Marketing is one of the most critical undertakings all companies apply, regardless of their directions and sizes, to communicate and deliver value to customers in a way that benefits organizations. Because of the enormous number of competing companies in the global marketplace, marketers spare no effort in developing strategies that allow for winning a competitive advantage in their target segment. In this regard, over recent decades, fierce controversy continues concerning whether marketing is employed to shape or meet consumer needs. This paper aims to argue a position that marketing focuses more on creating consumers’ needs than satisfying them.
The initial and core goal of marketing is to help consumers and manufacturers find each other. Nevertheless, marketers become more inclined to generate artificial needs to spur buying activity. They use many ingenious practices to encourage potential consumers to think that a particular product is of a real need for them. In this regard, the primary marketing tool utilized by many entities is a bright and catchy advertisement. For instance, to attract consumers, numerous fast food companies, including McDonald’s, Subway, or Pizza Hut, make appealing commercials that show friends or families spending a good time over a collective meal.
Their ads especially target children, containing entertaining content with clowns and happy youngsters. Herewith, foods these companies predominantly manufacture and sell have excessive sugar and processed fat, which is highly unhealthy.
Many advertisements also use a typical mix of words and phrases that provoke people to consume more. In particular, such phrases as “buy two get one free,” “free consultation,” or “money-back guarantee,” and others are usual but powerful stimulants in most marketing campaigns. Some companies, especially in the modern perfumery market, resort to deliberate deception, selling products that are positioned as “containing pheromones.” Such manufacturers assert that its use enhances the attractiveness of the opposite sex on a subconscious level, acting as an aphrodisiac, but no reliable evidence is provided.
Another tactic that commercial organizations apply to spur consumers’ wants is an endorsement, that is, the use of celebrities or other famous persons to market their goods. Excellent examples of such companies can be those involved in the clothing industry, including Nike, Puma, Adidas, or Reebok that contract many sports megastars. Specifically, Nike joined with Michael Jordan to launch a massive marketing campaign. This advertisement’s central aim was to create the illusion that if individuals wore Michael Jordan’s sneakers, they could bounce as high as him and play basketball better.
Finally, marketers apply one exceptionally elaborated marketing strategy, namely, creating an artificial deficit of a specific product to increase its price and realization. For example, Zara, one of the fast-fashion industry leaders, generates a climate of scarcity where goods are updated twice a week, impacting the frequency with which clients visit stores (Wang, 2018). Thus, Zara’s production cycle is the fastest in the world since it manages to produce 20 collections of clothes per year, which also allows for boosting consumption activity. In fact, most people, especially those engrossed in shopping, do not need such a tremendous quantity of garments.
In summary, marketing is one of the levers for the prosperity of any business since it helps companies establish communication and durable, forward-looking ties with consumers. Nevertheless, it is worth admitting that, presently, many managers abuse this integral tool, investing immense amounts of money in promoting their products and services. They tend to cheat and manipulate buyers, lull their vigilance, and slip unnecessary or low-quality goods. As a result, such strategies foment the population’s appetite for consumption, which leads to different socioeconomic and environmental issues.
Reference
Wang, Y. (2018). An exploratory study of brand strategy in fast fashion brand – Using Zara as an example. In 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences, and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018). Atlantis Press.