1. What are the Four Ps of Marketing? Explain
Every business needs a marketing strategy to be competitive and successful in the market. The four important elements known as 4P’s that help in marketing the products are Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Product: The goods and service offered to the customer is called as a Product. The product is given more importance in the 4P’s and it must be planned well to serve the needs of the customers. The product must also meet the customer expectations like the quality, warranty, various options, services, packaging, brand name, and the functionality.
Price: The price set for the product must be competitive in the market. The price must be cost-effective, value-based, cost-plus, seasonal allowances, psychological and must be set depending on the geographic area.
Place: The place determines the method in which the company makes its products available to the market through distribution channels. The distribution can be in the form of Intensive distribution, Selective distribution and Exclusive distribution.
Promotion: Promoting the product is a crucial step in marketing as it makes the customer reach out to the product. Promoting a product in the market can be done by using some business tools like television, radio and print advertisements, direct selling, venue marketing, internet marketing, phone book, direct mail, campaigning and so on.
2. What are the ethical issues in marketing? Explain the ethical framework in an organization. Discuss respect in marketing.
Many companies want to make quick money and in this process they practice unethical ways. Some possible ethical issues in marketing are extracting private information, targeting the weaker sections, refusing to sell the products to certain customers, negative advertising and dealing with the competitors and informing them about their suppliers. In an ethical organization emphasis is laid on respect and trust. An ethical framework in such organization has four components: a culture for ethical action, standards of conduct, outreach, and a fair and transparent process. Respect is an important aspect in marketing as it plays a significant role in building relations and helps in developing interpersonal relationships, especially with the peers, suppliers, distributors, and most important the customers.
3. What are the alleged benefits of market exchanges?
A market is a place where the exchange of goods and services takes place. Market exchanges typically benefit both the producers and the consumers. The marginal cost and the marginal benefit are equal for the initial unit that is produced and consumed, and in such cases both the consumer and the producer make extra money, or some bonus from the market exchange. The consumers enjoys the surplus as the amount paid for the units is less than the required amount to be paid, and the producer usually derives a net profit from the market exchange in the short run. The benefit from the market exchange is calculated as the sum of the consumer surplus and the producer surplus. Market exchange acts as a source for all the participants in the market to get the greatest benefits possible.
4. Briefly explain what duties do producers owe consumers?
Producers owe only those things promised to consumers in the sales agreement. At the other extreme is something closer to strict liability: Producers owe compensation to consumers for any harm caused by their product (Desjardins, 2009). It is the sole responsibility of the producers to ensure that their products are safe to use and will not cause any harm to the individual or the environment. Producers must provide consumers with full information of the product to enable them to evaluate and avoid any possible dangers.
References
Desjardins, Joseph R. (2009). An introduction to Business Ethics (2nd edition). Tata McGraw Hill.
