Demand Patterns
Demand Pattern by Market Segments:
Disaggregation of demand by market segmentation is possible if an organisation has detailed records on customer transactions or the analysis may reveal that the demand from one segment is predictable whereas the demand is relatively random from another segment, For an example, for a bank the current account holders may come daily at predictable time whereas savings account holders may visit the bank at random intervals.
Random Demand Fluctuations:
Random variations in demand are there in every kind of services. For an example, health related events like heart attacks and birth or death all increase the demand for hospital services but the level of demand generally cannot be determined in advance. in the same way natural disasters Such, as floods, fires, droughts, earthquakes, etc. can dramatically increase the need for services such, as health care, insurance, telecommunication etc.
Predictable Cycles:
Variations in demand can be caused by many factors. Some are predictable -while some are not. Tourism services have peak periods at certain holidays and at weekend days. Generally one or more causes can be identified when there exist a predictable pattern.
Charting Demand Pattern:
Those organisations which have computerized customer information systems can do the charting demand over relevant periods. If seasonality is a suspected problem then graphing should be done for data from the past year.
Some of the basic types of demand curves are as follows:
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