Perceptions of the Societal Marketing Concept

With the growth in corporate power bringing increased demands from society in accordance with the dictum that “in a democratic society, power sooner or later begets equivalent accountability’[l], and the simultaneous increase in knowledge and awareness of social issues in the public at large, business activities in every sphere of social endeavour are coming under increasingly rigorous scrutiny. The marketing concept can be described as an integrated effort aimed at providing customer satisfaction with a view to attaining long-run profitability for the firm. The societal marketing concept requires, in addition, the promotion of “proper consumption values”[2 in order that “long-run consumer welfare”3 may be attained. Thus it requires that the business organisation includes social, ethical and ecological considerations in its product and market planning. Social responsibility in marketing has recently come under sharp criticism for undermining the democratic process, since “marketers do not have the right to decide what is in the public interest"[4]. © 1989, MCB UP Limited. All rights reserved.