A Conceptual Model of Customer - Company Dynamics in the Convergence Era

The Customer's role in the value chain was limited to that of a user and opinion leader. In the current era of convergence, customers are assuming roles beyond their conventional status. In the 21^st century market place, the customer will play the role of a partner. He/she will no longer he a passive element in the marketing dynamics but will control many variables in the marketing decision-making. Existing literature discusses the role of customers as co-creator or co-developer along with the multilevel roles they play in product testing, company's decision on retailing platforms, personalization, brand building, and pricing by virtue of their competencies. Customer orientation and customer participation have already become key areas for value addition. Through an extensive literature review, the researchers establish the multilevel roles that the customer will play in futuristic marketing decision-making. This paper attempts to identify customer controlled variahles in marketing mix. A conceptual model, which portrays customer-controlled variables in marketing decision making, is proposed.