Consumers are very concerned with how the marketing system serves their interests.
Surveys typically reveal that consumers have mixed or even slightly unfavorable attitudes toward marketing practices.
Consumers, consumer advocates, government agencies, and other critics have accused marketing of harming consumers through price increases, deceptive practices, high-pressure sales, poor-quality or unsafe products, planned obsolescence, and poor service to disadvantaged consumers.
High prices.
Many critics accuse the marketing system of making prices higher than they would be with more sensible systems. They point to three factors:
- High distribution costs High advertising and promotion costs Excessive overpricing
Deceptive practices
These practices lead consumers to believe that they will receive more value than they actually receive. Deceptive practices can be classified into three groups:
- Deceptive pricing Deceptive promotion Deceptive presentation
Deceptive pricing is practices such as advertising false “factory” or “wholesale” prices, or a significant price reduction from a previously raised list price.
Misleading promotion includes practices such as exaggerating when describing product features or performance, luring the customer into the store with a sale of out-of-stock items, or organizing rigged contests.
Misleading presentation is exaggerating the contents of a container by subtle design, not filling the container to the top, using misleading labels, or describing size in false terms.
High pressure sales.
Sellers are sometimes accused of applying too much pressure to convince people to buy goods they had not intended to buy.
Sellers are trained to speak quickly and convince at all costs. Sellers push because sales contests and high commissions promise big rewards to the one who sells the most.
Poor quality or unsafe products.
Many products are not well produced and many services are not well provided. Many products provide very little benefit.
Planned obsolescence.
Critics have also accused some producers of adopting a planned obsolescence program, causing their products to become obsolete before they really need to be replaced.
Bibliography:
Marketing 8th. Kotler-Armstrong Edition
