Page 109 - Foundations of Marketing

76 Part 1 | Strategic Marketing and Its Environment

“green” by environmental organizations such as Green Seal and carry a special logo identify-
ing their organization as green marketers. Lumber products at Home Depot, for example, may
carry a seal from the Forest Stewardship Council to indicate that they were harvested from
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sustainable forests using environmentally friendly methods.
Consumerism

Consumerism consists of organized efforts by individuals, groups, and organizations
seeking to protect consumers’ rights. The movement’s major forces are individual consumer
advocates, consumer organizations and other interest groups, consumer education, and
consumer laws.
To achieve their objectives, consumers and their advocates write letters or send e-mails to
companies, lobby government agencies, broadcast public-service announcements, and boy-
cott companies whose activities they deem irresponsible. Some consumers choose to boycott
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firms and products out of a desire to support a cause and make a difference. For example,
several organizations evaluate children’s products for safety, often announcing dangerous
products before Christmas so that parents can avoid them. Other actions by the consumer
movement have resulted in seat belts and air bags in automobiles, dolphin-safe tuna, the ban-
ning of unsafe three-wheel motorized vehicles, and numerous laws regulating product safety
and information.
Also of great importance to the consumer movement are four basic rights spelled out
in a “consumer bill of rights” drafted by President John F. Kennedy. These rights include
the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be heard.
Ensuring consumers’ right to safety means that marketers have an obligation not to market
a product that they know could harm consumers. This right can be extended to imply that
all products must be safe for their intended use, include thorough and explicit instructions
for proper and safe use, and have been tested to ensure reliability and quality. Consumers’
right to be informed means that consumers should have access to and the opportunity to
review all relevant information about a product before buying it. Many laws require spe-
cific labeling on product packaging to satisfy this right. In addition, labels on alcoholic
and tobacco products inform consumers that these products may cause illness and other
problems. The Federal Trade Commission provides a wealth of consumer information at
its website ( www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm ) on a variety of topics ranging from automo-
biles and the Internet to diet, health, and fitness. The right to choose means that consum-
ers should have access to a variety of products at competitive prices. They also should be
assured of satisfactory quality and service at a fair price. Activities that reduce competition
among businesses in an industry might jeopardize this right. The right to be heard ensures
that consumers’ interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the formulation
of government policy. The right to be heard also promises consumers fair treatment when
they complain to marketers about products. This right benefits marketers too because when
consumers complain about a product, the manufacturer can use this information to modify
the product and make it more satisfying.

Incorporating Social Responsibility and Ethics
into Strategic Planning

Although the concepts of marketing ethics and social responsibility are often used inter-
changeably, it is important to distinguish between them. Ethics relates to individual and group
decisions—judgments about what is right or wrong in a particular decision-making situation—
whereas social responsibility deals with the total effect of marketing decisions on society. The
two concepts are interrelated because a company that supports socially responsible decisions
consumerism Organized
efforts by individuals, groups, and adheres to a code of conduct is likely to have a positive effect on society. Because ethics
and organizations to protect and social responsibility programs can be profitable as well, an increasing number of compa-
consumers’ rights nies are incorporating them into their overall strategic market planning.

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