MARKETING AND ITS DISCONTENTS

1
MARKETING AND ITS DISCONTENTS

• Criticisms of marketing (two areas)
• Excesses (e.g., shoddy products, bad taste, etc.)
• Expertness (e.g., manipulator, hidden persuader,
  etc.)
• gtgtgtMay be primarily the result of the mechanics
  of modern life (especially media and
  audiences)
• The true practice of marketing involves
• Identification of market opportunity (market
  segmentation, etc.)SEGMENT
• Target identification (selection of program
  target)TARGET
• Program development (Marketing program) PROGRAM
  AUDIENCE
• gtgtgtgtThese three groups SEGMENT,TARGET, AND
  AUDIENCE, should coincide, to the greatest extent
  possible.
• However, these three groups rarely coincide and
  are rarely synonymous

2
MARKETING EFFORT AND CONSUMER DISCONTENT
Audience reached by the marketing program
TARGET
AUDIENCE
SEGMENT
Segment with need
Target of marketing program
3
Marketing Clusters and Consumer Reactions
CLUSTERS REACTIONS
1. Segment, target, and audience Highly satisfied
2. Segment and audience Somewhat satisfied or frustrated
3. Target and audience Highly distracted or irritated
4. Audience Somewhat distracted
5. Segment and target Frustrated
6. Segment Frustrated
4
MARKETING AND ITS DISCONTENTS

• Those with most favorable attitudes gtgtgtusers
• Those who are most likely to get mad
• In target, but have different values (3)
• With needs, but not in target (6 and 2)
• Dilemma for welfare economics
• Functional vs. Dysfunctional impacts of the same
  marketing program Tradeoff matrix
• There may never be any agreement, but may be
  useful to get a better picture
• May help in identifying points for technical
  improvement in the marketing process
• An explanation of a phenomenon is not its
  justification should try to improve