Foxman, E. R., & Kilcoyne, P. (1993). Information technology, marketing practice, and consumer privacy: Ethical issues. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. 12(1), 106-119. doi: 10.1007/s10660-007-9000-y
This article Foxman and Kilcoyne (1993) discussed the privacy and customer behavior in the electronic market. The author explains that there is a growing concern from consumers about their privacy when dealing with state and federal government agencies and businesses. Consumers believe that their personal information is being computerized and sold without permission. They believe that companies should ask for permission before storing and selling their personal information.
Online consumer information, credit cards, billing details, and demographics are being collected, bought, and sold across the marketing industry. Furthermore, many consumers are unaware that their information is passed around. Consumers agree that the ethics behind collecting the information and sharing it is morally wrong. In working to understand how to resolve the privacy concern, there is debate on who owns the consumer information. Businesses feel that they own the information if they collect it or purchase from another business. They see nothing wrong with collecting the information considering the data allows them to produce better marketing services to the community. Consumers feel that the data belongs to them and should only be used with their permission.
A study within this article evaluates experimental situations in how consumer behavior is being influenced by websites and the personal information being requested from the consumer is affected by the message. The study examines to understand whether customers are manipulated into disclosing personal information through online methods. The results conclude that the consumers’ behavior is significantly impacted by their misunderstanding and misinformation. The author believes that in order for the confusion to be resolved, marketers need to make privacy details clear and they must be commitment to maintaining an ethical behavior when dealing with consumer privacy.
Privacy is a great concern within my industry. In marketing, we not only collect user data from potential customers, but we also collect it from current customers so that we can create the best possible marketing approach. Oftentimes, I have done and seen businesses collect user data and use it to their advantage for producing marketing campaigns. Understanding the legality behind consumer information handling is something that marketers must take seriously. This article is informative in explaining the reasons for protecting and clearly stating privacy policies. Consumers are unlikely to trust a company that shares their personal information without their consent.
Peattie, K. (2000). The New Marketing Era: Marketing to the Imagination in a Technology-Driven World/Marketing the Unknown: Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations. Journal Of Marketing Management, 16(5), 529-532. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases
The author explores how technology has no affect on the behavior of the people who buy, use, and interact with the technology. It explains that marketing is not shaped by what the technology can do, but marketing instead centers on what the consumer will accept, understand, and want. Peattie (2000) further examined the changes that marketing is undergoing because of new technology. From the perspective of the author, marketing is psychological and technology will not change society considering it has no real affect on human emotions, drives, and capacities.
The author details that there are three changes that marketing must undergo in order to create successful strategies. The first is to move away from market research and instead look toward being able to interpret information extracted from the consumers through databases of information. The second change is moving away from traditional advertising and placing more attention on social media for communication. The final stage is to stop looking at marketing as a means of mass markets and move toward building a personal relationship with consumers through media outlets.
I enjoy the different perspective that technological tools used by consumers are not as important as whether or not they desire to use them. I find this relevant within the marketing industry particularly because marketing focuses on understanding the consumers’ desires and being able to fulfill them through brand messaging. The author explains that consumers choose products because of their feelings. This information can be valuable for someone within the marketing industry. As for the author’s perspective that technology does not influence emotions and direction, I disagree with this. To say that a television commercial has no effect on consumers’ buying habits, which are generally led by emotions, is to say that advertising has no real purpose.
Erragcha, N., & Romdhane, R. (2014). Social Networks as Marketing Tools. Journal Of Internet Banking & Commerce, 19(1), 1-12. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases
This research examines how the Internet effects people in their daily lives and how it is causing challenges for businesses due to the openness of social media. The author discusses how social media has opened a door for consumers to express their concerns to companies and this method of communication has facilitated interaction between business and consumer. This allows consumers to enjoy having power of opinion and change, but companies are feeling challenged because of the direct open forums of communication.
The author states that users are huge factors in generating brand awareness. This is due to users promoting the brand as well as creating content such as comments, questions and answers on forum boards, and adding to their custom profiles on social media accounts. Because of technology and social media, the consumer has helped enrich and improve company activities as well as add value to the brand image. The author goes further into details of what the five pillars of social media consist of. These pillars are participation, openness, conversation, community, and interconnection. The author believes that there has been a shift from marketing to interactive marketing. Marketing must move away from traditional transactional marketing to facilitator marketing which focuses on businesses sharing knowledge with the consumers and being open to consumers sharing knowledge with the business. The conclusion of this method will give power to the consumer, but will promote positive sales and satisfied customers.
This article holds valuable information to my industry considering marketing is all about the customer. The research explains that marketers should listen to consumers if they want to be successful. Marketers should never ignore the customers concerns and should allow their voice to matter. By doing this, the business can create a strong bond, a lasting relationship, and a brand promoter within the consumer.
Lipnická D., Ďaďo J. (2013). Marketing Audit and Factors Influencing Its Use in Practice of Companies (From an Expert Point of View). Journal of Competitiveness, 5 (4), 26-42. doi: 10.7441/joc.2013.04.02
The study analyzes research conducted through the Delphi method. The research included two rounds of questionnaires obtained by the opinions of sixteen marketing experts. The research was carried out during the months of October and November 2012. The sixteen marketing experts were individually contacted by email and those experts were used to ensure research validity. The evaluation of the research was to determine the main factors and barriers influencing the results of a marketing audit. The results of the study show that marketing audits are a factor in company success.
The author believes that in order to conduct a comprehensive marketing audit, the method should have four major characteristics; comprehensive, independence from decision making managers, systematic, and the audit should be carried our periodically. Audits help companies with reviewing their marketing strategies, which can help improve business performance. A marketing audit can improve marketing management and problems. This is done by assessing and evaluating the company’s marketing ability, effectiveness, threats, and opportunities. The author explains that a marketing audit can be an important tool in discovering potential risks within the company’s activities.
Within the marketing industry, understanding how or why to market is a key component to creating a successful marketing plan. In creating a marketing strategy, marketers do comprehensive research and studying of consumers, and creating a marketing audit would be conducting a similar type of research on the current structure of the businesses and its marketing efficiency.
