Week 7 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this week’s reading was the discussion of how the perceived value of products and services directly affected the magnitude at which consumers changed their selection. It was interesting to look at consumer concerns aka ‘what is at stake’ for the company as values on a spectrum that in turn tell the company to what degree their model needs to change.  For example, companies could get away with overpricing razors as long as it fit a man’s need for comfort. What confused me about this was how to exactly classify a product on the middle or high end. Although things like health are more important than the car I drive, I place more value on the kind of shave I get on a daily basis than on what kind of car I drive. So, I’m confused why a business could be take the time to see where they can cut corners and still claim to be customer-oriented. It seems to me that the approach is completely anti-consumer and pro-profit. I would ask the author the best way to classify consumer choices- would it be by industry or by emotional investment? Also, how does this all play into the 21^st century where Internet advertisements are already based on past data from the user? Basically, I think the reading is just a little outdated since advertising has become increasingly segmented to a new degree.