Assignment 5

your understanding about "DEATH OF THE CONSUMERS" .. cite examples (at least 3000words)
Being a prosumer means we're part consumer and part producer. We don't have to passively watch TV ads, we can make our own.
Prosumers, what’s with consumers that made them as a prosumers now-a-days? As we can see as a tag line it says that “Being a prosumer means we're part consumer and part producer. We don't have to passively watch TV ads, we can make our own.” It is about the evolution of man kind as consumers. As we recall we can see that consumers are those who accept of whatever the market offers and not asking anything from it as an improvement that’s why refrigerators stays as a refrigerator for how many years now. Its because consumers are not the active on what other things a refrigerator can do. All they think is that refrigerators will only work as a PC… “Personal Chillers”, but to think we had a big improvements when it comes to other technologies, for years ago we only ndrive cars with whatever in it but now most cars are already pimped, customized and shaped into whatever the consumer wants it to be. From simple driving cars now we have cars with built in TV and radio in it and the best part is it also have a built in GPS. From passive consumers we all turned into a prosumer, proactive consumers. We don’t lie down and rest at night without doing anything with what we want to happen.
The concept of a prosumer is a late 20th century idea that combines some of the common characteristics of a professional and a consumer. The term is generally applied to situations where consumers are considered to have reached a level of sophistication that the professional-consumer can effectively dictate the perimeters for the production of goods and services in terms of quality and structure. The difference between the garden variety consumer and the prosumer is that the latter typically possesses such a strong working knowledge with the product that he or she can successfully determine and perhaps even design a better product offering.
Prosumer is a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or producer with the word consumer. The term has taken on multiple conflicting meanings: the business sector sees the prosumer (professional–consumer) as a market segment, whereas economists see the prosumer (producer–consumer) as having greater independence from the mainstream economy. It can also be thought of as converse to the consumer with a passive role, denoting an active role as the individual gets more involved in the process. More recently, in the mental health field, the word "'prosumer'" has come to mean "consumer/provider," also known as a "peer provider," such as a peer support specialist or other mental health consumer who also provides peer support mental health services (background on peer-run mental health services). The word "Prosumerise" has been coined by Widality to represent the merging of the IT and mobility requirements of the prosumer, consumer, and enterprise.Mark this word in your mental diaries: Prosumer.
This word is becoming fairly common but can be confusing, as it has two meanings. It was coined in 1980 by the futurist Alvin Toffler — in his book The Third Wave — as a blend of producer and consumer. He used it to describe a possible future type of consumer who would become involved in the design and manufacture of products, so they could be made to individual specification. He argued that we would then no longer be a passive market upon which industry dumped consumer goods but a part of the creative process. Derrick de Kerckhove has called this mass customisation, in which everybody is in effect a member of a niche market, something Internet e-commerce is encouraging through cutting out the middleman between maker and buyer. This sense of prosumer has been taken up by some marketing people, but remains limited in its application.
The second usage describes a purchaser of technical equipment who wants to obtain goods of a better quality than consumer items, but can’t afford professional items (older terms for goods of this intermediate quality are semi-professional and industrial quality). Here, the word is a blend of professional and consumer. Prosumers of this sort are famed for their enthusiasm for new products and their tolerance of flaws and, from the marketing point of view, have much in common with early adopters. This usage is common among those selling video equipment, digital cameras, and similar goods (and the examples below illustrate this sense). Some manufacturers treat the SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) market as being much the same thing.

How do you view customers and your relationship with them amidst this great shift in consumer behavior?
“What is the difference between Consumer and Prosumer?”, you may ask. Is this just semantics; more Internet ‘mumbo-jumbo’ or propaganda to keep us as business owners in the dark as to where our marketing dollars are disappearing to? You ask very good questions!
By definition, Consumer is: “One that consumes, one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership” or put another way, “A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.” It’s all about the sale, who cares about the person. Ever been on the other end of that? Wow, what a selfish, demeaning view of our valued customers, definitely web 1.0!
Now a Prosumer is: “One who is converse to the consumer, denoting an active role as the individual gets more involved in the process.” That’s right, we are interested in others 1st, sharing, giving, earning their trust. Hmm… you mean customers have feelings? Opinions? They are not just mindless “organisms” who just “consumes” matter? (Yuck – who would want one of THOSE in your store.) You better, if you want to have a store in the near future.
The point – our view of our customers is critical. They are changing, they have choices. They can get poor service anywhere. Life is stressful, anxiety is growing in our neighbors lives, procrastination is up 40%, rage and rudeness are increasing across the board amongst ‘service’ providers.
Think of the Apple Store (I love the Apple Store!) – they are a perfect example of everyone in the company, top to bottom, viewing everyone that walks in the door as a Prosumer. They are there to help you, no pressure, as you walk around, you notice everything works and is unlocked, feel free to use as you wish. If you have something broken, they will fix it for free. Need a genius, go the genius bar and get excellent service from people who want to help you and get it right the first time. We love it as Prosumers, we feel great, we are comfortable here, we will be back.
You may be now asking yourself, “what do I do now if I see that I am old school’? and “How do I change it”? First, I commend you for your honesty (more business leaders needs more humility when it comes to examining their business model and accepting that changing to a social media system is going to be disruptive to the current one in place, but it is critical) and second, you ask very good questions.
As those of us who run businesses, we find ourselves in the most anxiety filled time in modern history; along with that, there are a couple of obstacles we have to acknowledge first before proceeding. Today’s climate is hard on us as business leaders, with uncertainty at every turn, the complexity of adjusting to new demands, increasingly shorter product lifecycles, competition, etc., there are the facts., which can lead some to succumb to the “eat or be eaten” mentality. Ahh….what do I do??? Please step away from the ledge… slowly…. thank you. Here are just a few helpful suggestions, to see things from the Prosumer’s perspective that may help us tweak our operation and get us on the right path without having to do a lot of heavy lifting:
1) Understand we are all in the same boat – every business is in a similar situation. They are all struggling trying to catch up to the social behavior shift which has left there showrooms empty. Face it, we have created a monster. Our poor customers are left to fend for themselves, our culture of treating them like customers (‘who’s next in line? hurry up..’) has left them feeling suspicious, distrustful, with no inherent loyalty, and only focused on price and convenience, and feel defensive, suspicious and that we are the adversary as soon as they walk into our business. I do. That means whatever your price is, I’m looking on the web to find it cheaper. Result? – we all lose, business profits dwindle in our community, jobs lost. We have to understand it is what it is, and IT doesn’t work anymore. We have to lift our heads out of our computers and look around, realize the situation, and do something about it.
2) SEE the goal – Our goal is simple, sustainable profits and growth right? The only way, let me repeat that, the ONLY way for that to happen in your business in today’s climate is to build customer equity = trust, confidence in us, we care, NO hype, NO infomercial techniques, those are dead. Our customers, Prosumers, need to realize and see manifested in our business model that we don’t have a hidden agenda, help them to learn from their experience with us that they can trust us. And finally, they should pick up from their interaction with us that when they deal with us, it’s not about ’selling them something’, it about their experience and making it the most enjoyable that we can. (i.e.; Apple Store) . Look at your operation and SEE where you can adjust and apply some of these principles. Look hard, they are there.
3) Make the shift ASAP – Most businesses still operate in the adversarial ‘consumer’ arena and use traditional media to advertize their ’sales’ and ’sales’, blah, blah, blah. This does not work any more – in fact, most companies that remain in the status quo are finding they are paying a “trust tax”, a transaction (soon to be reaction) costs which can be up to 70% of the item, which destroys profit margin and will force companies into extinction if they remain unchanged in their methods. (BTW: we earn trust, it’s not automatic, it takes time and isn’t as easy as advertising it, like the guy in the photo on the left) We must make the shift from ’selling things’ to noticing people! We need to build a desire with our Prosumers, cultivate relationships, create a sense of comfortable community for them. If you have been reading my articles over the years, you will recall my simple formula: Thoughts + Feelings = Actions. Now, this is a two edged sword, but one that if used right, and all the focus is on the Prosumer’s experience when we get an opportunity, that we are going to dazzle them with service, since we are all human, using my formula will create – Trust + Desire = Purchase, and continued experience results in loyalty and brand (“your brand”) advocacy. It works, 100% of the time!
So, how do you view your customers? Why not ask some of them, unless your afraid of what they might tell you. If you are, then you should.
The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products); The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media); The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer; and How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.
From Consumer to Prosumer: Who Keeps Shifting My Paradigm? (We Do!)