Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

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

22. Ethical Marketing in a
    Consumer−Oriented World:
    Appraisal and Challenges

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Ethical Marketing in a Consumer-Oriented World: Appraisal and Challenges 641

Another sign of failure is the inability of firms to identify new target markets and

new opportunities. A new marketing mix that isn’t offered doesn’t fail—but the lost

opportunity can be significant for both a firm and society. Too many managers seize

on whatever strategy seems easiest rather than seeking really new ways to satisfy cus-

tomers. Too many companies stifle really innovative thinking. Layers of bureaucracy

and a “that’s not the way we do things” mentality just snuff it out.

On the other hand, not every new idea is a good idea for every company. For exam-

ple, there is little doubt that e-commerce and online systems are having a dramatic

effect in improving how many firms serve their customers. But in the last few years,

hundreds of firms have lost millions of dollars with failed efforts to capitalize on the

Internet or some “hot” website idea. Just jumping on the “what’s new” bandwagon—

without stopping to figure out how it is going to really satisfy the customer and result

in profit for the firm—is as much a ticket for failure as being too slow or bureaucratic.

For reasons like these, marketing does cost too much in many firms. Despite much

publicity, the marketing concept is not really applied in many places.

But not all firms and marketers deserve criticism. More of them arebecoming

customer-oriented. And many are paying more attention to market-oriented plan-

ning to carry out the marketing concept more effectively. Throughout the text,

we’ve highlighted firms and strategies that are making a difference. The successes

of innovative firms—like Wal-Mart, 3M, ITW, Allegiance, AOL, Dell, Tesco, UPS,

and Schwab—do not go unnoticed. Yes, they make some mistakes. That’s human—

and marketing is a human enterprise. But they have also showed the results that

market-oriented strategy planning can produce.

Another encouraging sign is that more companies are recognizing that it often

takes a diverse set of backgrounds and talents to meet the increasingly varied needs

of its increasingly global customers. They’re shedding “not-invented-here” biases and

embracing technologies like the Internet and information systems, comparing what

they do with the best practices of firms in totally different industries, and teaming

up with outside specialists who can bring a fresh perspective.

Managers who adopt the marketing concept as a way of business life do a bet-

ter job. They look for target market opportunities and carefully blend the elements

of the marketing mix to meet their customers’ needs. As more of these managers

Maxwell House ready-to-drink

coffee came in a package that

looked like a milk carton, but it

had an inner foil liner that caused

problems when consumers

heated the carton in a microwave.

There was no mention on the

package that it might make good

iced coffee. Fixing these problems

might not have made the product

a success, but they certainly

contributed to its failure.

Micro-marketing does

cost too much—but

things are changing