The importance of marketing ethics

The world of business is changing because customers are demanding more. Never have marketing ethics been more important to us. We want ecologically friendly products made in a socially conscious manner. Nobody likes the idea of corporations exploiting the poor to produce cheaper products. Nor are we comfortable with manufacturing techniques that harm the environment.

We are beginning to avoid stores that ignore marketing ethics in order to offer a product for less. Retailers that try to cut corners face lawsuits far more often than they once did. If you are starting a business, you'll have more success if you consider the significance of marketing ethics.

You'll only make it if you can prove that your products are made ethically and with social conscience. In Britain, a company called The Body Shop is very successful precisely because it is ultra aware of marketing ethics. The Body Shop sells skin care products and cosmetics. This company is against animal testing, supports community trade, defends human rights and protects the planet.

Today's consumers are unwilling to buy so much as a bubble bath if they believe someone or something had to suffer so that they could relax in a tub full of suds.

Making moral decisions also requires intelligence and forethought. It’s easy, say marketing professionals, to fudge the truth to make a sale and believe the bottom line will be the better for it. Try telling that to those who were marketing Enron, the defunct Texas-based energy company marred by accounting fraud and cover-ups. “Someone was selling the deal,” says Victoria Crittenden, chairperson of the MBA Core Faculty at Boston College. “We just don’t hear about it.” But just because the marketing arm of an organization doesn’t get as much attention as the finance group, does not mean marketers have free reign.

In fact, everyone in business is wise to develop moral fibers, because ethical problems often lead to legal problems, which bite into profits -- not to mention your career ladder. The first step to confronting any dilemma is recognizing the moral dimension of it. Only then can you properly weigh the pros and cons of your options. Here are common ethical dilemmas you’re likely to face as a marketing professional and steps to keep your reputation intact:

- How Far Can You Go in Stealth Marketing?

- Can You Sell Customer Information?

- Should You Recall a Flawed Product?

- What’s Appropriate in Comparison Marketing?

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