Raising the level of socially responsible marketing calls for a three-pronged attack.
First, society must use the law to define, as clearly as possible, those practices that are
illegal, antisocial, or anticompetitive. Second, companies must adopt and disseminate
a written code of ethics, build a company tradition of ethical behavior, and hold their
people fully responsible for observing ethical and legal guidelines. Third, individual
marketers must practice a “social conscience” in their specific dealings with customers
and various stakeholders.
The new millennium holds a wealth of opportunities for companies. Technologi-
cal advances in solar energy, on-line computer networks, cable and satellite television,
genetic engineering, and telecommunications promise to change the world as we know
it. At the same time, forces in the socioeconomic, cultural, and natural environments
will impose new limits on marketing and business practice. Companies that are able
to innovate new solutions and values in a socially responsible way are the most likely
to succeed. Consider Working Assets:■ Working Assets Working Assets long-distance telephone service competes
with AT&T, MCI, and Sprint in the same way the major carriers compete with
each other: low rates, clear transmissions over fiber optic lines, efficient op-
erators, and convenient calling cards. But it adds a unique appeal to its se-
lected market niche. The customers addressed in the advertising line “We
make your voice heard” are people who identify themselves as supporters of
progressive causes. On its monthly bills, the company provides information
about two current issues along with the names and phone numbers of in-
fluential people the customer is invited to call free of charge. For a fee, the
customer may have a prepared letter sent to these leaders on his or her be-
half. Customers are also invited to vote for the nonprofit organizations that
receive 1 percent of their monthly charges. Appealing to this target market’s
interest in preserving the environment, Working Assets uses recycled paper
and soy-based ink, and it plants 17 trees for every ton of paper it consumes.
In all its business practices, the company has a consistent program of cor-
porate citizenship that matches the ethics of its market. For those who need
further inducement, Working Assets offers of a year’s worth of monthly
coupons for a free pint of frozen desserts from Ben and Jerry’s, another cor-part five
Managing and
Delivering Marketing(^712) Programs
The Marketing Excellence Review:
Best Practices
TABLE 6.12
Poor Good Excellent