ASSIGNMENT HELP | Ethical and Unethical Marketing

Every business often relies on marketing to attract customers and to optimally sell its products or services. However, marketing can sometimes incorporate unethical means of promoting the products, especially when the market is quite competitive and there exists excessive desires to have a competitive edge. Marketing can thus be defined as a socio-economic process through which an organization can increase its product’s marketability through specific practices like brand awareness (Sunil, n.d). It is marketing that often drives the sales of a given product by meeting the target market’s specific needs. Proper marketing skills make it possible for an organization to learn consumer behaviors and trends in the market and how its strategies can come up with products that reflect consumer expectations. However, marketing should be done in the most ethical manner possible. In this case, ethics refers to the principles of right conduct that often shape the decisions that an organization has to make. This task looks at ethical and unethical principles in marketing.

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Ethical and Unethical Marketing

Ethical marketing can be defined as the use of marketing ethics in the process of marketing. It is often about making marketing decisions with moral principles in mind. The ethics of marketing decisions can include any marketing aspect such as sourcing of materials, employment of staff, and advertising of products and pricing. A clear consideration of the ethical principles of marketing will consider consumer satisfaction as the main consideration. Organizations are expected to avoid any possible negative effects. Some of the ethical issues in marketing are hereby discussed.

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Honesty

Honesty is one of the most important components in marketing products and services. Consumers expect that organizations undertake their marketing with utmost honesty and integrity. Being 100% honest in the marketing process is the best way organizations can get customer loyalty. Honesty calls on organizations to declare all aspects about the product without concealing any defaults if they exist. Most organizations often lie about their products’ nature as they focus more on making profits other than serving their customers. Marketers must declare any information relevant to their products with utmost honesty for the sake of their customers.

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 For instance, food products need to declare the contents in the food products and the expiry date to be fully aware of what they are consuming. Unfortunately, most manufacturers will often avoid mentioning what the ingredients are while others are tempted to change their food products’ expiry date, rendering unsafe for consumption. For drugs, honesty dictates that manufacturers indicate the side effects to help consumers choose whether to buy the drugs or go for the alternative. Any deceptive practices meant to tap into the innocent market can thus be categorized as unethical in marketing. 

Exclusion in Marketing

Marketing can be targeted, especially when the organization/ marketer has an existing market in mind. However, there should be no discriminative practices as that will amount to unethical marketing. Selective marketing is often used to discourage demand from markets that are perceived to be undesirable. For instance, exclusion based on sexual orientation, race, ethnic background, and other exceptionalities amounts to unethical marketing. For instance, think of a company whose marketing strategy directly/ indirectly excludes people of color.

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An example can be marketing a rental apartment with clear conditions for all residents from a specific race (Frias, 2020). Although exclusion marketing is often essential when a target market is in mind, customizing the target audience can be unethical if not well implemented. Exclusion marketing can also entail using women as sex symbols for advertising or advertising products that are not age-sensitive. Advertising agencies must ensure that the advert being made doesn’t infringe on the rights of others who may not be part of the target market.

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Protecting Consumer Data

Consumer data is one of the most sensitive aspects in any marketing process. Consumers become increasingly concerned about disclosing their data with companies as they either misuse such data. For instance, a consumer can be subscribed to advertising alerts, even without their consent as long as their data is with a company. Companies must, therefore, commit to keeping the privacy of the data of their consumers. Consumers should only be sent promotional materials when they consent/ willingly subscribe. Additionally, private data should not be sent to a third party for any reason.

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Responding Meaningfully to Concerns of Consumers

In marketing, the response that consumers give is essential as it determines their level of acceptance and the effectiveness of any organization’s marketing strategies. If consumers have any concerns about the product for instance its safety or any questions regarding the service being rendered, the company should take that as a priority and respond to the concern in the appropriate manner possible. Additionally, the organization should strive to protect the rights of consumers and investigate any potential complaint. Failure to adhere to such aspects will prove to compromise the ethical aspects of marketing.

Every ethical marketing strategy should also seek to benefit as many people as possible by avoiding any potential harm or cost to the consumer. The aim of every marketer should be to make an overall and lasting positive impact at all times. Therefore, when engaging consumers through any platform, the marketer’s aim should be to fully address the consumer’s concerns.

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What to be Avoided to Comply with Ethical Marketing

There are many strategies that companies can seek to employ in their quest to comply with the ethical aspects of marketing. Some of the aspects to avoid include making false comparisons through unscrupulous tactics like making inaccurate statements regarding the products or services offered by the competitor or making any unverified claim about the products’ qualities without any scientific backing (Murphy, 2017). For instance, asserting that a product is 100% pure when there is no proof of the same.

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Marketers should also not stereotype using nude objects to promote a product that erodes the societal culture and expectations. Another common aspect that can be regarded as unethical is the exploiting on emotions. One of the best ways to gain interest in a product or service is by getting an emotional reaction from the target market. However, evoking negative emotions like fear, rage, and sadness could be interpreted as exploitation and unethical.

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In conclusion, marketers must examine their marketing strategies from time to time to find ways to modify it to comply with ethical expectations. Critical aspects like honesty and transparency, avoiding harm to the patient, and reducing unhealthy competition are the most feasible ways to guarantee ethical compliance in marketing.