Main economic group
Consumers
The consumer is the one who pays to consume the goods and services produced. As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a nation. In the absence of their effective demand, the producers would lack a key motivation to produce, which is to sell to consumers.
Any product, good, or service that is developed must have a target market in mind in order to be effectively marketed and sold.
There are six types of target markets:
- Consumer Markets;
- Industrial Markets (made up of industrial companies)
- Commercial Markets
- Government Markets
- International and Global Markets
- Markets segmented for strategic targets.
Some may find the term or label "consumer" somewhat offensive as it is considered to be more descriptive of plain consumption rather than recognizing the person behind the purchase.
It is important to note that consumers (or customers) play a vital role in the economic system of a nation.
Producers
A producer is someone who creates and supplies goods or services. Producers combine labor and capital—called factor inputs or factors of production—to create—that is, to output—something else. Businesses—called "firms"—are the main examples of producers and are usually what economists have in mind when talking about producers. However, governments are producers of some kinds of services—such as police services, defense, public schools, and mail delivery—and sometimes goods, such as when a government owns the oil fields and oil production (for example, OPEC). Households and individuals are producers of non-market goods and services such as cleaning, child-rearing, cooked food, etc.
Producers pay wages to workers. Wages include salaries, bonuses, and benefits such as health insurance. What producers pay for capital is called economic rent. Economic rents include interest pyaments. Anything left over for the owner of the business is called economic profit.
