An argument about affluenza, using an article as support essay example

The rate at which consumerism is changing in America and the need for companies to satisfy the needs of the customers has made invention take a different root. Companies are doing all they can to not only attract but also retain customers. Specialization and division of labour has found a lot of meaning in the process as technology is used to predict what a customer may need and provide it in advance. The rate of consumption and the kind of goods purchased have been used to measure the class, age and status of a person. This therefore gives such companies an avenue to know who to attract their way and who to retain. The issue of class and the need for many to be identified with the high standing in the community determines their shopping habits.
The article takes us through the efforts of an analyst to predict consumer needs using technology and subsequently attracting them their way. It is interesting to know that as one is busy doing their shopping, somebody is analysing their status and passing judgement on them. It is even more interesting to know that most of the time, the predictions and assumptions they make concerning a customer are right and hence succeed in wooing them. People go through different stages of life, which will ultimately change their shopping trends. One of the areas that have been found irresistible is marriage, which comes with a lot of responsibilities and commitments. As children come into the family, the couple will definitely need to spend more just to cater for the needs of a new family member.
It has become obvious that when a woman gets a child, irrespective of their status or class in the society, they will definitely need to change their purchasing habits just to accommodate them. Companies have hence come up with a means through which they can identify expectant mothers and convince them to buy their products. There is also the issue of convenience that makes it easy for expectant mothers to be an easy target for many companies. Apart from simply selling them baby products, they are aware that they will need other products such as groceries, clothing and other foodstuffs. Their ability to convince them that they sell the best and that they will be available at their convenience is what will determine their success.
“ The marketing department though it might not be wise to conduct a few small experiments before selling out a national campaign. They had the ability to send out a specially designed mailers to small groups of customers, so they randomly choose women from pole’s pregnancy list and started testing combination of advertisements to see how shoppers reacted” (pic 8). This statement derived from the article clearly reveals to us the extend that companies have gone just to ensure they have a ready market for their products. An extensive research is done followed by a market test and the results used to evaluate how workable the strategy is. Once it comes out positive, the company will rely on it until when there is a need for change basing on the trends.
This has hence seen companies come up with coupons that detail more on what they are involved in and how their products can be accessed. Companies go to the level of visiting maternity hospitals, offering free samples of even products that do not concern a new born. All this is for the purpose of marketing their brands and making them stand out when it comes to customer preference. With almost everything being digitalized, companies have even invented online stores where a customer can make a choice basing on the wide variety of products provided. Such companies even provide shipping and delivery just to ensure the customer does not travel for long to obtain the products.
Prediction based on intended changes has made companies change their marketing trends even as competition tightens. A pregnant mother will definitely need baby products in the near future and more especially clothes, toys and baby food. Companies also know that because of their new responsibilities, they may not be able to move around looking for the products. They will therefore be comfortable if everything is provided at one place at least at their convenience. In as much as this strategy works well for expectant mothers, it may not apply to other class of people. For instance, the young people that are the majority, it may not easy for one to know when and what they are likely to change into. A company may not be able to tell if a young person will get a promotion at their work place or even a demotion to provide them with the right coupons.
The strategy of predicting consumer needs has to be done in a strategic manner just to ensure a customer is not angered in the process. It is also important to ensure that the services provided to such consumers are of good quality lest they end up completely losing them instead of attracting and retaining them. The safest approach that companies however use is to ensure they have a one-stop shop for general consumer needs. This will ensure that a customer is not mistaken for being pregnant and being given baby products when they have ordinary bulges. Women have become the easiest targets for predicting needs. This is because of their specific needs such as hair products, lotions, sprays and deodorants, makeup’s and the likes. Changes hence need only to be made on fashion and accessibility. Online marketing has boosted on the accessibility of the products leaving the companies with a role to ensure that their products are of high quality. With the changes, it is rather obvious that other means of predicting customer needs will be invented.