Planned Obsolescence
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Planned obsolescence, to me, can be described as a strategy adopted by companies to exit a current product, either to increase sales and profit by introducing a new one.
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Yes, companies can strategically implement planned obsolescence. In doing this, certain things are considered: quality, durability, and deep customer insight. It is not supposed to push customers to abandon their current products, especially in hardware items like phones, electronics, and household items. Any planned obsolescence that inflicts such pain on customers might end up losing customers and having loyalty issues. The company might end up losing sales and going bankrupt.
Instead of a poorly planned obsolescence, customers look forward to purchasing products that offer seamless customer service, repair options, frequent updates, swapping, and even depreciation value. Some customers will prefer a flexible subscription to a one-off purchase that expires without fulfillment or serious usage.
Implementing planned obsolescence is not a matter of years but of how well it is planned, the quality of the products, and the value it adds to customers.
For example, electricity payments in my country of origin used to be estimated. This caused pain for users, including internet and television subscriptions. Initially, it was just a one-month full subscription; oftentimes, it expires without serious usage. This was causing a serious rift between companies and consumers with steady protests and chaos, until the regulatory bodies waded in, and the pay-as-you-use policy was established. Today, consumers are given prepaid meters. They recharge their cards and choose how they want to use them; the same applies to internet subscriptions, which are now flexible with different subscription plans like daily, weekly, monthly, and others.
Planned obsolescence should not be a strategy to force products down customers' throats, but a win-win balance with options to choose from. That way, varieties will become the spice of life for consumers while the company also enjoys the dividend of an increased customer database, viable profits, and strong return on investment. The economy will witness a boost in GDP, sustainability, and peaceful coexistence among the stakeholders.
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Therefore, I can comfortably state that planned obsolescence should not be a company's strategy for exiting a product, but rather a deep look towards working with customers to strengthen the product's value, quality, and durability to gain customers' confidence and loyalty. If the right options are implemented with customers and other stakeholders carried along, companies will have more sales and profit margins to play around with and smile at their banks at the end of the day.
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