Technology And Marketing Essay, Research Paper
Part I
In 20/20 Vision, future consumers were described as sophisticated consumers who are educated, wired professionals with some significant disposable income. Technology, including the Internet, will continue to play important roles in their lives. As consumers, these people will have a lot of power. Information will be available to them from a variety of sources, and it is likely that these individuals will use these sources. Elderly Americans will make up a huge part of the population due to the extended years of life people are living. Many others will be immigrants from another country. Right now, there are approximately 30 million native and non-native Hispanic residents nationwide. This number is expected to grow to 53 million by 2020, and the median age of these immigrants will be younger than average.
Many cultural and technological changes are predicted to occur as well. Instead of closing the boarders of the United States into Mexico and vice versa, we are going to be inviting people to move into our country to take the jobs that we do not want. Many immigrants that will move into the country will lack the technological skills that will be demanded and will be willing to take these jobs. However, those who do not have the skills will also be lacking the money. Therefore, we will form an hourglass economy; the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will continue to get poorer. With more undereducated individuals migrating to the country, there will be a growing demand for communities to get involved in education programs through their local school systems and churches. Money will need to be raised in order to purchase the must – have computer systems/upgrades, books, and local civic organizations. Transportation will be increasingly expensive; it will be necessary for the public to provide shuttle services for its customers and employees. These individuals will seek to work for companies that inspire loyalty among its workers and its customers. Bottom line: technology will be an essential factor in people’s lives and will need to be available to all consumers.
Technology will have a great impact on society and its daily functions. Many people will be using the Net and other resources to do everything from grocery shop to buying cars. There will be a continual elimination of the “middleman,” and speed and efficiency will be very important. The walls of factories will be broken down and any business that plans on surviving needs to recognize this change. Companies will need to have a real understanding of their consumers’ as well as their employees’ needs beyond the obvious offerings of the company.
Part II
The information describing the changes of future consumers is vital to marketing managers. This information is relevant when evaluating customer characteristics and their needs and wants. It is apparent that technology will continue to grow in importance in the future, and more individuals will have access to various technological resources like the Internet. When developing a marketing plan, it is important to understand the role of technology and how marketing can use this understanding to its advantage. With people living “dot-com” lives, its essential that future companies optimize the use of Internet for advertising and providing consumers with information. And the Internet alone will not suffice. Consumers in the future will have various resources and will be using all of them. It will be important for a marketing plan to utilize all of these resources. And the individuals of the future are going to want things personalized to their wants and needs, like custom made products. Companies in the future will need to personalize and target their products to individuals, rather than demographic stats. Technological advances will be made available to more people, and companies will also have greater opportunities to get to know their customer/markets and these customers
will know who these companies are and what they are all about. Technology will need to be customer-based and customer-focused.
Knowing the lifestyle of consumers will be essential as well. Several key characteristics will need to be incorporated into the marketing plan, including consumer’s education, income, work experience, and access to communication technologies. Consumers of the future will be better educated and will be making more enlightened decision. These consumers will be working in information-intensive environments. With more technology, these consumers will be making more money and have greater spending power. This technology will also provide consumers with access to high-speed, interactive, multimedia communication devices at home as well as at the office.
Things are getting faster and more efficient. Consumers can’t get enough products that help them be more productive, and in the future companies will need to understand this demand. Service will need to be rapid and efficient, but not at the cost of quality. Cycle times will need to be continuously reduced. Even though consumers will be utilizing their technological resources, they will still demand superior customer service and high quality products.
Enhanced telecommunications and computing power will assist customers as well as companies. Companies will be able to reach their customer’s faster and will be able to provide and share information at the click of a mouse. This will help eliminate geographical limitations that may burden some companies today. The physical place of companies and where their products are produced will not play an important role in the success of marketing to specific areas of the world. A company working out of China will be able to effectively reach consumers in
the United States. Companies and their products/services will continue to globalize, promoting themselves to consumers all over the world.
As great as this all sounds, companies will also experience an increased competition in pricing. Since consumers will have access to numerous resources, they can readily compare prices and products all over the world. The companies of the future will be greatly challenged by the power of their consumers. But the rewards to stepping up and meeting their desires and wants will surely be rewarding.
Bibliography
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