Marketing is a valuable tool for any company, but it's also valuable to everyday people. Marketers are valuable to society in that they help shape long and short term trends, or at least they try. In many ways people are at the mercy of marketers; there is a certain trust people place with marketing professionals to sell them safe and quality products that perform up to par. Businesses often place tremendous pressure on marketers to get the word out about products so that sales and profit margins will be at or above the notorious break-even point. An aftermath of this pressure is often unethical business practices. We have observed this most recently with the downfall of the energy giant Enron and who could forget about the Bernie Madoff scandal. One way that marketing professionals can avoid falling suspect to such practices is by re-enforcing ethical practices and social responsibility in the workplace.
Marketing can lead to good and bad consequences in society. Good results of marketing are that of campaigns and sales designed to help raise money for cancer research or D.A.R.E products. These sales often promote uplifting messages that are spread to and well used by everyday people. Anti-drug and alcohol commercials are another example of how marketing professionals can play a role in positively influencing society. Bad consequences of marketing are rarely seen but almost always felt. Millions and millions of dollars are spent every year on such campaigns which typically involve promoting the sale of tobacco and alcohol. Sometimes these campaigns are even designed to target addicts and the youthful population. The marketing of products that are detrimental to society should be handled carefully and with the consumer's livelihood in mind.
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