Marketing Criticisms Essay Sample

Student Name: xxx
Student Number: xxx
Word count: 1494
Introduction
In today's competitive business environment, firms are striving to get the attention of consumers. Businesses have invested in developing innovative products and services (Hallstedt, Isaksson & Öhrwall Rönnbäck, 2020). Such investments have often paid off with new products and services that clients need. However, the new offerings must be brought to consumers' attention to be commercialized to generate revenue and profits. Without sales, a company cannot survive, no matter innovative products and services. Marketing mainly entails connecting the right clients to the right products and services (Wirtz, Tuzovic & Kuppelwieser, 2014). While the move has increased sales, marketing has raised criticism from some individuals who see it as evil and ruining the world. Although marketing can be misused, it is not evil when it is employed honestly and ethically.
Marketing criticisms
Critics see marketing as increasing costs of products and services than need be, which harms consumers (Dawes, 2009). Heavy advertising is necessary for influencing consumers towards a particular brand. It is through advertising and promotion that firms can match the efforts of their competitors. For instance, between 2014 and 2020, the Coca-Cola Company has spent an average of $4 billion annually on advertising worldwide (Conway, 2021). Marketing forms part of the total cost of a product or service. Instead of bearing the marketing cost, firms pass it over to the consumers (Armstrong, Adam, Denize & Kotler, 2014). Consumers pay the increased cost of products and services in the form of increased costs. For low-income consumers, such products and services are unaffordable due to the high cost.
Additionally, marketing is sometimes employed as an instrument of deception. Gaber, Labib & Salem (2018) accuse marketers of using deceiving practices to get more value than required. Marketers need to get products moving; hence some may use deceptive pricing to cheat clients that prices have been reduced. For instance, a company may advertise its products as "wholesale," hence creating a perception of low prices, while in reality, the company has increased prices. Others misuse the word "free," where marketers make an impression that when clients purchase one item, they will get another one for free. The second item is not free in the real sense since a customer has to buy the first one. Khan et al. (2015) indicate that some firms result in deceptive promotion strategies that lure clients to purchase products with overstated features. Deceptive packaging enables firms to exaggerate contents with misleading labeling and unfilled packages. Consumers later discover that the products or services lack the stated features.
Furthermore, marketing encourages consumers to engage in needless spending. Marketing as a business engages directly with the people while deliberately setting out to highlight the individual's reality and expectations. Consequently, consumers feel lacking in their belonging and feel bound to bridge the gap by acquiring more than they require (Armstrong, Adam, Denize & Kotler, 2014).. In recent days, celebrity branding has become common. Firms are using a celebrity's fame to promote a product or service, which sometinmes misleads consumers. Celebrities sometimes do not use the brands they endorse. For instance, David Beckham signed a marketing deal with Motorola for the Aura phone in 2009 but was discovered to be using an iPhone instead (Daily Mail, 2009). Such manipulative practices to cause consumers to purchase unwanted products and services.
Marketing contributions
While marketing continues to face criticism, it has immense contributions to society. Firstly, in marketing, the interests of the firm and the clients align. In an open economy, firms want to make a good profit. The identification of consumer's needs is critical to the prosperity of a business. The customer remains 'king' and wants companies to fulfill his or her needs. Clients influence how much firms should make and how much will be paid for products and services. While Armstrong, Adam, Denize & Kotler (2014) point out an increase in prices due to marketing, they fail to understand that serving clients comes at a cost. The increased cost serves the interests of both firms and consumers. While businesses meet the needs of their clients, consumers get what they want.
Critics fail to appreciate the contribution of marketing in reducing the average prices of products and services. The focus on marketing cost has created a perception that products could be cheaper if marketing efforts are not used. Such a perception fails to appreciate the contribution of marketing in reducing prices. According to De Toni, Milan, Saciloto & Larentis (2017), as the entities compete for a market share, each is likely to reduce prices to attract consumers. In other words, marketing can lead to competition among firms selling similar or substitute products. Competition prevents a few suppliers from subjecting consumers to high prices. Overall, while marketing increases the cost of production, it reduces the average prices of products.
Clients need information about products and services, which is available majorly because of marketing initiatives. Because of marketing, consumers gain insight into products and services before purchasing. Without marketing, consumers would be forced to spend a lot of time locating product information. With marketing, however, consumers can...