Consumer Driven Economy

A Consumer Driven Economy

In the past, marketing has been based on a stimulus and response method, where marketers would send out stimuli in the form of advertising and promotions to receive a specific response in the consumer's behavior. Today, marketers have discovered an alternative way to communicate with their consumers called sense-and-respond. A sense-and-respond model is where advertisers sense what consumers are saying they want, through their behavior, and the marketers respond as promptly and as efficiently as possible.

This new trend is giving the consumer control over the decisions that until now, the corporations made for them. This impacts many aspects of business- from the items the retailers decide to stock, how the merchandise is categorized, the delivery, and the consumers even have more control over the development of new products. Putting the consumer in control could save a company a lot of money, while keeping the consumer satisfied with the product.

Many popular companies are now practicing sense-and-respond when it comes to running their business. Wal-Mart uses the Internet to allow their suppliers to access data about their daily sales. While doing this they are not only helping their suppliers, but they are also avoiding overstocking their stores; hence they only buy what they know they will sell. Companies such as Dell that mass customize their product for the consumer are also practicing sense-and-respond. While giving the consumer complete control over what they want in their product, Dell avoids wasting stock that cannot be sold to the consumer.

Being a consumer, I am personally thrilled to see this change in the retailer-consumer relationship. I was never aware of the losses that businesses suffered when their products did not sell to their expectations, understanding what the consumer desires will greatly improve this condition of waste. I have learned about the value of communication between the retailer and the consumer, without communication the marketers are sending a one-way message to the consumer, and neither elicits a desired response. The fact that business has become consumer driver will greatly effect the satisfaction of both parties.