Marketing strategies and fundamentals

Marketing Research and Strategy

The Relationship between Marketing Research and Marketing Strategy and Tactics according to Pravat Choudhury and Geng Cui's "Consumer Interests and the Ethical Implications of Marketing: A Contingency Framework" (2003)

In marketing market segmentation and the differentiation of the marketing mix have become so commonplace that they are practically synonymous with competitive strategies. The growing body of research on marketing strategy and tactics suggests that marketers and consumers frequently differ in their perceptions of marketing ethics. While the modern marketing concept concerns the satisfaction of consumer wants and needs, in many cases the outcome of such marketing efforts are not in the best interests of either the customers or society at large. In this essay, the authors suggest that a fundamental lack of understanding of the ethical issues associated with market segmentation and selection has contributed to these problems and that this paucity of understanding has enormous social and economic costs. This paper will provide a discussion of the relationship between marketing research and marketing strategy and tactics as presented by Choudhury and Cui, including a brief summary of the article describing the purpose of the marketing research and assessing the importance of this research in relation to the organization's marketing strategy and tactics. A summary of the research will be presented in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Summary. While some studies have examined the ethics of market segmentation and selection, the authors point out that there has not been any effort to date to synthesize these various issues to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ethical implications of the marketing exchange. In this article, the point is made that multinational corporations have frequently experienced difficulties with their marketing strategies in other countries in past years, but these difficulties have almost always been at the expense of the consumers such as the notorious Nestle's baby formula scandal. In past decades, though, the most a multinational could reasonably expect in terms of negative consequences for such marketing practices would be a minimal lawsuit compared to the profits generated and some passing bad publicity that would invariably evaporate over time.

According to these authors, as troubling as such harmful practices might have been, even more confusing are the suggestions that such practices must be subject to some type of complicated analysis to determine if they were ethical or not. Common sense, though, would tell the average individual that marketing harmful baby formula to Third World countries was not a complicated picture, it was simply wrong. "While targeting harmful products at vulnerable consumers has received harsh criticism, restricting the marketing of certain products and labeling some consumers as vulnerable are considered equally troublesome, suggesting that the ethical implications of marketing practices are complicated" (p. 364). In spite of the adverse public attitudes that inevitably result from time to time, multinationals and local companies have largely continued to employ a wide range of market research techniques and media to promote their products to consumers in developing countries without regard to the consumer perceptions of such practices. Clearly, in an increasingly globalized marketplace, marketers who engage in such questionable practices do so at their peril.

On the other hand, though, businesses that fail to conduct timely and effective market research will inevitably lose market share to those companies that do; in this setting, the authors suggest that there are some common sense guidelines that companies can follow to ensure that their marketing efforts meet sometimes unwritten but important ethical standards. These issues are discussed further below.

Importance of Research in Relation to an Organization's Marketing Strategy and Tactics. In recent years, savvy marketers have increasingly been targeting discrete consumer segments through differentiated marketing techniques. According to the authors, "The distinctive nature of various consumer groups such as children, the elderly, women, and ethnic minorities has made them attractive market segments" (p. 364). Market segmentation and targeted marketing, though, are not without their dangers if what is being marketed is inappropriate for the intended consumers. "Targeting potentially harmful products at vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers such as children, the elderly, and inner-city residents has received negative publicity and been subjected to damaging litigation" (p. 364). In an increasingly dynamic and increasingly competitive globalized marketplace, though, companies that fail to take advantage of the tools that are available will be at a distinct disadvantage, but even companies that are not specifically engaged in producing "harmful" products such as alcohol and tobacco can exploit such market research techniques to the detriment of those targeted: "Cases of consumer discontent from time to time raise questions about the ethical implications of market segmentation and targeted marketing, most notably the targeting of harmful products at vulnerable consumers, such as targeting alcohol and cigarettes at inner-city consumers and churning insurance policies to the elderly" (emphasis added) (p. 365). The question, then, seems to relate to how much personal information a company requires to fine-tune its marketing efforts, balanced against the ethical considerations involved in its collection.

In view of the unscrupulous practices of many companies, though, survival would seem to indicate that too little research spells certain failure: "The increasing willingness of some large corporations to exploit vulnerable consumers indicates unfair treatment of these consumers and a lack of justice in the marketplace" (p. 365). While such practices may appear to represent the only means by which such marketing practices can be harmful to consumers, the authors point out that market research can also be used to exclude unwanted consumers of a product or service: "Meanwhile, the opposite of targeting -- the exclusion of certain consumers from a company's offerings -- is just as controversial" (p. 365). Certainly, these issues are not restricted to marketers of consumer goods; almost every type of business that is involved with the public - which is to say virtually all businesses - are subject to such ethical considerations regarding how much market research is enough to satisfy the needs of the organization.