The past decade has seen emerged a social and environmental consciousness among companies which are now trying to follow ethical values while doing business. This form of self-regulation is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Corporate Social Responsibility does not only have an impact on production or on human resources, but also on marketing. The relatively new concept of sustainable marketing consists of meeting the present needs of consumers while preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. As a result, companies shift their traditional marketing toward a societal marketing and begin to produce and market desirable products which meet both the immediate and long-run needs of customers.
Unfortunately companies such as Apple have not quite adopted CSR in marketing and continue to use unethical practices such as planned obsolescence. Besides the technological obsolescence of their iPhone due to components not made to last more than a year, Apple markets its products in a way that people are willing to buy a brand new phone every year even of their current phone is working perfectly – this is what I call consumerism. Apple does not fulfill existing needs, but creates new ones.
I believe a long-term consumer welfare is more valuable for customers, but for companies as well. Sustainable marketing would lower marketing costs and sales pressure for the company, and consumers would be more receptive to lower prices and lower pressure to buy.
The company would also benefit from its sustainable marketing thanks to the change of the image that consumers would perceive more positively. For example, Coca-Cola has created its own CSR Department and spends millions of dollars on its responsible new image of a recycling company supporting physical activity to offset its children-fattening soda image.
CSR and hence sustainable marketing are an investment for the future that companies should seriously consider to create and maintain sustainable relationships with customers, more and more concerned by ethics and sustainability.
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