Social responsibility of marketing

Social responsibility of marketing

Socially responsible marketing is critical of excessive consumerism and environmental damages caused by corporations. It is based on the idea that market offerings must not be only profit-driven, but they must also reinforce social and ethical values for the benefit of citizens.

The idea of socially responsible marketing is sometimes viewed as an extension of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR is promoted as a business model to help companies self-regulate, recognizing that their activities impact an assortment of stakeholders, including the general public.

CSR is sometimes described in terms a pyramid, starting

With economic as its base, then legal, ethical and philanthropic

Actions at the top. It is in the last two layers of the CSR

Pyramid, ethical and philanthropic, that socially responsible

Marketing opportunities appear the greatest. Meeting the first

Two layers, economic and legal, are necessary for a business

To thrive in order to engage in the latter two

Socially Responsible Marketing and Ethics

Social responsibility in marketing is often discussed with ethics. The difference between the two is that what’s considered ethical in terms of business, society and individually may not be the same thing––nor do all business actions necessarily have to be socially responsible in order to be considered ethical. Some viewpoints of socially responsible behavior espouse that the qualifying marketing actions not simply meet the minimum ethical guidelines of business, but voluntarily exceed them.

Marketing ethics is an area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles behind the operation and regulation of marketing. Some areas of marketing ethics (ethics of advertising and promotion) overlap with media ethics.

Ethical marketing is less of a marketing strategy and more of a philosophy that informs all marketing efforts. It seeks to promote honesty, fairness, and responsibility in all advertising. Ethics is a notoriously difficult subject because everyone has subjective judgments about what is “right” and what is “wrong.” For this reason, ethical marketing is not a hard and fast list of rules, but a general set of guidelines to assist companies as they evaluate new marketing strategies.

Basic principles and values that govern the business practices of those engaged in promoting products or services to consumers. Sound marketing ethics are typically those that result in or at least do not negatively impact consumer satisfaction with the goods and services being promoted or with the company producing them.

Principles of ethical Marketing

• All marketing communications share the common standard of truth.
• Marketing professionals abide by the highest standard of personal ethics.
• Advertising is clearly distinguished from news and entertainment content.
• Marketers should be transparent about who they pay to endorse their products.
• Consumers should be treated fairly based on the nature of the product and the nature of the consumer (e.g. marketing to children).
• The privacy of the consumer should never be compromised.
• Marketers must comply with regulations and standards established by governmental and professional organizations.
• Ethics should be discussed openly and honestly during all marketing decisions.

Types of unethical advertising

• Surrogate Advertising – In certain places there are laws against advertising products like cigarettes or alcohol. Surrogate advertising finds ways to remind consumers of these products without referencing them directly.
• Exaggeration – Some advertisers use false claims about a product's quality or popularity. A Slogan like “get coverage everywhere on earth” advertises features that cannot be delivered.
• Puffery – When an advertiser relies on subjective rather than objective claims, they are puffing up their products. Statements like “the best tasting coffee” cannot be confirmed objectively.
• Unverified Claims – Many products promise to deliver results without providing any scientific evidence. Shampoo commercials that promise stronger, shinier hair do so without telling consumers why or how.
• False brand comparisons – Any time a company makes false or misleading claims about their competitors they are spreading misinformation.
• Children in advertising – Children consume huge amounts of advertising without being able to evaluate it objectively. Exploiting this innocence is one of the most common unethical marketing practices.

Ethical consumerism (alternatively called ethical consumption, ethical purchasing, moral purchasing, ethical sourcing, ethical shopping or green consumerism) is a type of consumer activism that is based on the concept of dollar voting. It is practiced through 'positive buying' in that ethical products are favoured, or 'moral boycott', that is negative purchasing and company-based purchasing

Consumerism is an organized social movement intended to strengthen the rights and power of consumers relative to sellers—alert marketers view it as an opportunity to serve consumers better by providing more education, information, and protection •

Area of consumerism

Environment:- Environmental reporting, Nuclear power, Climate change, Pollution& Toxics.

People:- Human rights, Workers rights, Supply chain policy, irresponsible marketing

Animals:- Animal testing, Factory forming, Other animal rights.

Political:- Political activities, Boycott call. Company ethos

Product sustainability:- Organic, fair-trade, positive environmental features.

Environmentalism:- It concern about and action aimed at protecting the environment

An organized social movement seeking to minimize the harm done to the environment and quality of life by marketing practices; came in three waves

First, driven by environmental groups and concerned consumers

Second, federal government that passed laws and regulations

Third, companies are now accepting responsibility

for doing no environmental harm Companies are now adopting policies of environmental sustainability —developing strategies that both sustain the environment and produce profits for the company  Both consumerism and environmentalism are important components of sustainable marketing

Under the sustainable marketing concept, a company’s marketing should support the best long-run performance of the marketing system Five sustainable marketing principles guide the sustainable marketing concept:

Consumer-oriented marketing: a company should organize its marketing activities from the consumer’s Point Of View

Customer-value marketing: a company should put most of its resources into customer-value-building marketing investments

Innovative marketing: requires a company seek real product and marketing improvements  

Sense-of-mission marketing: a company should define its mission in broad social terms rather than narrow product terms

Societal marketing

Societal marketing is a marketing concept that holds that a company should make marketing decisions by considering consumers wants the company’s requirements and society’s long term interests.

§ Deficient products: products that have neither immediate appeal nor long-run benefits

§ Pleasing products: products that give high immediate satisfaction but may hurt consumers in the long run

§ Salutary products: products that have low appeal but may benefit consumers in the long run

§ Desirable products: products that give both high immediate satisfaction and high long-run benefits