How Social Change Affects Businesses

Cheryl Walder

BUS 110 / Introduction to Business / April 2013

Salem International University

Week Two Discussion / Social Trends in Business

Analyze Social Change Affecting Businesses

Social Change affects businesses in a number of ways. One way that social change has an affect on businesses is through social trends that make certain products more popular than other ones. When a particular item, type of item, or a brand becomes trendy sales for it will naturally increase, with this increased demand there will also be an increase in production and possibly an increase in the price of the item. There will also be an increase in the number of competitors who start trying to copy the trendy product so that they can get in on the fad too and make a profit for themselves from it. Another side to such trends is that other businesses competing in that same market whose products are less desired or in some certain instances that have grown out of favor in correlation with a sudden surge in the popularity of a competitor’s product, will be impacted in a negative way. When social analysts working with business and industry leaders fail to make the right predictions about what to expect from consumers it can lead to businesses investing their resources in the wrong kinds of technology or backing a product in anticipation of a future demand for it that never actually comes to be… Sometimes businesses try to create social buzz about something and they miss the mark completely and it backfires on them- if customers think they are disingenuous and trying too hard then their actions may come off as seeming fake. The rise in the use of social media has provided a way that businesses can easily stay engaged with customers and allows for them to tap into the minds of customers and interact with them easier than ever before. Social Networks can have a huge impact on businesses- just think about how much a series of negative reviews on a socially powered...