edit / improve my current essay
Role of ethics 15/20 Very good knowledge of the learning objective; all areas addressed; clear links to theory; does not go beyond taught material. However, too theoretical and lacks specific examples.
Social criticism 8/20 Sound knowledge/understanding of social criticism of marketing. For example, cultural/religious backlash, promoting harmful products and deceptive adverts but discussion is too short and lacks in-depth explanation and specific examples.
Conclusion 11/20 Again, a well written conclusion; clearly mentions all areas; attempts to link to theory and engages reader. However, lacks in-depth evaluation and recommendations/ final thoughts.
In today’s competitive business environment, marketing plays a crucial role in the success of any organization. An enterprise must always try as much as possible to gain a lot of customers as well as establish its brand to reach its marketing objectives. Besides, without the incorporation of an appropriate marketing tool and strategy, attaining the set goals can be difficult (Pulizzi, 2012, p. 118). As such, it is not only about the marketing activity that the business employs, but the approach that it integrates that would determine the effectiveness of the whole exercise. Several strategies exist that companies can use to promote their products or services and online marketing comprises one of them. Typically, online marketing which is also known as digital marketing, online advertising, or internet marketing refers to a marketing approach where the company promotes its products or services via the internet using various digital platforms or tools. It is more complicated and contains various marketing elements compared to other traditional methods such as advertising.
Today, online marketing has gained considerable prominence, and almost every firm is using it in promoting as well as establishing a brand for their products or services. According to (Mulhern, 2009, p. 85), digital marketing has undergone tremendous growth, and many enterprises consider this approach because it is convenient, less costly, flexible, and can reach a broader customer base. Moreover, the advancement of technology has contributed substantially to the development of online marketing. Therefore, by utilizing the concepts of the topic of study, this paper aims to evaluate the progress of online cmarketing over the past ten years by looking at some of its benefits to organizations. The essay will also explain the role of ethics in marketing and its significance. Finally, the study will evaluate the major social criticism of marketing.
Before looking at the development of digital marketing, it is essential to understand how it works. Generally, internet marketing works in a much simple way compared to other conventional marketing methods. An organization only needs to develop an efficient website where they can post information about their products or services as well as the latest trends for consumers to see. Alternatively, a firm can utilize various digital platforms such as social media, Google, and Yahoo among others by creating accounts with these tools where they can advertise or promote their products or services (Mulhern, 2009, p. 91). Social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp among others comprise the ones that are mostly utilized by the organization because of its broader consumer access. Since many people can now access the internet and other digital platforms in this technology era, online marketing has been made easy since it has broader coverage and companies can reach many customers at a time.
Besides, over the past decade, digital marketing has undergone tremendous transformations as well as taken an integral part in the marketing strategy of companies. Businesses are no longer using traditional marketing methods but have employed online marketing approaches to increase their brand presence as well as gain a competitive advantage (Salmon, 2013, p. 62). Typically, the history of digital marketing dates back about twenty-five years ago when a company known as Global Network Navigator sold its first ever advert over the internet to a law firm in 1993. In 1994, companies such as AT & T began to follow suit by buying online banner adverts which were designed by modern media. The banner adverts changed the landscape of internet marketing, and this was the beginning of the new era in marketing.
Several inventions followed later and the launch of search engines including Google, Operamini, Firefox, Yahoo, and Microsoft which contained various promotional tools that allowed the visibility of company as well as products on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) led to a significant breakthrough in digital marketing (Pulizzi, 2012, p. 116). Moreover, the introduction of Google Ad words by Google, Inc. further improved digital marketing as firms could pay for SERP to promote their products or services. Furthermore, in 2004, the launch of Facebook, a social network site revolutionized online marketing as it enabled firms to use target user demographics to promote their products. Other social media platforms such as Twitter, Snapchat, Google+, and WhatsApp were later introduced which further allowed businesses to promote their brands over the internet. Nevertheless, the web movement from web 1.0, 2.0 to 3.0 has also played a vital role in the development of online marketing since firms have developed powerful websites that are accessible across the globe and enables them to promote their products more efficiently. Such a shift has resulted in the development of various sites and tools such as Buzz Sumo, Infusion Soft, Pingdom, and SEO.
Furthermore, over the past decade, several changes have also been witnessed in the digital marketing sector. Today, the marketing tools are changing at a higher rate, and companies are integrating social media platforms such as on-site survey tools, email campaign software among others as part of their continuous marketing approach. The inbound marketing strategies have taken over the conventional email blast and cold calling techniques used by companies for years. Enterprises can now incorporate inbound agencies or marketing research and analysis departments which establish marketing automation tools to generate new leads from the website of the firm as well as nurture them into clients with website personalization and email marketing. Some years back, companies could only install Google Analytics in their sites to generate analytical information and report on traffic; however, today, new marketing automation tools such as Hubspot can transport the traffic reporting with custom visualizations which are more efficient (Salmon, 2013, p. 67).
Additionally, nowadays, many organizations have also realized that social media is crucial to generating more revenues. Since many customers are on social media, social presence has become vital to companies, and many of them are now increasing their marketing budgets to incorporate Twitter Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads to generate sales. Organizations are now required to monitor as well as engage with their clients as well as potential customers on social media. In the past,(please be more specific) customer engagement was not considered to be serious, but it has become paramount today. Such approaches have enabled businesses to enhance customer and brand loyalty, thus improving sales and revenues. Finally, today, companies are also using Business to Business (B2B) marketing approach which entails promoting products to other organizations through digital platforms. Firms are also using Business to Customer (B2C) strategy to advertise their products or services to consumers through blogs.
Similar to other areas in business, ethics play a significant role in marketing. It is usually the responsibility of the company to adhere to the established ethical standards to enhance its image and success as well as prevent any confrontations with the law. According to Singhapakdi et al., 2010, p. 81), marketing ethics refers to the moral principles and code of conduct that marketers or firms should observe when promoting their products or services. Generally, these standards require organizations to demonstrate fairness, responsibility, and honesty in their advertisements. However, the subject of ethics is usually controversial because it is subjective where every individual tends to have their own view of what is right or wrong. Nevertheless, there exist specific universal standards that marketers must ensure in their advertising efforts.
Some of the fundamental ethical guidelines in the U.S. that marketers must observe include honesty, transparency, respect, fairness, citizenship, and responsibility (Hartman et al., 2008, p. 65). Regarding honesty, marketers must be truthful in their ads by showing integrity and offering value. The marketers should also demonstrate openness in their marketing activities through the right disclosure, communication, action, and constructive criticism. Moreover, organizations should recognize and appreciate the basic human dignity of all individuals in their marketing efforts and should not demean any person through their communication. Furthermore, marketers should avoid manipulating buyers by balancing their interests and that of purchasers as well as protect consumer information. Additionally, market specialists should portray citizenship by adhering to all the existing legal, societal, economic, and philanthropic responsibilities to all stakeholders as well as give back to the society. Finally, marketers should also demonstrate responsibility by accepting all the implications of their marketing practices.
However, one of the marketing issues that marketers and companies are currently facing includes the inability to generate traffic and leads. Today, marketers are struggling to produce adequate demand for their content. With the increasing competition and existence of several platforms to publish their content, marketers continue to find it difficult where to channel their efforts. Another marketing issue entails the difficulty in securing enough budgets to fund marketing efforts (Hartman et al., 2008, p. 89). Marketers and companies especially the small enterprises are unable to get adequate funds to run their marketing campaigns in the ever dynamic sector. Furthermore, appropriate management of websites is also a big issue to marketers today. Designing beautiful pages and optimizing content to increase performance has become a severe threat to marketers. The constant shift of consumer preferences is a significant contributor to this issue. Lastly, identifying the right technologies to meet the desired needs is also a problem for marketers nowadays. Companies are not sure where to go first when wanting to integrate the appropriate technologies since the technology feedback is scattered and getting wring recommendation is possible.
Besides, the marketing specialist needs to follow the above mentioned ethical guidelines for various reasons. Firstly, demonstrating ethics in marketing prevents the business from confronting with the law which can result in unnecessary lawsuits and penalties (Valentine & Fleischman, 2008, p. 659). In the U.S. for example, the American Marketing Association (AMA) designs the guidelines such that any company that fails to adhere to the rules are subjected to lawsuits and legal penalties. Such penalties tend to dig into the profitability of the firm; therefore following the standards can prevent the company from unnecessary spending. Secondly, following ethical guidelines can also enhance the image of the business, thus improving customer loyalty as well as attracting new customers. Many consumers prefer dealing with enterprises that demonstrate ethics in their practices; therefore following the guidelines can enable the company with a broader and loyal customer base. Finally, adhering to ethical rules can also allow a firm to gain a competitive advantage since its marketing approach would stand out in the market compared to rivals. Such a situation will encourage more consumers to consider the products or services of this entity, therefore increasing its marketing share as well as revenues.
Nevertheless, despite the existence of ethical marketing standards, some businesses still engage in unethical practices which usually tend to result in dire consequences. I have encountered several unethical marketing experiences, and the one that I can remember was last year when I bought a new smartphone. Although the seller assured me that the phone battery had a long life, I later realized that its longevity was not as initially indicated. I was dissatisfied with this situation and vowed never to go back to that shop again. As such, engaging in unethical marketing practices can result in the loss of customers due to dissatisfactions (Amine et al., 2012, p. 74). (Good you need more specific examples like these before you can back it up with theory vise versa otherwise your essay becomes theory-heavy. Please cite more company-based examples.)
Although marketing plays a vital role in the achievement of many companies, this practice faces a lot of social criticism. Firstly, scholars argue that particular marketing practices result in cultural pollution such that some marketing efforts that marketers tend to employ contradicts with the cultural norms of some communities (Smith et al., 2010, p. 642). For instance, advertisements that incorporate nude pictures tend to violate cultural beliefs of Christian as well as Muslim religion and cultures. Secondly, marketing practices have also been criticized for promoting harmful products such as alcohol and cigarettes to consumers. Furthermore, at times marketing adverts use deception which can result in unfair competition as well as false wants among consumers.(give examples)Finally, marketing activities have also been identified to influence higher prices in the market which impacts consumers adversely.
In summary, over the past decade, online marketing has undergone significant transformation and almost all enterprises today are integrating digital marketing approaches to promote their products or services. Methods such as social media marketing and e-mail marketing have taken over the marketing sector by storm. Moreover, marketers should follow the established marketing standards as well as avoid unethical marketing practices to ensure success. Finally, marketing faces a lot social criticisms; therefore it is the responsibility of the market specialist and organization to make sure that they develop appropriate approaches that would create a balance between the businesses and societal interests. (such as?)
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