Question

1. Why is marketing ethics a strategic consideration in organizational decisions? Who is most important in managing marketing ethics: the individual or the firm’s leadership? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Marketing Ethics are a set of morals and principles that regulate operation in marketing. It’s a process that generates customer’s interests, offers fair value and builds long-term relations with customers and stakeholders. Here’s why marketing ethics are a strategic consideration in organizational decisions:-

1) Satisfying Basic Needs/Expectation:- Every customer expects honesty, clarity and fair treatment from companies. It’s a basic expectation from anyone who buys company’s products. A company like Amazon which follows the basic principle of ‘Customer is King’ knows the importance of customer relationship management in order to grow and be more profitable in the future.

2) Builds Credibility:- Honesty builds trust and faith in company’s products and its vision for its stakeholders. Trust leads to multiple and repeated purchases by the same customer who was happy with the first purchase. This creates a sense of loyalty in target audience which is a key element in future growth prospects.

3) Unity in Employees:- An organization’s culture which is driven by values and principles often leads to job satisfaction and highly productive environment. This helps to align efforts of all individual towards achieving organizational objectives.

4) Better Decision Making:- Decisions driven by values define an ethical course for an organization. These decisions consider the well-being of all stakeholders associated with the company. The aim is to make better decisions which satisfy customers needs and help the company to achieve profitability in the long run in spite of few short-term losses.

Marketing ethics are driven down by leadership but executed and practiced by individuals in the company. A firm’s leadership must consult with the employees working in the company and define how the firm should be presented in front of the real world in the most ethical manner. Employees who engage with customers on a daily represent the company through their action and hence they must practice and follow marketing ethics and try to gauge customer’s expectation and brand loyalty.