Chapter 20
Marketing and Society: Social
Responsibility and Marketing
Ethics
1
Marketing’s Impact on
Individual Consumers
Criticisms Leveled
at the Marketing
Function by
Consumers, and
Others
High Prices
Deceptive Practices
High-Pressure Selling
Shoddy, Unsafe Products
Planned Obsolescence
Poor Service to Some
2
Marketing’s Impact on Individual
Consumers: High Prices
High Prices Caused by the Following Factors
High
Costs of
Distribution
High
Advertising
And
Promotion
Costs
Excessive
Markups
3
Marketing’s Impact on Individual
Consumers: Deceptive Practices
Deceptive
Pricing
Falsely Advertising “Factory” or
“Wholesale” Prices, Large Reduction
From Phony High List Price
Deceptive
Promotion
Overstating the Product’s Features,
Luring Customers to the Store for Out-ofStock Bargains, etc.
Deceptive
Packaging
Exaggerating Package Contents, Not
Filling Package to the Top, Using
Misleading Labeling
4
Discussion Connections
Think back over the past three months or so and
list the instances in which you’ve suffered a
marketing abuse such as those just discussed.
Analyze your list:



What kinds of companies were involved?
Were the abuses intentional?
What did the situations have in common?
Pick one of the instances you listed and describe
it in detail. How might you go about righting this
wrong?
5
Marketing’s Impact on
Society as a Whole
False Wants & Too
Much Materialism
Producing Too Few
Social Goods
Marketing Perceived
Negative Impact on
Society as a
Whole
Too Much Political
Power
Cultural Pollution
6
Marketing’s Impact on Other
Businesses
Acquisitions
of
Competitors
Marketing
Practices
Create
Barriers to
Entry
Unfair
Competitive
Marketing
Practices
7
Consumerism
Consumerism is an Organized Movement of Citizens
and Government Agencies to Improve the Rights and
Power of Buyers in Relation to Sellers.
Buyers’
Rights
Sellers’
Rights
8
Consumerism
The Right to
Choose & Be Informed
The Right to
Be Safe & Protected
Basic Consumer Rights
The Right to Be Heard
About “Quality of Life” Issues
The Right to Choose &
Expect the Product to Perform
9
Many compan ies us e recyclin g as a selling po in t of their prod ucts.
What other companies make a point of mentioning recycling
on their pro duct or in advertising?
Environmentalism
Have a
Sustainability
Economy
Practice
Pollution
Prevention
Practice
Product
Stewardship
Plan for New
Environmental
Technologies
Adopt Design
for the
Environment
10
Enlightened Marketing
Enlightened Marketing Holds That a Company’s Marketing Should
Support the Best Long-Run Performance of the Marketing System.
Consumer-Oriented Marketing
Innovative Marketing
Value Marketing
Sense-of-Mission Marketing
Societal Marketing
11
Long-Run Consumer Benefit
Societal Classification of
Products (Fig. 20.3)
Immediate Satisfaction
High
Low
Low
High
Salutary
Products
Desirable
Products
Deficient
Products
Pleasing
Products
12
Marketing Ethics
Companies Need to Develop Corporate Marketing
Ethics Policies – Broad Guidelines That Everyone in
the Organization Must Follow and Should Address:



Distributor Relations
Advertising
Standards
Customer Service



Pricing
Product
Development
General Ethical
Standards
13
Marketing Ethics
Principles That Should Guide Companies and
Marketing Managers On Issues of Ethics and Social
Responsibility:
Decided by the
Free Market and
Legal System
Responsibility of
Individual
Companies
And Managers
14
Review of Concept
Connections
Identify the major social criticisms of
marketing.
Define consumerism and environmentalism
and explain how they affect marketing
strategies.
Describe the principles of socially
responsible marketing.
Explain the role of ethics in marketing.
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