The last week for Marketing and finally the load lightens considerably with regard to the reading and study time. Sustainable marketing is focused on the creation of socially responsible products, services and practices that have a benefit for the customer and the environment. They adopt a responsible approach by a company to their role in maintaining environmentally friendly products. Naturally, this is appealing to a growing cohort of the market given greater levels of awareness of climate change and environmental impacts. People feel that they are making a contribution to the environment if they are supporting environmentally friendly products. This latter concept where environment is the overriding issue is more appropriately defined as Green Marketing. The following video gives a great overview of Sustainable Marketing.
Social Criticisms of Marketing Practices
This module also looked at the critics of marketing where materialism is pushed to the limit, false wants are generated often amongst those that can least afford them, high priced items and predatory practices. In addition, there was discussion around deceptive marketing practice and high pressure selling. Like all things in life, there are plenty of criticisms that can be levelled at marketing.
Ethics and Legal Compliance
No doubt one of the hottest topics in the marketing and sales environment is consumer protection and ethical practices by organisations. Whilst we have a plethora of consumer law, it is not easily enforced and there is still a fair amount of responsibility placed on the customer to take action. I know from personal experience that Consumer Affairs in Victoria for example cannot order a business to take a certain action even if they are in breach of consumer law. It has to go to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for determination. This is a huge impost on consumers who have to fight the battle. There needs to be more streamlined methods established. The existence of interest free purchasing companies that rely on people defaulting so they can charge high fees is nothing short of predatory practice and is not much better than payday loan companies. I think we still have a long way to go in evening up the playing field for consumers.
Assignment 2
The capstone assignment of 3000 words has now been submitted. I won’t have the results for about two weeks but I feel I have the measure of what is being looked for now in an assignment. At least I certainly hope so.
Conclusion
I am very pleased to see the end of Marketing. It has been an intense, full on subject with heaps of reading and note taking. At the same time, it has been very interesting to study how products and people are broken down into units that can be articulated clearly. This was particularly the case using a customer persona where you developed the ideal customer. If you know your market, it makes it a lot easier to identify prospects for your product.
The next subject is Strategic Human Resource Management and I am getting a head start again. At least it doesn’t look anywhere near as intense as this subject.
