MKTG 1480 | [Type the document title] | Why It’s the Wrong Choice for Modern Businesses | |
Ty Warren
03.27.2013

[Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] |

"Relationship selling is dead!" Various business authors and critics alike have been quoted recently in proclaiming the death of the relationship selling model. One such claim is that in today's increasingly fast-paced and ever-competitive business environment customers simply don't have the time to develop a relationship with you, the seller. Another article argues that with the advent of the internet, most products and services are commodities and therefore most customer generally buy solely based upon price, regardless of whether you have taken the time to develop a relationship or not. However, each of these articles contradict themselves in content by conveying that relationships are necessary to establish an ongoing customer needs analysis. The basis for their claim is the separation of the service of their product from the act of selling it. Meanwhile, each articles fails to acknowledge the utter importance of the return customer's needs and future needs with this ideology. To truly determine whether or not relationship selling is a thing of the past we must first investigate the importance of the relationship selling model and analyze what it truly means to engage in relationship selling. There are many intricacies that go into being a succesful relationship sales professional but at the heart of it, relationship selling is truly about building a friendship with your prosepect and actively listening to their needs. Once you have built a relationship with that potential customer, shown them that you truly care about their needs, and earned their trust, you can then embark on the road to make them your customer. Knowing your customer's needs, and finding their secret fears can help you find solutions for them that are exactly on-target In an article published by Barry Motts, titled "Relationship Selling Is Dead. What's Next?" Motts argues that the internet has changed the way that customers buy and that most products or services are sold simply based upon who has the lowest price. Anthony Iannarino, President and Chief Sales Officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing put it best in his post on the subject stating, "You can make a lot of mistakes and still win in sales. Believing that you can go without relationships isn't one of them . In a time where so many people are behaving like sales is transactional, swim against the current and build the deep relationships that success is built on. All things being equal, relationships win. All things being unequal, relationships still probably win." Yet, there must b

Although there is some truth to this claim, to say that relationship selling is dead and gone is complete and utter hogwash. Althou claims have been made the claim recently that the Relationship Selling model is completely dead and gone. However, with all due respect this claim is completely false. In fact, although evolved to fit society's ever-evolving demands for instant gratifications and a faster paced lifestyles. marketplace, relationship selling is now more important than ever.

As a global society, we have used one third of the world’s natural resources in the last 30 years alone. According to author Annie Leonard, 99% of products purchased by current consumers are no longer in use after just six months. This means that for every 10 products you bring home from the store today, 9 of them will either be thrown away or collecting dust six short months from now. As Americans, we are playing a major role in this drastically increasing consumption problem as we are now consuming twice the amount of stuff today than we did just 50 years ago. Even more frightening is the fact that while the United States contains only 5% of the world’s population, we are using 50% of the world’s resources and creating 30% of the world’s waste. To replenish the stuff we are throwing out, Americans spend an average of 3-4 times more time shopping than our European counterpart repeating this ever-consuming treadmill with no end in sight.
We live in an age where everything gets thrown away; many times when the products are still perfectly functional but are no longer “fashionable” to use. In today’s world, each product is immediately inferior as soon as it is introduced to the market. The Global Market System is such that the faster consumption of products moves; the faster the economy will grow. This throw-away world was developed by companies as a way to naturally stimulate demand for an industry’s products by forcing consumers to purchase their products multiple times without any regard to the toll this system takes on our environment or to the financial consequences to daily consumer.
When originally deciding to implement planned obsolescence manufacturers came up with three solutions: Technical: Build each product to be less durable and make it harder to repair. Design: Artificially age older products by making them seem old-fashioned and out-of-date. Legal: Lobby for new legal requirements and standards that mean customers are actually forced to buy a new product to stay within the law. Many manufacturers reap the benefits of each while some choose a specific approach in their product marketing. It’s a system that impacts our daily lives yet, most consumers are so acclimated to the process that they aren’t even aware of it.
Today’s consumers are not only subject to decreased product life cycles but are also finding that when a product breaks it has quickly become discontinued by the manufacturer or is no longer available. If the consumer attempts to fix the product they often times find that the price of repair is astronomically expensive or that the product is proprietary and must be sent to the producer for expensive repairs. The philosophy is simple; building low quality products results in higher profit margins for the manufacturer. Using throw-away materials not only guarantees a repurchase of a newer product with more features and a higher price but the cost savings end up as pure profit for the producer of the product.
However, this “out with the old and in with the new” lifestyle has a tremendous cost. Not only are consumers’ wallets continuously emptied from chasing an endless supply of new and updated products but many people fall victim to making their purchases on credit once they’ve run out of available cash. From an environmental standpoint, there is a much greater price to pay for planned obsolescence. Constant manufacturing of new and unnecessary products uses up raw materials, contributes to pollution, impacts the quality of the water we drink and the air we breathe. The products then become junk and are sent to our landfills filling them with increasing amounts of garbage and industrial contaminants. Planned obsolescence has affected the lives of consumers since the early 1920’s when manufacturers began shortening product lives to increase consumer demand. When Thomas Edison first introduced the filament light bulb to the world in December of 1879 it was designed to burn for an incredible 1500 hours. Adolphe Chaillet further improved on Edison’s design designing what is now known as “The Shelby Lamp.” This light bulb could burn for an amazing 2500 hours. In fact, one of these bulbs has burned in the Livermore Fire Station in Livermore, California since 1901 and continues to burn today making it the oldest documented light bulb that is still burning today.
Major light bulb manufacturers of the time began to realize the lost profits from these long lasting bulbs and decided to take initiative. Phillips, GE, and Osram co-conspired in a conspiracy from 1924 to 1939 with the goal of controlling the fledgling light-bulb industry. This group of companies code-named the Phoebus Cartel set prices and suppressed competing technologies that would have produced longer-lasting and even more efficient light bulbs. By the time the cartel dissolved in 1940 they had brought the industry standard for light bulbs down to 1,000 hours imposing heavy fines upon any members who exceeded the 1,000 hour mark. At this point, the incandescent bulb was already established as the dominant source of artificial light across Europe and North America. It wouldn’t be until the late 1990’s until compact fluorescent bulbs began to be looked at as viable alternative in the worldwide lighting market.
Yet, it wasn’t until the simultaneous arrival of Great Depression in 1929 and Frederick Taylor’s theory of scientific management to introduce the idea that it is technically possible and commercially desirable demand in the consumer. The 1920’s was for the most part a decade of sustained economic prosperity. With the advent of the assembly line and mass production, newer technology became affordable to the middle class. The sales of automobiles, movies, radio, and chemical industries all soared during the decade.
The chief example of this renaissance was felt within the automobile industry. During the 1920’s vehicles went from being a luxury-only item to a commodity. Canada went from having just 300,000 registered on the roads in 1918 to 1.9 million in 1929. The widespread growth of the industry was felt throughout the world as it contributed to industries such as highway building, mass transit, car dealerships, service stations, and housing projects.
In addition to the great strides made throughout these industries; electrification also progressed at a rapid rate throughout the twenties. New power plants were constructed and power lines were built with electricity production almost quadrupling. Telephone lines were strung across the United States and indoor plumbing with modern sewer systems being installed for the first time in many regions.
Increased incomes, along with the introduction of credit with no credit card funded a huge increase in consumer spending. Shoppers were able to buy big ticket consumer items such as cars, fridges, washing machines, pianos, vacuum cleaners, furniture, and radios on time payment. Previously, these expensive items were only affordable to the wealthy. Those that were wealthy found themselves not only buying these products but also splurging themselves buying antiques and expensive paintings. The upward spiral in prosperity seemingly had no end in sight. Yet, this would all come to a screeching halt when the Great Depression hit in June of 1929.
In his letter titled “Ending the Great Depression Through Planned Obsolescence,” written in 1932, Bernard London first introduced the idea of planned obsolescence as a resolution to the world’s economic struggles by stating, “Factories, warehouses, and fields are still intact and are ready to produce in unlimited quantities, but the urge to go ahead has been paralyzed by a decline in buying power. The existing troubles are man-made, and the remedies must be man-conceived and man executed.
He went on to say, “In a word, people generally, in a frightened and hysterical mood, are using everything that they own longer than was their custom before the depression. In the earlier period of prosperity, the American people did not wait until the last possible bit of use had been extracted from every commodity. They replaced old articles with new for reasons of fashion and up-to-datedness. They gave up old homes and old automobiles long before they were worn out, merely because they were obsolete. All business, transportation, and labor had adjusted themselves to the prevailing habits of the American people. Perhaps, prior to the panic, people were too extravagant; if so, they have now gone to the other extreme and have become retrenchment-mad. People everywhere are today disobeying the law of obsolescence. They are using their old cars, their old tires, their old radios and their old clothing much longer than statisticians had expected on the basis of earlier experience.”

In this same letter, London suggested a new law to set a government-enforced planned obsolescence where products would have been turned over to the government to keep the economy moving. Ultimately, his proposal was ignored but the idea of planned obsolescence was not.
In 1940 Dupont invented a new fiber called Nylon, which was used to create nylon stockings for women. When first introduced these stockings were so strong that in order show their strength executives there are videos of the day of men towing a Willy’s Jeep using the stockings as the tow rope. Women loved the durability and feel of the Nylons Executives soon came to the realization that these stockings were Yet, as they were testing and began to sell this new product company executives soon found that engineers had designed the product to last too long. If the product didn’t wear out soon enough, sales would come to a halt and the company wouldn’t make any money. It was then decided to send the engineers back to the drawing board to weaken the fibers within the material and make it more fragile. After purchasing the original Nylon stockings, the new and “improved” stockings frustrated female consumers as they wore out much sooner than the originals.
Famous designer Brooks Stevens re-introduced planned obsolescence in the 1950’s by advertising “speed and modernity.” Stevens used design and marketing to seduce consumers into purchasing cars, homes, and even detested and normally bland products by giving them sleek and modern styling. He himself defined planned obsolescence as, “instilling the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary.” This ideology of thinking is still prevalent today; promoting freedom and happiness through unlimited consumption.
However, studies have found that personal happiness peaked during the 1950’s and has made a steady decline since as advertisers have continued to place an ever increasing focus on promoting constant consumption to truly be happy as a consumer. Volkswagen, aware of this change introduced an advertising campaign in 1959 with the slogan "We do not believe in planned obsolescence. We don't change a car for the sake of change."
Planned obsolescence produces tons of waste each year with much of this waste being shipped over to third world countries such as Ghana, Africa. Yet, even though shipping this waste is illegal under Federal Law and 80% of these products are damaged beyond repair waste companies get around the law by proclaiming the products as “2nd hand goods.”

obsolescence” isn’t enough many companies turn to “perceived obsolescence” to seduce consumers into the belief that in order for them to truly be happy they must have the latest and greatest products, which quickly become outdated when next year’s product is introduced. Americans spend 3-4 times more than shopping than Europeans. The average house size has doubled since the 1970’s. Yet, this hasn’t always been the case.
.“They just don’t make things like they used to!” It’s a saying that all too frequently but what is the true meaning behind it? Could it be that products were once made to a higher standard quality than that of which they are now? Yes. In fact, many of the products you buy today are doomed to fail prematurely even before you purchase them. Planned obsolescence has affected consumer’s lives since the 1920’s when manufacturers began shortening the lives of products to increase product demand.
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This Modern Hygiene vacuum was