Huang Shan Today

Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

Promotion is the component of the marketing mix that gives rise to the majority of ethical questions. Personal selling has always been the target of ethically based criticism. Early traders, pack peddlers, greeters, drummers, and today’s used-car salespeople, for example, have all been accused of marketing malpractice, ranging from exaggerating product merits to outright deceit. Gifts and bribes are common ethical abuses. Advertisers now sWow women in varied situations, especially in nontraditional work roles such as bus driver, bank officer, and heavy-equipment operator.
Since the early 1970s, the auto industry has advertised air bags as a breakthrough safety device. For years, air bags have been mandatory safety equipment on all new cars sold in the United States. Auto companies promoting safety as a distinguishing characteristic have even begun to install side air bags in door panels. But in recent years, some have called the devices child killers. As data on deaths of children and short adults caused by the pressure of inflated air bags accumulates, questions arise about the responsibility automakers have to inform the public of the danger and to take steps to solve the problems.37
Providing consumer information in promotional strategies also presents ethical dilemmas for Internet marketers. Because the Web is still in its infancy, deciding on how to regulate Internet transactions must involve careful consideration of the outcomes of any such rules. Marketers agree that the most important benefit in Web advertising is the staggering number of consumers that can be reached, and the greatest challenge is holding their interest. Any restraints placed on Internet marketers should not hinder these two fundamental activities. One of the more recent issues concerns hill and fair disclosures in Web advertising. The question is whether disclosures must be placed at the very top of the Web page—a small area that marketers do not want to relegate to an official notice—rather than an interest-grabbing promotional message. So far, the Federal Trade Commission has not made any hard rules but, instead, has offered guidelines on how to make disclosures easy for consumers to find.

A firm’s channel strategy is required to deal with two kinds of ethical questions:
1. What is the appropriate degree of control over the channel?
2. Should a company distribute its products in marginally profitable outlets that have no alternative source of supply?
The question of control typically arises in relationships between manufacturers and franchise dealers. Should an automobile dealership, a gas station, or a fast-food outlet be coerced to purchase parts, materials, and supplementary services from the parent organization? ‘What is the proper degree of control in the channel of distribution?
The second question concerns marketers’ responsibility to serve unsatisfied market segments even if the profit potential is slight. Should marketers serve retail stores in low-income areas, serve users of limited amounts of the firm’s product, or serve a declining rural market? These problems are difficult to resolve because they often involve individuals rather than broad segments of the general public. An important first step is to ensure that the firm consistently enforces its channel policies.

Product quality, planned obsolescence, brand similarity, and packaging questions are significant concerns of consumers, managers, and governments. Competitive pressures have forced some marketers into packaging practices that may be considered misleading, deceptive, and/or unethical. Some firms make packages larger than necessary to gain shelf space and consumer exposure in the supermarket. Odd-sized packages make price comparisons difficult. Botdes with concave bottoms give the impression that they contain more liquid than they actually do. The real question seems to be whether these practices can be justified in the name of competition. Growing regulatory mandates appear to be narrowing the range of discretion in this area.
Product testing is another area that raises ethical concerns. To help assure consumers of product quality, many companies use seals of approval for their goods and services, such as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and seals of the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association. Recently, however, consumers have begun to question whether the use of these seals
isethical, since they have to be purchased at fees ranging from $10,000 to $1 million. The seals also do not promise that the product is the best one on the market. Many of the organizations
that offer seals of approval do not conduct product testing themselves or even compare brands.