Ethical implications of target marketing

Ethical Implications of Target Marketing Johnny Jarrett Issues in Marketing February 16, 2013 Ethical Implications of Target Marketing Marketing to a target market of consumers is one of the most important and crucial elements in marketing. Those that market products or services have always tried by many ways to recognize who their potential buyers are. Companies make many efforts by spending money to come up with ways to get the consumer to alter their purchasing decisions. I feel that there is nothing wrong with trying to get a potential purchaser of an item or service is necessary to the success of a company or business. Unfortunately marketers are identifying who their target audience is. Marketers are now shooting straight for the age group, race, marital status and even religion. Is this ethical to do? Or is it wide open for the business to try to market to its buyers in this manner? Is it ethical to market to target a certain group even though they may not have all of the information on the products or services just because of who the company or business thinks will buy their products or services? Has age been looked at to see if there is an understanding? No. Is the company looking at the payback ability of those that are on fixed income? What if the target group is not able to accommodate all the target groups equally? Should companies target products to one racial group and not the other? I believe that the risk assessment to this target marketing in this manner is very low. I feel that because we as adults who buy for ourselves also have the ability to comprehend what the product or service is going to benefit us and can decide for ourselves. When the business or company only markets to only blacks, only whites, only Latino unethical? Of course it is. Just like any and every other form of marketing, a need is exploited; and so is almost every other kind of marketing. You are trying to exploit a need, a want and the market that maybe has not been covered by the competition. I see it on television all the time. Is it wrong that I only see Kool-Aid commercials on primarily Hispanic and African American television stations? Yes it. But unfortunately that’s the way marketing works. Marketing finds a lack, come up with a plan to meet that need and put a marketing strategy together to market to that gap. Therefore if a company or business does not take advantage of this information and market study it is setting itself up for failure. References ” Kraft Targeting Hispanic Market with Kool-Aid.” Vista Hispano: Kraft Targeting Hispanic Market with Kool-Aid. N. p., n. d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013.