ILLUSIONS INDUSTRY
By Psychologist Radu Stoica
Every day illusions are offered to us. Illusions for sale. It is quite a lucrative market for some. Gadgets, mobile phones , tablets and computer games , all kinds of objects that delight the consumer to buy, even to borrow money just to take possession of the latest news in the field. All advertising associated with the marketing of products that offer illusions, has a unique message : “Buy Now , our product is absolutely necessary to have it now , it’s super tender, do not buy their product , because ours is the best” . And if you recently bought a similar product from the same producer, they have a message for this situation too: “in vain do you bought last year a cell phone out of us. This year’s model is much better known to all, is much better than the old product , to which this new product is a revolution in the field now .” If so or not, opinions are divided. Most often major electronics manufacturing companies providing illusions , are tried in courts across the planet because they copied each other different ideas, projects , patents . And all this on the buyer’s money. Which in turn let themselves influenced by all this commercial campaign , and buy without comment everything that is new in the field, and believing the producers which strongly support the undeniable usefulness of their products , although those buyers end up using only a small portion of the applications offered by those gadgets. I read an article recently where reference is made to one of the major manufacturers of electronics, which has invested $ 12 billion in advertising. Very interesting. Why would a manufacturer of electronic invest an amount of money, so large, in an aggressive advertising ? In order to make the world better? As to grow the global economy? To create jobs? Possible. But more important is to eliminate competition. Therefore offer all sorts of promotions , otherwise well studied of older products , in stock , or newer products that they sell at prices comparable to the competition , so to make a profit and the consumer prefers product that , as it has a little more affordable price and similar options, or even something more. Caught in the trap of shopping , the consumer is forced to buy , first to be fashionable , because if there is an older phone or a TV that is not the latest generation of LCD or LED, he becomes an undesirable character, anachronistic and misfit. School children can not stay in class without touch screen phones , the latest generation of phones necessarily more expensive than their teachers’, so to send messages to one another not only by the old SMS , and also by e- mail or blue- tooth. And all of this happens during class hours. After their possibilities. It is not their fault. Who spends the money, is responsible. But that is not a problem. Until it is time to change something. Not much, but something. Probably when each will have the house full of devices and gadgets that use to work great, but offer illusions, consumers will realize the situation they are in.
That they bought illusions. And there’s no little money. But it’s their choice. No one and nothing can prevent them to do what they want with their money. Not even the economic crisis. How large manufacturing companies do sell their products of illusions, however, is brilliant. First, they create a false necessity. The buyer is convinced in the end that it is absolutely necessary to have a specific product, as it has some options. Well, it is likely that the consumer already has a similar product from a competitor that is as good, or even better, but that does not matter. Important is how the trader convinces the buyer to buy his product, and not another competing product, and that certain product, although it has a fairly high price, has a lot of options to justify that price. It doesn’t matter that those options actually have no utility to the consumer, who will not get to use them. The important fact is that the product, its’ price, contains a wealth of options , advantages and facilities which is absolutely normal for manufacturers and dealers to ask a high price. Commercial aspect of the product is the most important condition. It is really a sine qua non. No matter how good the quality of a product would be, it will never have success, as long as the commercial aspect is ignored.
In terms of sales strategy, traders tenaciously follow the steps required by the market game :
– maximum publicity on prime time ;
– the aggressive promotion of the product to the place of its’ trading, by highlighting the qualities and blurring any technical problems;
– inducing the idea that buying that product is only for the benefit of the buyer, that is a super offer;
– induction of the idea that the product is vastly superior to those developed by the competition, although most of the times it is not the case, since the producers copy each other, reaching even the lawsuits in court;
– creating the illusion of necessity of the buyer towards the new product, even though it already has a similar product, but older, which is still functional;
– the use of manipulation and persuasion techniques target audience for placing new products and increase sales.
In conclusion , the market belongs to those who promote aggressive and tenacious illusions supply products . For the moment, the future belongs to them, too. For the moment. Over time, when the market will be saturated by the avalanche of illusory products, the situation will change. The producers were enriched in all these years, will face the situation where their products will not be bought, because it’s not going to be someone to buy them. Everyone will have one gadget or device that would provide the necessary illusions. And then maybe something will change. But until then , there is still time. While some buy illusions, and others are making profit out of it.
Psychologist
Radu Stoica