Introduction
Norms can simply be defined as conventional standards that a society or professional organization is expected to maintain. Marketers should put in mind that they are serving the greater economy as whole and as such they should endeavor to do no harm. The laws and regulations of the society should be followed. Choices made by marketers should be within the law. To ensure that the marketers do not hurt the customer they should be well trained and experienced so as to add worth to their organizations and clients. This will leave the customer more satisfied and attract more investors to the organization.
Discussion
Customer trust is very vital in any marketing system. To build trust the customer should not be told lies or misled about the products in the market. Marketing information about goods and services should not be deliberately deceptive to the customers. Ethics requires that a relationship should be built in such away as to provide for just consideration of customer complaints. For efficiency in the trade there should be nurturing of good faith.
Marketers should practice ethical values that are part of the ethical norm in the marketing industry. Ethical values include respect, responsibility, fairness, openness and respect. Ethical values play big role in fostering and improving the confidence of the end user. Ethical values require the marketer to stand behind their products if they fail to deliver to their mentioned benefits. They should always practice responsible behavior by accepting the outcome of their marketing decisions and policies. Marketers should always put in mind the needs of the customer. The interests of the seller should not outweigh the needs of the customer. So as to balance between the two it is mandatory for the marketer to be fair. There should be neither price fixing nor sales manipulations that are intended to hurt the customer. As matter of being open the marketer should always disclose the real list price of the available products this will reflect transparency in the marketing process.
It is unethical for marketers to participate in racial profiling or stereotyping customers. Individual differences should always be considered when doing promotions in marketing. Therefore, the customer should be treated with respect. (Illinois. Institute of technology, 2008). In order to be considered ethical products should be fairly traded and this means that there should be equitable trading agreements. There should be cooperative trading principles and not competitive trading principles, fair pricing is a factor that marketers have to put in mind (Shaw D; Shiu E IgentaConnect 2008).
Marketing nowadays encompasses environmental awareness. It is therefore, ethical for marketers to play the pivotal role in ensuring that products produced are environmentally sound and produced under publicly acceptable surroundings (forbrug.dk 2005). Although the products are required to be environmentally friendly, they are also required to be safe for human consumption. For instance, it was unethical for China to market their eggs abroad which were found to contain traces of harmful chemicals. Message communicated during marketing should be precise and reasonable. Materials used in marketing must assist the consumer to arrive at a knowledgeable choice and analyze the environmental benefits of service or product offered.
In the division of product or service development and management the marketer has a duty of enlightening the consumer on various aspects. They should make all the risks associated with a product or service handling known to the consumer. The marketer has to inform the end user of any change in the product or service that he intends to buy that might impact on the end users purchase choice. The buyer should also be made aware of the extra cost additional features.
Marketing research should be conducted responsibly. There should be no raising of funds or selling under the pretext of conducting research. Market researchers should credible and maintain honesty by avoiding falsification and omission of important data in the research. Although many organizations have customer base that is loyal, outside clients need also be treated fairly and with respect as part of maintaining ethical standards.
In their respective organizations marketers are required to maintain a professional relationship. They should never use force to get the attention of the customers or that of their fellow colleagues. Confidentiality with regard to company’s records and information is what most organizations require of their marketers. They should never try to duplicate the work of their colleagues and present it as theirs without approval. When marketing to the consumers they should never make use of the company’s to solicit favors by taking advantage of the consumer so as to maximize personal wealth or for any other reason. To maintain integrity in the organization the marketer should meet requirements of contracts and respect mutual agreements.
Internet marketing and online computer communications has been used marketers to expand and look for new markets. Internet can be easily manipulated and therefore a code of ethics has also to be applied when it comes to online marketing. When doing online marketing it is the responsibility of the organization to commit itself to ethical internet practices. Internet marketing should not be used in illegal manner whether by fax or mail. When doing market research online information received from the consumers via mail should be treated with utmost privacy. Collected data should be protected from any unofficial access. (AMA Code of ethics, Chicago).
In marketing research the research supplier is a major party. As a matter of ethics he must stick to the fundamental accepted principles applied in any scientific analysis., statistical data and sampling techniques should be precise. In order for the research to be objective, it should be free from any personal bias. Objectivity should lead to accurate findings in the report, facts about the techniques available to the client must be available. When clients are in competition the supplier should not carry out research for two clients in competition as this will put the confidentiality of the research at risk. It is required that research findings be held in confidence by the supplier.
As a party in the research the respondent has the liberty to make a choice whether to say no when asked to participate. In choosing to participate the respondent is under duty to cooperate, be truthful and honest. The respondent has to be briefed on the nature of the research before he starts participating. Research should not be made to cause harm to the respondent, he should therefore be assured of his own personal safety. Privacy is a characteristic of research, respondent’s name or information should not be sold out, and he should not be communicated to at odd hours. Apart from privacy anonymity of the respondent should be maintained and this involves not mailing list of research respondent outside the two involved parties.
Apart from the respondent, supplier researcher and the client there is the general public who witnesses the results of the research. So as to make decisions based on knowledge the public depends on marketing research for information on production. The results of the research should be complete and be fully reported for it to be trusted. False information will create wrong impression to the public. Finally the research should free of any bias opinion if it is to be trusted. (Gail Hudson ).
References
AMA Code of Ethics. 2007. Web.
An Assessment Of Ethical Obligation And Self-Identity In Ethical Consumer Decision-Making: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. 2008. Web.
College of Business Administration. Code of Ethics. 2008. Web.
Ethical and Environmental Marketing Claims (2005). Web.
Ethical Considerations in Marketing. 2008. Web.
Illinois Institute of Technology. Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT. Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers. 2008. Web.
Shaw D; Shiu E IgentaConnect 2008. Web.