The Relationship Between Marketers and Consumers
The ultimate task of a marketer is to understand the needs of a target market and to provide a product or service that best serves these needs. The aim is to generate customer loyalty, by ingraining into the customer the positive attributes of your brand.
The ethical relationship between marketing and the consumer is key to the success of an organization. Consumers expect to be treated fairly and with respect. They also expect that the services they receive from organizations will be reliable, responsive and trustworthy. They do not want 'lip service', unrealistic promises, or misleading offerings. Least of all they also do not want to be sold products that are harmful or that give poor value for money.
What is Ethical and Responsible Marketing?
Wikipedia defines ethical marketing as “an honest and factual representation of a product, delivered in a framework of cultural and social values for the consumer”. This kind of marketing promotes qualitative benefits to its target customers, which other similar companies, products or services may fail to recognize.
Consumers’ concern over ethical issues such as child labor, working conditions, relationships with third world countries and environmental problems have encouraged more businesses to produce and market their products in a more socially responsible way. In order for marketers to be able to meet those expectations, they need to address these issues.
One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, there has been a massive global drive towards "green" policies. A socially responsible marketing strategy will encourage "green" consumer behavior. Take the example of Proctor & Gamble (P&G), the consumer goods multinational that won the 2008 UK Marketing Society's Ethical Marketing Prize. Their winning campaign for their Ariel detergent encouraged consumers to “Turn to 30” i.e. Wash clothes at a lower temperature. P&G’s research had shown that a large fraction of the "carbon footprint" of their flagship Ariel detergent came about as a result of heating water to wash clothes. By encouraging consumers to wash clothes at a lower temperature, P&G was able reduce the negative environmental impact of Ariel.
Consequences of Unethical Behavior
A company is responsible for the safety of its product and for making sure it sells such products in an honest and non-exploitative way. Unfortunately, some marketing campaigns misrepresent their products; by citing more advantages than the product actually has, or by knowingly selling substandard or harmful products. This results in customer dissatisfaction and ultimately harms the company's bottom line. Take the example of the Chinese dairy firm Sanlu Group. The company added melamine - a deadly industrial chemical - to watered-down milk in order to fool quality inspectors and increase profits. The tainted formula milk killed at least six infants and sickened nearly 300,000. The resultant public uproar damaged the reputation of the entire Chinese food industry and led to Sanlu Group's bankruptcy early this year. Chinese courts convicted 21 people - two were sentenced to death, two imprisoned for life, and the rest sentenced to jail for terms of between 5 and 15 years. Among those jailed for life was the company's former chairlady.
As awareness of consumer rights increases, and advocacy groups increase pressure on organizations and governments, the priority that organizations must place on the ethical implications of their marketing programs will only increase. In the service industry the relationship between the consumer and the service provider is all that matters. If the consumer perceives that they are being treated unethically they will go elsewhere, often taking others with them.
More and more firms need to answer to the need to offer policies and directions that help managers to approach the problems of marketing ethics. Business ethics represents a reaction against immoral practices with negative effects in society as well as an awareness of moral rules in marketing.
Social responsibility is essential for the long term success and sustainability of a business. It is therefore imperative that firms analyze their marketing activities and find out whether they are actually ethical and socially responsible. Further, it is advisable that organizations conceive corporate policies on marketing ethics that include detailed directions that have to be observed by their staff. Where this is in place ethics and social responsibility will permeate the firm and be imprinted in its corporate culture. This will result in a consistent brand strategy and corporate image.
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Andrew Mutuma