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".

Marketing change?

Today, change is on the move again. So much is happening in society. We all want to put our two cents into society but there are many who want to make a difference especially the youth of today. There are so many groups that work on social change (a phrase I've been using a lot recently hahaha).

Something that's been brought to my attention recently is the impact that marketing has on society. I'm doing a subject called Marketing and Society and we talk about this a lot.

The other day, Kate Browne came as a guest lecturer and made an interesting point. For most people, marketing is their first source of information. For example, if you're a first time parent, how would you know what milk formula to buy? What pram to buy? What foods can your child eat? Is it safe?

She's right. There is ridiculous amounts of advertising to parents on all sorts of things and most of it is useless. There's been advertising for 'toddler' formula. I mean personally I wouldn't know, but apparently a kid can eat after about a year... And keeping a kid on this stuff isn't exactly good for growing up. I mean wouldn't it get to a point where kids will go 'what's chewing?' (honey, you're missing out on a world here).

If it isn't enough that we already have such a wide range of products to choose from, marketers are creating problems for consumers to freak out and go buy something to 'solve' it.

The problem is that not many people nowadays would research information sources or facts. People generally listen to a trusted source even if that trusted source is misinformed. For example, your friend believes that milk formula for toddlers is good for children and they tell you this. You'll be inclined to believe them even if they don't have a credible source.

It's not just consumers who should be taking responsibility but also, we should question whether marketers should be doing this sort of thing?

Moral of the story:
Sometimes you have to be careful of what information you should believe and what you shouldn't. If you're making an important decision, it'd be wise to be fully informed before making a decision.

Here, I leave you with a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4J0Km9zuo (seriously, don't believe everything you see)

The first post

I thought: what better way can there be than to start a blog by uploading one of my favourite pictures captured on the South Australian coast. Such intwined beauty, irrefutably inspiring.

This image was captured by myself in a small town, "Port Elliot" in December 2013. I think the image emphasises two different degrees of nature: one that allows the formation of the natural coastline and another that highlights humanity's dependance on the land, thus, causing it to change unnaturally. Or maybe humans are part of nature and degradation is a given.

Sarah.