As consumers, we are used to seeing marketing everywhere we go. Whether it’s a billboard on the side of the road or a native ad on Instagram, marketing and advertising seem to be ever-present in our lives.
But besides being somewhat annoying, marketing is actually quite beneficial to our society. There are many reasons why it appeared and why it is so widely used today. Here’s how marketing benefits our society.
#1 It Drives the Economy
It goes without saying that every business in existence has used some form of marketing to promote its products or services. The thing is that companies and the economy don’t exist separately. If a business becomes more successful, expands, and grows its revenue, this positively impacts the economy of the country where that company is based. And because marketing helps businesses grow, it pretty much drives the economy.
Marketing and advertising are both used to target specific groups of consumers that are the most likely to buy a specific product or service. If the targeted people do purchase the products or services that are marketed to them, the business could gain new customers and increase its revenue. With the growth of the revenue, the company itself can start expanding by targeting more consumers, branching out into new markets, launching new products, etc.
In addition to that, marketing also requires qualified people to work in the field. Just by using marketing, businesses create new job positions that can be filled by specialists who also contribute to the growth of the economy by working and consuming. Likewise, the consumer demand that marketing creates forces businesses to meet that demand which also positively impacts the economy.
#2 It Informs and Educates Consumers
Another reason why marketing is so important for our society is that it informs and educates consumers about the products and services available to them. Without marketing, consumers may be unaware of the existence of something that could solve their problems. New products and solutions need to be marketed and advertised to gain the attention of potential buyers and eventually become widespread and demanded.
At the same time, marketing is important for seemingly mundane products too. There can be different varieties of the same everyday products which is why marketing is crucial for helping consumers differentiate between these products and find the right one for their needs. For example, some shampoos can be marketed as affordable options for those on a tight budget while others could be marketed as luxury products that can be purchased as a gift.
Marketing is also necessary to educate consumers on things that don’t directly relate to products or services. For instance, some companies launch charity campaigns that are meant to be good PR for the brands (which could lead to higher sales) while also being a reason to support a good cause and show social activism on their side. These campaigns also require good marketing, even though they don’t directly sell products or services.
#3 It Manages Consumer Expectations
While targeting consumers and informing and educating them about the offered products and services, businesses also want to guide potential customers through marketing. This guidance can help manage consumer expectations which, in turn, plays an important role in the balance between demand and supply among other things.
Obviously, every company wants to present its products or services in the best light possible. This is why many marketing and advertising campaigns tend to gloss over the weaknesses of certain products or downplay their flaws. However, more and more brands are being called out for this which is why businesses now try to be honest in their marketing and shape realistic consumer expectations.
Marketing can also play a role in setting industry standards. Because consumers expect a certain level of quality from a specific type of product, all businesses in the industry try to meet that standard. Whether it’s about customer service or eco-friendliness of the used materials or simply the taste of the food, these standards force companies to do better to please demanding customers who have grown to expect good quality. Though it may be challenging for businesses, it forces them to improve which has a positive long-term impact.
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#4 It Models Consumer Behavior
In addition to managing consumer expectations, marketing can also help companies model consumer behavior. That guidance mentioned earlier is not just the guidance of thoughts (i.e. expectations) but also of actions (i.e. behavior). That’s why so many businesses spend tons of money on research in an effort to better understand consumer behavior and how it can be influenced by marketing and advertising.
Likewise, this is also the reason why many companies invest in marketing heavily. Even small businesses that can’t afford to have large-scale marketing campaigns go to reputable writing services to find experienced freelance writers. By working with independent specialists, they can reduce their content creation and marketing costs while still having successful campaigns that model consumer behavior.
All of this may sound manipulative on the side of the companies and it really is to some extent. Marketing can be misleading and can make you purchase something you don’t need. However, marketing is still meant to drive the economy and your purchases are contributing to that, so it’s in your interest to buy products and services. That’s why the ability of marketing to shape consumer behavior as well as to adapt to it is so essential for companies.
#5 It Creates Competition and Innovation
As mentioned above, marketing creates industry standards that consumers come to expect. Because of this, all the companies in the niche try to meet these standards to meet consumer expectations. This, in turn, creates competition between different brands and eventually leads to innovation. To survive on the market, a business should not only grow but also evolve over time to stay up to date with everything and maybe even ahead of everyone else.
What does this look like in practice? Well, think about the leading brands in their respective industries. For example, Disney. In the past dozen years, Disney has seen unbelievable success with its movies. Usually, movie studios would invest money in a variety of projects and expect some of them to make decent money at the box office while others were expected to flop. After acquiring Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, Disney has been incredibly successful in this regard. Almost all of its big-budget productions were financially successful.
Obviously, this is something that other movie studios want to emulate. That’s one of the reasons why cinematic universes became the trend – it was something started and successfully continued by Marvel Studios already under Disney. Some of the studios that tried to create their own cinematic universes include Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, and Universal. Though to varying success, these studios still tried to meet the standards and expectations set by Disney with its MCU and Star Wars Universe.
#6 It Promotes Informed Spending
Marketing can help create consumer demand for specific products and services. However, it is not the only thing that creates that demand. Companies need to understand consumer needs and provide the right products or services that can solve consumer problems. But besides all of that, there are still cases when the products or services on the market aren’t the first priority for consumers. That’s when marketing can play a huge role.
Whether someone buys a product or not can depend entirely on the way it is marketed. In a way, by informing and educating consumers, companies are able to find customers who are making level-headed choices when they pay for something. This promoted informed spending which fuels a thriving society. On the other hand, marketing can persuade customers to purchase something they don’t need which can lead to overconsumption.
It is somewhat of a double-edged sword when it comes to this topic, but more and more consumers are becoming aware of how products and services are marketed to them. These consumers are conscious of the choices they make and they tend to double-check all the claims made in the marketing or advertising campaigns before buying the product. Yet, whether it is an informed purchase or not, it still contributes to the growth of the economy.
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#7 It Leads Socio-Political Action
Last but not least, marketing can be extremely useful for socio-political action. As explained earlier, marketing and advertising campaigns can be used by companies for charity which doesn’t necessarily mean that the products or services of those companies are promoted. However, it’s also worth mentioning that marketing is used by non-profit organizations that are specifically meant to lead and drive socio-political action.
All the organizations promoting their activities to educate poor people, reduce climate change, and fund terminally ill patients are also using marketing and advertising to get the word out about their cause. It goes without saying that such campaigns are completely different from the usual marketing campaigns done by businesses selling their products and services. But in both cases, marketing is used nevertheless.
Likewise, there is also the concept of green marketing which is tightly associated with companies that offer products specifically made with sustainability and eco-friendliness in mind. They use ethical, sustainable, and eco-friendly materials and practices to create their products. And in their marketing, they bring attention to this topic to position themselves as brands that are leading the movement by changing from within.
Final Thoughts About How Marketing Benefits Society
All in all, marketing definitely has its advantages. In fact, it could be argued that it is fundamental to our society. While we can’t predict how it will evolve in the nearest future, we can be certain that marketing is here to stay for a very long time.
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