The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty - Pearson

Chapter 2 Sustainable marketing: marketing ethics and social responsibilityA third complaint concerns product safety. Product safety has been a problem for severalreasons, including manufacturer indifference, increased production complexity, poorly trainedlabour and poor quality control. Consider the following cases of costly and image-damagingcrises brought upon several car manufacturers:In 2004 Mercedes-Benz’s quality image took a battering when it recalled almost one inthree of the 4 million cars it had sold in the previous four years to fix electronic problems.Mercedes are far from alone among car makers in making recalls. VW recalled 350,000 of itsmodels worldwide because of a potentially faulty electric cable, as well as some 950,000 Golfs,Jettas, Passats and Corrados because of problems, including a cooling system fault, which couldpotentially damage engines and injure passengers. In the same year Jaguar had to recall its topof-the-rangecar after the manufacturer discovered the automatic gearbox could switch intoreverse without warning. Such defects and recalls are an inevitable feature of mass-producingproducts as complicated as a car. The real issues occur when manufacturers resist or ignoreproblems. Ford and Firestone blamed each other for accidents following blowouts on their FordExplorers Sports Utility Vehicle that were claimed to have caused 271 deaths and more than 800injuries. And in Japan, Toyota executives faced a criminal investigation for failing to recall thecompany’s Hi-Lux minivans for years. 11For years, consumer protection groups or associations in many countries have regularly testedproducts for safety, and have reported hazards found in tested products, such as electricaldangers in appliances, and injury risks from lawnmowers and faulty car design. The testing andreporting activities of these organisations have helped consumers make better buying decisionsand have encouraged businesses to eliminate product flaws.Marketers may sometimes face dilemmas when seeking to balance consumer needs and socialresponsibility. For example, no amount of test results can guarantee product safety in cars ifconsumers value speed and power more than safety features. Buyers might choose a less expensivechain-saw without a safety guard, although society or a government regulatory agency mightdeem it irresponsible and unethical for the manufacturer to sell it.“No amount of test results can guarantee product safety.However, most responsible manufacturers want to produce quality goods. The way a companydeals with product quality and safety problems can damage or help its reputation. Companiesselling poor-quality or unsafe products risk damaging conflicts with consumer groups and regulators.Moreover, unsafe products can result in product liability suits and large awards fordamages.More fundamentally, consumers who are unhappy with a firm’s products may avoid futurepurchases and talk other consumers into doing the same. Thus, quality missteps can have severeconsequences. Today’s marketers know that customer-driven quality results in customer valueand satisfaction which, in turn, creates profitable customer relationships.Planned obsolescence“Critics have charged that some producers follow a programme of planned obsolescence, causingtheir products to become obsolete before they should need replacement. For example, considercomputer printer companies and their toner cartridges:Planned obsolescence—Astrategy of causing productsto become obsoletebefore they actually needreplacement.77