Social Criticism

of Marketing
Ms. Mara Lacsamana, CPA
Principles of Marketing

Marketing
is the process of
communicating the value of
a product or service to
customers, for the purpose
of selling that product or
service.

From a societal point of

view, marketing is the
link between a societys
material requirements
and its economic
patterns of response.

Marketing

satisfies
these needs and
wants through
exchange processes
and building long

Marketing and its Impact

on

Individual
Consumers
Society as a whole
Other Businesses

Individual Consumers

Individual Consumers
1.

High Prices
it causes prices to be higher

Factors for higher price:

. High costs of Distribution
. High Advertising and Promotion costs
. Excessive Mark ups

High Cost of Distribution

Too many
intermediarie
s

More
convenience
Larger stores
and assortments
More service
Longer store
hours
Return Privileges

High Advertising & Promotion

Costs
much of the
packaging and
promotion adds
only
psychological,
not functional
value t the
product

adds value in
informing
potential
buyers of
availability and
merits of brand

Excessive Mark-ups
Excessive

mark-ups
Consumer
abuse (e.g.
Funeral
services)

To

cover costs
(e.g.
Pharmaceutical
mark-ups: R&D
etc)

Individual Consumers
2. Deceptive Practices
a.

b.

c.

Deceptive Pricing - factory price or

wholesale price
Deceptive Promotionmisrepresentation of products
features, bargain that is out of stock
Deceptive Packaging- exaggerated
package contents

The government should take charge on regulating

such practices.

greenwashing
Biodegradable,

eco-friendly, recycled,
green, carbon-neutral, made from
sustainable resources.

Individual Consumers
3. High Pressure Selling
sold not bought
Marketers have little gain from highpressure selling.
Most selling involves building long term
relations with valued customers.

Individual Consumers
4. Harmful or Unsafe products
Product safety
Poor quality products
Little benefits or even harmful (ex:
Hardees)

Individual Consumers
5. Planned Obsolescence
e.g. Fashion clothes, hi-tech gadgets

6. Poor service to Disadvantaged

consumers
-urban poor often have to shop in smaller
stores that carry inferior goods, charged
with higher prices *

Red lining

Society as a whole
False

wants and Too much Materialism

aspiration gap - the gap between what we

have and what we want, between the lifestyles we
can afford and those to which we aspire.
Marketers tend to make us believe that what
we

WANT

is what we

NEED.

However, our wants and values are influenced not

only by marketers but also by family, peer groups,
religion, cultural background & education.

Society as a whole
Too

Few Social Goods

Business has been accused of overselling
private goods at the expense of public
goods (e.g. More cars, less roads)
To balance private and public goods:
To make producers bear full social costs.
(higher pricing)
To make consumers pay. (toll gates)

Too Few Social Goods

Toll gates

Society as a whole
Cultural Pollution
Marketers hope that
their Ads primarily
reach the target
audience. (e.g.
Vogue or Fortune)
Ads make much of
TV & radio free for
users & keep down
the cost of
newspapers &
magazines.

Commercials
interrupt serious
programs.
Pages of Ads
obscure magazines
Billboards mar
beautiful scenery
Spam fills our
inboxes

On Other Business

Critics charge that a companys marketing

practices can harm other companies and
reduce competition.

Acquisition of competitors (buy out)

Marketing practices that create barriers to
entry (large companies vs small companies)
Unfair competitive marketing practices
(below cost pricing)

Buy out