, but ultimately, at least to me, focusing on the consumer makes more sense for a manager. By proactively responding to consumers instead of reacting to your competitors, you can likely succeed in your marketing efforts. However, just because you use one strategy over another doesn't mean there isn't a time or situation in which the other strategy can be used. As suggested earlier, the market environment is a constantly fluctuating unit. A consumer-focused strategy may deliver the desired results now, but a year from now it could tell a completely different story..