T. Introduction
Today many companies fail. The principal reason why they fail is that what they sell is not what consumers want to buy. Why this problem happen? Mr. Hotaka Katahira，a professor of Tokyo University, studied this problem. Finally he discovered that makers are what they were，while consumers are not what they were. Many makers have sold goods，which is similar to goods of another makers, and have made consumers regard these goods as new goods，though they are almost same as the goods sold before. The President of these makers have said，"All we have to do is to increase our share." Consumers wanted to buy goods made by major makers. They liked goods which is not unusual to them，but is called new goods. Mr. Katahira calls this trend a principle that something big or usual or new should be best. Makers recognized consumer's needs on this principle, and was able to sell many goods. But today, consumers believe not this old principle but a new principle. What is the new principle? It is the principle that something, which is original and which shows that the maker contribute to society, is best. They often say, "It is not important weather the maker is famous. We love makers which have originality and try to take responsibility for society." Are there such makers? Yes, there are. Mr. Katahira calls them Brand Marketer. On the other hand, the marketers which still believe the old principle are called Share Marketers. Today there are more Share Marketers than Brand Marketers, though many consumers don't want to buy goods of Share Marketers. In this way, many makers can't satisfy consumers, and there is the deep gap between them. But we shouldn't forget that each marketer is a consumer when he leaves office. Some marketers believe the old principle, and buy or sell goods on the old principle. I call them type-Ａ. Other marketers continue to sell goods on the old principle, though they don't believe it. They follow a new principle, when they leave office. I call them type-B. How about young people, who will be marketers in the future? Do they hope to be a Share marketer, type-Ａ and type-Ｂ, or a Brand Marketer, who I call type-C? If many student hope to be Share marketer, gap between makers and consumers keeps widening. If many students hope to be a Brand marketer, the gap will be filled. Will it be widen, or narrowed? I study this question.
U. Study
@) Method A) Result
QUESTIONNAIRE1
【ideal】
Q1. What is the goal of marketer?
Q2. What is the strongest power of maker?
Q3. Please tell me the base on which you decide maker to work. Q4. Are you for or against life-time employment?
Q5. Are you for or against mass production and mass consumption system?
Q6. Which president is more necessary for a company?
Q7. Which people are more important for a maker?
Q8. How do you think about the idea that a maker is a family?
【real】
Q1. Select one thing which is the most important for you.
Q2. Select one person who is the most similar with you in the future.
Q3. Select one president you regard as wise.
Q4. Select goods you want to sell.
Q5. If you are a manager of promotion, which way do you select?
Q6. If you are a marketing manager, how do you think about marketing?
A6.■What goods will be popular next year?
□What consumers have bought these goods? What do they think now?
Q7. Select goods you want to sell.
A7.■goods loved everyone
□goods which can satisfied such consumers as repeater or "royal consumers".
Q8. Select one opinion you consider as right.
A8. ■We need to sell goods which give users more benefit, because today taste is different from user to user.
□We need to sell goods which have a strong point, because consumers need their own life-style.
Q9. Which marketing is more important?
A9. ■Marketing before I sell goods is more important, because we have to consider how to sell goods next time in order to sell many goods, after we sold some goods.
□Marketing after I sold goods is more important, because some goods will needs service after some years, and users are satisfied with good one.
Q10. How do you think of a system of susiya which try to keeps noren and loves patronage and makes goods in front of consumers.
A10. ■the old way of thinking, not understandable
□essence of marketing
QUESTIONNQIRE2
【your own sense of values】
Q1. Don't you want goods which don't fit your sense of values, even if you are able to buy them cheap?
A1. ■No □Yes
Q2. Do you want to know what makers do for society or ecology?
A2. ■No □Yes
【creative power】
Q3. Which wedding do you hope?
A3. ■wedding produced by a wedding-company □wedding which a couple designed on their own
Q4. Which travel do you like?
A4. ■a package tour □travel on my own plan
【a sense of price】
Q5. Do you watch handbills of supermarkets?
A5. ■I don't watch them at all. □I watch them everyday.
■I watch few of them. □I watch often them.
【stand about ecology】
Q6. Which car do you want to buy?
A6. ■price:2000000yen/a gasoline car □price:2600000yen/a
Q7. Do you buy the goods, even if they are costly because of recycling?
A7. ■No □Yes
【the whole】
Q8. Is it important whether the maker is famous or not, when you buy goods?
A8. ■Yes □No
Q9. Is it important for you whether goods have originality or not?
A9. ■No □Yes
Q10. Do you want to buy new goods as soon as they are sold?
A10. ■Yes □No
Ｑ11. Do you think about the way the maker contribute to society, when you buy goods?
A11. ■No □Yes
Q12. How do you do, if a bag, shoes, or TV, which you have used, are damaged?
A12. ■I buy a new bag, table, or chair. □I have them repaired.
Q13. Please write something you associate "NOREN" and "Brand" with.
A13. EX; "NOREN": old/something to keep/Japan
"Brand": noble/reliable
B) the analysis of data W) discussion
35 second-year students at Doshisha Univercity, selected on a voluntary basis, participated in the study. I conducted two surveys. One survey was conducted to investigate what marketer they want to be in the future, and what marketer they think they will be in reality. The other survey was conducted to examine what point of view about consumption they have. I call the former QUESTIONNAIRE1, and the latter QUESTIONNAIRE2. Firstly I show you QUESTIONNAIRE1. I gave the subject 18 questions. Eight of them are questions about their ideal as marketers in the future. Ten of them are questions about their reality as marketers. If they select a keyword about which indicates that they are not Share-marketer but Brand-marketer, they score 1. Concerning the first 8 questions, I categorize the subjects who scored 5 to 8, as the people who want to be a Brand marketer, and categorize the subjects who scored 0 to 4, as the people who want to be Share marketer. Concerning 10 questions, I categorize the subjects who scored 6 to 10, as people who think they will be Brand-marketer in reality, and categorize the subjects who scored 0 to 5, as the people who think they will be Share-marketer in reality. In this way, subjects are divided into 4 groups. This diagram shows the 4 groups. But I delete type-4, because nobody is member of type-4.
Ideal Reality
Type-1 Share-marketer Share-marketer
Type-2 Brand-marketer Share-marketer
Type-3 Brand-marketer Brand-marketer
Ttype-4 Share-marketer Brand-marketer
Secondly I show you QUESTIONNAIRE2. I asked 13 questions in order to learn how many people are "new consumer". "New consumer" are people who have their own point of view, who like originality, or who are interested in environment problem. If subjects select a keyword about these characters, they score 1. I categorize the subjects who scored 7 to 13, as "new consumer", and categorize the subjects who scored 0 to 6, as "old consumer." Please connect QUESTIONNAIRE1 with QUESTIONNAIRE2. You can see this diagram.
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I call Type-1 and "old consumer" A. I call Type-1 and "new consumer" B-a. I call Type-2 and "new consumer" B-b. I call Type-3 and "new consumer" C. Which group has the most subjects? Does A, B-a, B-b, or C? You can see the result in next data.
These data is result of QUESTION1&2.
A1. ■to wide a share □to realization a dream
■to make profits □public interest or contribution to society
■to be NO.1 in the industry
A2. ■figure □dream
■to cut cost □ideal
■to make system more efficient □for workers to joint
■stockholder
A3. ■to be major maker □You have what to do in the maker.
■to be able to survive in the future □You see the ideal of maker as wonderful.
■a salary
A4. ■against □for
A5. ■for □against
A6. ■an outsider
□a man who has succeeded inside the company since he worked for the company
A7. ■employees □stockholders
A8. ■the old way of thikng □wonderful
■not right □right
A1. ■the masses □consumer
■opinion of superior □Brand
A2. ■Mike said, "All I have to do is to achieve a goal my superior consider.
■Joe said, "I don't select means to achieve a goal, even if the way of doing is against moral.
□ Mary said, "I have a dream, but I try not to say my opinion or do anything new, because companies try to eliminate such employees."
□ Ann said, "I work not only to make a living but also to feel happiness."
□ Jane said, "I am proud of being a member of my company."
A3. ■Mike said, "All we have to do is to consider how much we can sell."
■Joe said, "A company can't survive, if it depends on the idea of the company."
□Mary said, "First, do your best to give consumers happiness. Second, try to get a profit.
□Ann said, "We provide consumers with a dream. If we think of just profit, we could double it by tomorrow.
A4. ■These goods are sure to be sold well, but don't fit the image of your company.
□ These goods fit the image of your company, but aren't sure to be sold well.
A5. ■I try to do something new and make image of my maker fresh.
□I try my best to keep image of my maker.
I want you to recall that I call type-A, type-B-a, and type-B-b Share-marketer, and call type-C Brand-marketer. I discovered two things. First There are far more new-consumers than old-consumers. Second there are more potential Share-marketers, type-A, type-B-a, and type-B-b than Brand-marketer, type-C. What characteristic do potential Share-marketers have? Many of potential Share-marketers are male and students who are registered in the school of Economics and Commerce. Why many of them are Share-marketers?
There is a problem in education in family and university. But the education in family and university is affected by maker's way of thinking, "old principle." This is a sheer problem to resolve. In family mothers have said to their son, "you are a boy. If you are married, you hove to make your wife and children happy. In order to do so, you have to study more and enter a famous university." Poor boys were forced to study more, and they entered a famous university. At the university, most of professors teaches them how major makers have made profits, and the way they have increase a share. Until now, family and university have depended on maker's way of thinking, "old principle". Society, including family and university, has regarded "old principle" as the best. Today people, including students, already haven't believe this principle as a consumer. But People still have clung to this principle as employees, or members of organization. Some don't feel the contradiction. Others find it, and are worried about it. They often say, "I really hope to be not a Share-marketer but a Brand-marketer. But it is impossible to be so." But they should find that Share-marketer no longer survive, because most of consumers already haven't believe "old principle." What really should change now? It is just makers, which have affected education in family and university, and have made students believe that "old principle" is the best, and are worried about "old principle" breaking down now. Makers need to adopt "new principle." If they do, some student learn that they are able to survive as Brand-marketer, which is their ideal, and other students find a new way of thinking. At that time, the gap between consumers and makers can be filled. Makers must learn that "old principle" will keep on producing Share-marketer and magnifying the gap between consumers and makers, and must adopt "new principle", which give makers the way to survive.
V. Conclusion
@) the summery of the findings A) the implication of my study B) the limitation of my study
From a result of my study, I learned that the gap between consumers and makers will expand, because most of students are new-consumer, while many of them hope to be Share-marketer. What makes them do? It is not only education in family or university but also society which have regarded maker's way of thinking, "old principle," as the best. What should change now? It is maker's way of thinking. They have to behave on "new principle." "New principle" will make students, employees in the future, feel proud of working, satisfy consumers, and give makers themselves the way to survive. Consumers will be pleased to support such makers.
My study showed what point many makers should learn and what should be done. Many of students will be Share-marketers, while most of them are new-consumer, and the gap between consumers and makers will expand even more. Makers have to delete "old principle" and adopt "new principle" in order to make more students be Brand-marketer and fill the gap and survive in the future.
In this study, I wasn't able to write the way Brand-marketer behave, and how they are. I hope to write this aspect next time.
Works Cited
Katahira, Hotaka. Principles of Power Brands. Tokyo:Daiyamondosha, 1999.