MKT 345- Discussion 6 #2

In my opinion, there are several challenges that a company could potentially face in trying to earn consumers' trust.  Firstly, I strongly believe that communication is key for any business whether is being the interaction between customers or clients. “Possessing or developing excellent communication skills will help business leaders and their teams in every facet of business operation” (Leonard 2019).

A company can fail to earn its customer’s trust if it lacks effective communication. A company that does not treat the customer's inquiries or complaints as a high priority, may essentially lose the trust of its customers. If customers should write bad reviews online about their experience with a specific company, the company then would have a damaged reputation which will then result in a loss of brand loyalty. Another challenge in which a company can experience in attempting to earn trust from its customers is that of spammy communications. Our textbook suggests that “People’s aversion to spam means sending unsolicited mass messages is a quick way to lose trust and annoy the audience” (Barker, Barker, Bormann, Zahay, & Roberts, 2017, p. 73).

Engaging in ethically and morally unacceptable business practices may also be a challenge in earning customer's trust. For example, if a company should receive a bad review online and answers that review in a negative light, this will essentially reflect on the company poorly and will lose more customers than they will ever gain.

2.  What are the most common abuses that companies engage in that betray customer trust? What are the ethical and legal implications?

Common abuses that companies engage in that betray customer trust are many. These abuses include; false advertising and false promises.  False advertising, in essence, is the use of misleading and unproven information to advertise products to customers. When companies engage themselves in false advertising practices, “consumers will perceive the company as untrustworthy. Both the customers the company already has, and any potential new customers will tend to feel betrayed and take their business elsewhere” (LaMarco 2018). Essentially, customers will lose all loyalty.

Hiding information, or simply advertising a product that isn’t what it can impact a company’s reputation negatively once the truth is released. One implication of false advertising practices is that “…past deceptive marketing practices have caused consumers to look for tricky wording in ads, read the fine print, read consumer reviews and do background research on companies: (Tama-Rutigilano 2019).

It is to be understood that companies will always promote their products in a positive light, as the aim is always to get consumers to purchase. However, individuals must do their research before purchasing a product. This boils down to the abuse of false promises. If a company should make a promise to its customers, it is expected that they fulfill that promise. If the promise is not fulfilled, it could potentially lead to the loss of brand loyalty as well as damage brand reputation.

Concerning ethical and legal implications, if false advertising constitutes fraud, the company may face criminal penalties, civil penalties as well as wire or mail fraud if the advertisement was distributed by mail or the internet. False promises may have less of a legal impact but are definitely deemed as unethical as a company is promising something that they have no intention of fulfilling.