finance
An Open Educational Resource Provided by Victoria University
“Marketing: Meeting or Creating Needs?” Developed by Dr Maxwell Winchester
Senior Lecturer, Victoria University, Melbourne Australia
Introduction Marketing has often been defined by marketing academics and practitioners in terms of satisfying customers’ needs and wants (e.g., Kotler, Burton, Deans, Brown & Armstrong, 2013). This is said to involve understanding consumer needs and wants, designing a product or service that meets that need or want and then communicating the product or service to the marketplace (e.g. Elliott, Rundle-‐Thiele & Waller, 2010). Critics, however, maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before.
Marketing is highlighted as an area in business that has the most controversy with ethics (Nantel & Weeks, 1996). It is suggested that “advertising produces blatant lies, distorts reality and creates artificial needs to make profit for a firm” (p53, Takala & Uusitalo, 1996).
In addition it is claimed that marketers specifically design a short lifespan into products to ensure consumers buy them earlier than they need to, leading to overconsumption (Nantel & Weeks, 1996). Marketers have also been blamed for the
“Marketing: Meeting or Creating Needs?” Developed by Dr Maxwell Winchester
Senior Lecturer, Victoria University, Melbourne Australia
Introduction Marketing has often been defined by marketing academics and practitioners in terms of satisfying customers’ needs and wants (e.g., Kotler, Burton, Deans, Brown & Armstrong, 2013). This is said to involve understanding consumer needs and wants, designing a product or service that meets that need or want and then communicating the product or service to the marketplace (e.g. Elliott, Rundle-‐Thiele & Waller, 2010). Critics, however, maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before.
Marketing is highlighted as an area in business that has the most controversy with ethics (Nantel & Weeks, 1996). It is suggested that “advertising produces blatant lies, distorts reality and creates artificial needs to make profit for a firm” (p53, Takala & Uusitalo, 1996).
In addition it is claimed that marketers specifically design a short lifespan into products to ensure consumers buy them earlier than they need to, leading to overconsumption (Nantel & Weeks, 1996). Marketers have also been blamed for the
References: D. (2010). (2006). (2013). W.A. (1996),"Marketing (1996),"An alternative