In many ways, the bargaining power of buyers is the flip side of the bargaining power of suppliers. Buyers are the customers of an industry. The power of buyers concerns the pressure an industry’s customers can put on the producer’s margins in the industry by demanding a lower price or higher product quality. When buyers successfully obtain price discounts, it reduces a firm’s top line (revenue). When buyers demand higher quality and more service, it generally raises production costs. Strong buyers can therefore reduce industry profit potential and with it, a firm’s profitability. Powerful buyers are a threat to the producing firms because they reduce the industry’s profit potential by capturing part of the economic value created.