Because some people see business as the cause of many economic and social ills, popular movements have emerged from time to time to set limits on business. The two main movements have been Consumerism and Environmentalism.
Consumerism
It is an organized movement of citizens and government agencies that seeks to improve the rights and power of buyers in relation to sellers.
Among the traditional rights of sellers are:
- The right to introduce any product in any size and style, as long as it does not endanger personal health or safety The right to charge any price for that product, provided there is no discrimination between similar classes of buyers The right to spend any amount in promoting the product, provided it is not defined as unfair competition. The right to use any message relating to the product, as long as its content or execution is not misleading or dishonest. The right to use any incentive plan, provided it is not unfair or misleading.
Traditional rights of buyers:
- Right not to buy a product that is offered for sale Right to expect the product to be safe Right to expect the product to work as claimed to do Right to be well informed about important aspects of the product Right to be protected from questionable products and marketing practices Right to influence products and marketing practices in ways that improve quality of life.
Each proposed right has led to more specific proposals from consumerists.
The right to be informed includes the right to know the true interest of a loan, the true cost per unit of a brand, the ingredients of a product, the nutritional value of a food, the freshness of the product and the true benefits of a product.
Environmentalism
It is an organized movement of concerned citizens and government agencies that seeks to protect and improve the environment in which people live.
Environmentalists are not against marketing and consumption; they simply want people and organizations to operate taking better care of the environment. According to them, the goal of marketing should not be to maximize consumption, consumer choices and consumer satisfaction, but also the quality of the environment. Environmentalists want both producers and consumers to include ecological costs in their decision making.
Bibliography:
Marketing 8th. Kotler-Armstrong Edition
