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| Social Criticisms of Marketing: High-Pressure Selling |
Shoddy or Unsafe Products
In 1990,
consumer activists declared the Daihatsu Sportrak as 'potentially unstable' and
Suzuki was urged to recall tens of thousands of similar cars. This problem
pales by comparison with that faced by the Ford Pinto, which became the symbol
of automotive disaster when several people died during the 1970s in fuel tank
fires allegedly linked to a design fault,. More recently, Chrysler issued one
of the largest product recall notices in the history of the motoring industry,
calling back 900,000 vehicles, ranging from pick-ups to a selection of 'people
carriers' including the Voyager, Wrangler, and Jeep Cherokee models, for a
variety of reasons in seven different recalls. One of the biggest recalls in
1997, according to figures from the British vehicle inspectorate, was one
undertaken by V\V, asking 150.000 Golf and Vento saloon owners to have their
cars checked for wiring faults. In 1996, VW also recalled 350,000 of its models
worldwide because of a potentially faulty electric cable, as well as some
950,000 Golfs, Jettas, Passats, and Corrados because of problems, including a
cooling system fault, which could potentially damage engines and injure
passengers. Early in 1997, Vauxhall called in more than 39,000 Veetras to check
loose fuel pipes. Even Rolls-Royce was forced to check some of its Bentley
Continental T sports coupes (at £220,000 apiece) because of concerns that.t
airbags were firing unexpectedly
For years
now, consumer protection groups or associations in many countries have
regularly tested products for safety, and have reported hazards found in tested
products, such as electrical dangers in appliances, and injury risks from lawnmowers and faulty car design. The testing and reporting activities of these
organizations have helped consumers make better buying decisions and have
encouraged businesses to eliminate product flaws. Marketers may sometimes face
dilemmas when seeking to balance consumer needs and ethical eon si decorations.
For example, no amount of test results can guarantee product safety in cars if
consumers value speed and power more than safety features. Buyers might choose
a less expensive chain saw without a safety guard, although society or a
government regulatory agency might deem it irresponsible and unethical for the
manufacturer to sell it. However, most responsible manufacturers want to produce
quality goods. The way a company deals with product quality and safety problems
can damage or help its reputation. Companies selling poor-quality or unsafe
products risk damaging conflicts with consumer groups. Moreover, unsafe
products can result in product liability suits and large awards for damages.
Consumers who are unhappy with a firm's products may avoid its other products
and talk other consumers into doing the same. More fundamentally, today's
marketers know that self-imposed, high ethical standards, which accompany
customer-driven quality, result in customer satisfaction, which in turn creates
profitable customer relationships.
Planned Obsolescence'
Critics
have charged that some producers follow a program of planned obsolescence.
causing their products to become obsolete before they need replacement. In many
cases, producers have been accused of continually changing consumer concepts of
acceptable styles in order to encourage more and earlier buying. An obvious
example is constantly changing clothing fashions. Producers have also been
accused of holding back attractive functional features, then introducing them
later to make older models obsolete. Critics claim that this practice is
frequently found in the consumer electronics and computer industry. The
Japanese camera, watch, and consumer electronics companies frustrate consumers
because a rapid and frequent model replacement has created difficulties in
obtaining spare parts for old models; dealers refuse to repair outdated models, and planned obsolescence rapidly erodes basic product values. Finally,
producers have been accused of using materials and components that will break,
wear, rust or rot sooner than they should. For example, many drapery
manufacturers are using a higher percentage of rayon in their curtains. They
argue that rayon reduces the price of curtains and has better-holding
power. Critics claim that using more rayon causes the curtains to fall apart
sooner. European consumers have also found, to their annoyance, how rapidly certain
European brands of toasters rust - for an appliance that rarely gets into
contact with water, this is an amazing technological feat! Marketers respond
that consumers like style changes; they get tired of the old goods and want a
new look in fashion or a new design in cars. No one has to buy the new look,
and if too few people like it. it will simply fail. Companies frequently
withhold new features when they are not fully tested when they add more cost
to the product than consumers are willing to pay and for other good reasons.
But they do so at the risk that a competitor will introduce the new feature and
steal the market. Moreover, companies often put in new materials to lower their
costs and prices. They do not design their products to break down earlier,
because they do not want to lose their customers to other brands. Thus, much
so-called planned obsolescence is the working of the competitive and
technological forces in a free society - forces that lead to ever-improving
goods and services.
Planned
obsolescence A strategy of causing products to become obsolete before they
actually, need a replacement
Poor Service to Disadvantaged Consumers
Finally, marketing has been accused of
poorly serving disadvantaged consumers. Critics claim that the urban poor often
has to shop in smaller stores that carry interior goods and charge higher
prices. Marketing's eye on profits also means that disadvantaged consumers are
not viable segments to target. The high-income consumer is the preferred
target. Clearly, better marketing systems must be built in low-income areas -
one hope is to get large retailers to open outlets in low-income areas.
Moreover, low-income people clearly need consumer protection. Consumer-protection
agencies should take action against suppliers who advertise false values, sell
old merchandise as new, or charge too much for credit. Offenders who deliver poor value should be expected to compensate customers, as in the case of many
UK pension providers, who were required to meet mis-spelling compensation
targets following the disclosure of malpractices by an Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) investigation. We now turn to social critics' assessment of how marketing
affects society as a whole
Marketing's
Impact on Society as a Whole
The
marketing system as we - in Europe and other developed economies outside North
America — are experiencing it, has been accused of adding to several 'evils' in
our society at large. Advertising has been a special target. It has been blamed
for creating false wants, nurturing greedy aspirations, and inculcating too much
materialism in our society
False Wants and Too Much Materialism
Critics have charged that, in advanced
nations such as the USA, the marketing system urges too much interest in
material possessions. People are judged by what they own rather than by what
they ore. To be considered successful, people must own a smart-looking house or
apartment in a prime residential site, expensive cars, and the latest designer-label clothes and consumer electronics. Consider, for example, the
training-shoe market. These days, training shoes have gone the same way as
cameras, watches, and mobile phones: functionality is useless without 'tec
lino-supremacy' and high style. Take Nike's Air Max Tailwind which features:
'Flexi-laces' which stretch to give foot comfort; 'interactive eye stay for
one-movement tightening and adjusting; 'mesh upper' made of lightweight
synthetic leather for cooler feet; 'plastic air pockets' filled with sulfur
hexafluoride for added cushioning; 'flexible grooves' in the arch of the shoe
to allow natural foot movements and give support and 'waffle soles' with
grooved treads for traction and support! So sophisticated has it become that it
is no longer even enough to say that you have a pair of Nikes. Its famous tick the logo is now more globally visible than the crucifix, so your Nikes had better
be a very rare variety and/or very expensive if you expect to seriously
impress, Alternatively, you could go for a limited edition Adidas or something
slightly underground like DC skate shoes
Is there a similar enchantment with money
in Europe? Asia? The rest of the world? It is neither feasible nor appropriate
for this chapter to indulge readers in an extensive debate on cross-cultural
similarities and dissimilarities in materialistic tendencies and behavior, and
whether marketing is the root cause of these desires. Rather, we acknowledge the
phenomenon of the 'yuppie generation' that emerged in the 1980s, symbolizing a
new materialistic culture that looked certain to stay. In the 1990s, although
many social scientists noted a reaction against the opulence and waste of The 1980s and a return to more basic values and social commitment, our infatuation
with material things continues.
For example, when asked in a recent poll what
they value most in their lives, subjects listed enjoyable work (86 percent),
happy children (84 percent), a good marriage (69 percent), and contributions
to society (66 percent). However, when asked what most symbolizes success, 85
percent said money and the things it will buy.7 Critics view this interest in
material things not as a natural state of mind, but rather as a matter of false
wants created by marketing. Businesses stimulate people's desires for goods
through the force of advertising, and advertisers use the mass media to create
materialistic models of the good life. People work harder to earn the necessary
money. Their purchases increase the output of the nation's industry, and the industry, in turn, uses the advertising media to stimulate more desire for its
industrial output. Thus marketing is seen as creating false wants that benefit the industry more than they benefit consumers. However, these criticisms overstate
the power of businesses to create needs. People have strong defenses against
advertising and other marketing tools. Marketers are most effective when they
appeal to existing wants rather than when they attempt to create new ones.
Furthermore, people seek information when making important purchases and often
do not rely on single sources. Consumers ultimately display rational buying
behavior: even minor purchases that may be affected by advertising messages lead
to repeat purchases only if the product performs as promised. Finally, the high
failure rate of new products shows that companies are not always able to
control demand. On a deeper level, our wants and values are influenced not only
by marketers, but also by family, peer groups, religion, ethnic background, and
education. If societies are highly materialistic, these values arose out of
basic socialization processes that go much deeper than business and mass media
could produce alone. The importance of wealth and material possessions to the
overseas Chinese, for example, is explained more by cultural and socialization
factors than by sustained exposure to Western advertising influences.
Too Few Social Goods
The business has been accused of overselling
private goods at the expense of public goods. As private goods increase, they
require more public services that are usually not forthcoming. For example, an
increase in car ownership (private good) requires more roads, traffic control,
parking spaces, and police services (public goods). The overselling of private
goods results in 'social costs. For cars, the social costs include excessive
traffic congestion, air pollution, and deaths and injuries from car accidents.
A way must be found to restore a balance between private and arid and public goods. One
option is to make producers bear the full social costs of their operations. For
example, the government could require car manufacturers to build cars with
additional safety features and better pollution-control systems. Carmakers
would then raise their prices to cover extra costs. If buyers found the price
of some cars too high, however, the producers of these cars would disappear,
and demand would move to those producers that could support both the private
and social costs.
Cultural Pollution
Critics charge the marketing system with creating cultural pollution. Our senses are being assaulted constantly by advertising. Commercials interrupt serious programs; pages of ads obscure printed matter; billboards mar beautiful scenery. These interruptions continuously pollute people's minds with messages of materialism, sex, power, or status. Although most people do not find advertising overly annoying (some even think it is the best part of television programming), some critics call for sweeping changes. Marketers answer die charges of 'commercial noise' with the following arguments. First, they hope that their ads reach primarily the target audience. But because of mass-communication channels, some ads are bound to reach people who have no interest in the product and are therefore bored or annoyed. People who buy magazines slanted towards their interests - such as Vogue or Fortune - rarely complain about the ads because the magazines advertise products of interest. Second, ads make much of television and radio free and keep down the costs of magazines and newspapers. Most people think commercials are a small price to pay for these benefits.
Too Much Political Power
Another criticism is that business wields
too much political power. 'Oil', 'tobacco', • pharmaceuticals, 'financial
services, and 'alcohol' have the support of important politicians and civil
servants, who look after an industry's interests against the public interest.
Advertisers are accused of holding too much power over the mass media, limiting
their freedom to report independently and objectively. The setting up of
citizens' charters and greater concern for consumer rights and protection in
the 1990s will see improvements, not regression, in business accountability. Fortunately,
many powerful business interests once thought to be untouchable have been tamed
in the public interest. For example, in the United States, Ralph Nader, a consumerism campaigner, caused legislation that forced the car industry to
build more safety into its cars, and the Surgeon General's Report resulted in
cigarette companies putting health warnings on their packages. Moreover,
because the media receive advertising revenues from many different advertisers,
it is easier to resist the influence of one or a few of them. Too much business
power tends to result in counterforces that check and offset these powerful
interests. Let us now take a look at the criticisms that business critics have
leveled at companies' marketing practices.
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