Definitions
Marketing is generally considered as the process of promoting goods and services to the end user. We can think of this as McDonald’s advertising their Big Mac in such a way that we feel like we really need one for lunch. This demonstrates the advertising part of the marketing mix and is the element that most people identify with marketing.
Society is generally defined as the condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. Societies are more than the individual members that make up the group, but the sum of the collective. We are all members of a society and we interact with the other members of that community. So what is the impact of marketing on society?
Negative connotations of marketing: I was forced to do it
Since society went from a subsistence economy (I grow my own food, I make my own clothes, and I don’t need anyone else to help me) to a trading economy (I’ll grow some food to sell to you, if you let me). make some clothes to sell to myself) we’ve had the challenge of marketing our products and services to others (Uh-oh, now that there are two people making clothes in my town, I’d better tell people why they should buy mine) . And since that first sales pitch there has been criticism of marketing; such as deceptive practices, high prices, unsafe products, and pressured sales, to name a few.
But many critics go further, claiming that marketing has created false desires, promoted materialism, produced cultural contamination, and allowed big business to gain significant political power. And there is an element of truth in all of these claims. Businesses that have not performed ethically have had a detrimental effect on society that ethical business must now overcome.
And the Good?
But it is difficult to deny the positive aspects that marketing has also brought to society. The wealth of technology we have today is directly related to the sales of these items and the continued price reduction caused by the promotion of computers, cell phones, GPS navigation systems, digital cameras, MP3 players, etc. Dozens and dozens of these types of products are commonplace today, but just a few years ago they seemed like a luxury for the rich. In fact, most people below the poverty line in the US live better today than royalty did 200 years ago: with cars, heating and air conditioning, microwave ovens, cell phones, televisions, and other conveniences. that are now considered necessities.
More importantly, most mid-sized and large companies now have major charitable giving and service programs that donate large sums of money and time to organizations in need that make a difference in the lives of millions of people each year. Whether companies do this out of a pure heart or out of a need for positive publicity, the result is the same, and many of society’s most needy are better off for it.
Doing the right thing
As the public becomes more informed and educated, they hold businesses to a higher standard than ever before. Worker abuses that were common a century ago are not tolerated by today’s society. Now, corporate ethics policies drive decisions in the boardroom and the marketing department so that the end user (that’s us) benefits in many ways. Doing the right thing is good policy because people want to do business with someone they trust and respect. And companies that are exposed as cheats, liars, or abusers are generally shunned in the marketplace (Enron, anyone?).
The bottom line is that although there is a negative impact of marketing on society, there is a positive to balance it out; and it is our job as a society to reward the good guys with our purchases and punish unethical companies by neglecting them in the marketplace. As we continue to do this over and over again, we make great companies realize that they will only make money if they follow their ethics policies and consistently do the right thing. In this way we can make a difference in the marketing tactics used to influence our decisions. And that is something positive that we as a society can live with.