Marketing Planning and Strategy (The Dark Side)1 - Assignment Example

Marketing Planning and Strategy Marketing Planning and Strategy Considering various elements of marketing, it is identified that the process of marketing is capable of creating and satisfying consumer needs. For established firms, the concept of marketing is particularly essential to satisfy consumer needs because a well planned marketing strategy can understand and deliver actual consumer needs. In addition, new firms marketing their products and services these days also attempt to create needs so that consumers have a reason to purchase.

In short, marketing is able to satisfy the needs of existing consumers and to create new needs for emerging market segments. Through excellent use of promotion tools, an organization can create new product/service needs and influence consumers to spend additionally. Similarly, the tool of marketing can be effectively used to identify the changing consumer needs and to satisfy those needs before losing customers to competitors. Undoubtedly, there is a dark side of marketing. Fraudulent multi-level marketing (MLM) is identified to be a major dark side of marketing.

As Manning (2010, p. 367) points out, fraudulent MLM requires high entrance fees or expensive purchases without involving any authentic product or service. Using the concept of MLM and unrealistic schemes, it is easy to trap modern people who wish to become rich effortlessly. Compromising credibility is another dark side of marketing. Today even well established companies market their products and services to customers without disclosing the real benefits and costs. Hidden tariff rates and conditions are increasingly used by companies to attract more customers and to improve sales.

Enron Corporation and Worldcom are two prominent examples of companies that have compromised their ethics/values for increased sales and profits. ReferencesManning, G. A. (2010). Financial Investigation and Forensic Accounting. US: CRC Press.