Total utility is the overall satisfaction a consumer receives from a product, including both initial and additional satisfaction. It is subjective and can decrease with repeated use. Companies can increase total utility by educating consumers on different ways to use their products, leading to increased satisfaction and profits.
Total utility is the cumulative degree of satisfaction a consumer receives through the consumption of a specific product. Because this type of utility is all-encompassing, it includes both the initial, direct satisfaction enjoyed by the consumer as well as the marginal utility or additional satisfaction one gets from the purchase. Typically, consumers tend to focus their attention on goods and services that offer the greatest degree of total utility, rather than similar products that may offer less in terms of personal satisfaction.
It is important to note that total utility is a subjective phenomenon. Two consumers buying the same product will not necessarily receive the same level of satisfaction from consuming that product. For this reason, measuring total utility can be somewhat difficult, making it necessary for producers to rely heavily on consumer feedback about what benefits are derived and whether that total utility is likely to generate further purchases.
Understanding total utility involves understanding what is sometimes known as the law of diminishing marginal utility. In essence, this concept states that every time a consumer uses a product repeatedly, the degree of satisfaction with it will decrease slightly. For example, a very thirsty individual may receive immense satisfaction from drinking a glass of water. A second glass of water is likely to generate some satisfaction, but not as much as the first glass. At some point, the individual is no longer thirsty and thus receives no additional satisfaction from subsequent glasses of water.
The idea of total utility has sometimes been presented as a means of considering customer satisfaction from the first moment of purchase until the last round of consumption. This approach often motivates companies to develop marketing campaigns that educate consumers about the many different ways their products can be used, thereby increasing their value to customers and hopefully increasing satisfaction or usefulness. Food manufacturers tend to use this strategy by developing meal plans and recipes featuring their products, demonstrating the versatility of their products, and providing consumers with inspiration on how to get the most out of the product, beyond the originally intended function.
Similarly, drug companies sometimes conduct ongoing research as a means of discovering additional health situations where a particular drug can be used to effectively treat multiple conditions. One example is the drug bupropion, which is useful in not only helping people overcome tobacco addiction, but can also be effective when used as an antidepressant. Similarly, alprazolam has been found to be useful not only in the treatment of anxiety disorders, but also as a treatment for agoraphobia and various other social phobias that often accompany anxiety. By providing information about the total usefulness of these drugs, manufacturers increase profits by providing products that are helpful to more people.
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