Introduction to Consumers
Defining Consumers
A consumer is a person (or group) who pays to consume the goods and/or services produced by a seller (i.e., company, organization).
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Define the characteristics of a consumer
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
- Any product, good, or service that is developed must have a target market in mind in order to be effectively marketed and sold.
- There are six types of target markets: a) Consumer Markets; b) Industrial Markets (made up of industrial companies); c) Commercial Markets; d) Government Markets; e) International and Global Markets and f) Markets segmented for strategic targets.
- Some may find the term or label “consumer” somewhat offensive as it is considered to be more descriptive of plain consumption rather than recognizing the person behind the purchase.
- It is important to note that consumers (or customers) play a vital role in the economic system of a nation.
- Marketers are now starting to work on individualizing the concept of “A Consumer,” by engaging in personalized marketing, permission marketing, and mass customization.
Key Terms
- Consumer: The consumer is the one who pays to consume the goods and services produced. As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a nation. In the absence of their effective demand, the producers would lack a key motivation to produce, which is to sell to consumers.
In the fields of economics, marketing and advertising, a consumer is generally defined as the one who pays to consume the goods and services produced by a seller (i.e., company, organization). A consumer can be a person (or group of people), generally categorized as an end user or target demographic for a product, good, or service.
Any product, good, or service that is developed must have a target market in mind, in order to be effectively marketed and sold. In marketing, there are six types of target markets:
- Consumer Markets
- Industrial Markets (made up of industrial companies)
- Commercial Markets (consisting of service companies, non-manufacturing companies, and not-for-profit organizations)
- Government Markets (made up of government agencies)
- International and Global Markets (several markets distinguished by different needs and different cultures)
- Markets segmented for strategic targets (markets segmented by strategy and product characteristics, and hence by characteristics of the buyer)
Some may find the term or label “consumer” somewhat offensive because it can be construed as being more descriptive of plain consumption (black and white purchase), rather than recognizing the person behind the purchase, who typically has feelings, needs and overall importance. It is important to note that consumers (or customers) play a vital role in the economic system of a nation. Typically when business people and economists talk of consumers they are talking about an individual person, an aggregated commodity item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision. Now, there is a trend in marketing to individualize the concept of “A Consumer.” Rather than generating broad demographic profiles and psycho-graphic profiles of market segments (which has been the norm), marketers are now starting to engage in personalized marketing, permission marketing, and mass customization. Marketers are paying close attention to consumer behavior or how potential buyers act when purchasing goods or services for personal consumption.
Open Food Market in Vienna: An open food market shows how consumers play an important role in a nation’s economy.