With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

There’s a fine line between persuading and manipulation; marketers tread this line all the time. However, is it always the responsibility of the marketer? Or the consumer?

Historically, it was the consumer’s responsibility: caveat emptor – let the buyer beware. Nowadays though, it has become both the marketer’s and consumer’s responsibility. This is especially true with the rise of technology.

Technology enables marketers to tap into new resources to advertise their products. This platform allows marketers to pinpoint what motivates each individual consumer to buy through many different channels and with high frequency. However, there are a number of vulnerable consumers such as children, tweens/teenagers, and the elderly, particularly, any that are marketing illiterate. Some marketers will use this opportunity to pull deceptive tricks on consumers. For example, baked goods at Coles aren’t freshly ‘baked’ in store as they claim but rather the goods have been shipped from Europe frozen and defrosted in store.

Just as marketers have the power to persuade or manipulate customers into buying, consumers also have power over the markets. With social media and internet platforms, consumers are able to get immediate feedback and support when posting comments, videos, pictures and/or photos online of what they think of particular products or brands. This is especially powerful over the markets because the criticisms can cause a lot of damage to companies since it holds the attention of millions of people worldwide.

Consumers have the responsibility to look for their own information and find out what’s right or wrong. It’s their buying action that drives sales and therefore, if they want to be conscious of what ethical issues or social 'norms' they support or don't support, they should do so with their wallet. This will in a way influence what marketers put on the market. And if consumers are conscious that it is possible not everything is true, they will not land in sticky situations.

As marketers, we need to remember to keep stakeholder interests a priority. Although this seems silly to prioritise particularly over economic benefits, it is stakeholders such as clients, suppliers, and manufacturers that will not only bring in short-term revenue but also continue to in the long-term while maintaining good/great customer service and great brand loyalty. This has many more benefits than leaving their interests until last. And despite the ability to ‘persuade’ customers using tricks, stakeholders still have basic rights such as safety. It is definitely hard treading that line.

Both consumers and marketers have the power to influence the other and their own end result, whether it is better decisions made or higher revenue. And as Francois-Marie Arouet a.k.a. Voltaire once said,

"With great power comes great responsibility".