Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

9. Elements of Product
   Planning for Goods and
   Services

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Ethical decisions

remain

Elements of Product Planning for Goods and Services 269

Current laws also offer more guidance on environmental issues. Some states

require a consumer to pay a deposit on bottles and cans until they’re returned. These

laws mean well, but they can cause problems. Channels of distribution are usually

set up to distribute products, not return empty packages.^24

Although various laws provide guidance on many packaging issues, many areas

still require marketing managers to make ethical choices. For example, some firms

have been criticized for designing packages that conceal a downsized product, giv-

ing consumers less for the money. Similarly, some retailers design packages and labels

for their private-label products that look just like, and are easily confused with, man-

ufacturer brands. Are efforts such as these unethical, or are they simply an attempt

to make packaging a more effective part of a marketing mix? Different people will

answer differently.

Some marketing managers promote environmentally friendly packaging on some

products while simultaneously increasing the use of problematic packages on oth-

ers. Empty packages now litter our streets, and some plastic packages will lie in a

city dump for decades. But some consumers like the convenience that accompanies

these problems. Is it unethical for a marketing manager to give consumers with

different preferences a choice? Some critics argue that it is; others praise firms that

give consumers a choice.

Many critics feel that labeling information is too often incomplete or

misleading. Do consumers really understand the nutritional information required

by law? Further, some consumers want information that is difficult, perhaps even

impossible, to provide. For example, how can a label accurately describe a

product’s taste or texture? But the ethical issues usually focus on how far a mar-

keting manager should go in putting potentially negative information on a

package. For example, should Häagen-Dazs affix a label that says “this product

will clog your arteries”? That sounds extreme, but what type of information is

appropriate?^25

Some retailers, especially large supermarket chains, make it easier for consumers

to compare packages with different weights or volumes. They use unit-pricing—

which involves placing the price per ounce (or some other standard measure) on or

near the product. This makes price comparison easier.^26

Food label requirements help

some consumers make healthier

purchases, but many consumers

don’t understand or use the

information.

Unit-pricing is a

possible help