Public policy on Marketing (Part 6)

11. Give correct information when asked: Surveys are frequently conducted by the companies and in these surveys they solicit information from the consumers. It is very important that the consumers take these surveys seriously and give correct and factual information. Surveys are one method of improving products and services and the fruits of research will be passed on to the customer in the form of better products and may be lower prices.

12. The right to choose and to information: The consumers have a right to choose and they should exercise this right. They should shop around compare the different products that are available and only then decide. And consumers have a right to information and they should demand that the company marketing the product furnish them with full information before they make a decision.

13. The right not to buy: Consumers should be aware that buying the product is voluntary and there is no force. They should exercise this right and not buy if they are not totally satisfied with the product.

14. Right to redress: Inevitably when the product are bought and used there will be some dissatisfaction. There should be a clear cut path or process of redressal of complaints. Consumers should not take anything lying down. They should be vigilant and should strongly opinion their protest about bad products or service.

15. Right to safety: Consumers have a right to safety and this they should ensure by making the companies know that they value safety very highly. Once the companies know that safety is high in priority safe products will be marketed.

16. Remember that products are to be used before complaint that they are not working: This is a very important point. There have been cases where the consumers have complained that the product was not working. When checked it was found out that the consumers have not plugged the machine into the electrical supply!

17. Use the product to the full life cycle: Consumers should use the product till it is fully exhausted. They should not fall into the company's trap of frequently trying to upgrade their products.

18. Recycle the products: World is rapidly getting degraded and polluted. Consumers should be vigilant not to spoil it any further. They should try to recycle products as much as possible especially paper and plastic.

19. Read the instructions carefully: Consumers have to read the instructions that are given in the instruction manual carefully before using the product. Reading the instruction will see to that they can use the product correctly and to the full extent. Also in many cases warranty or guarantee is invalidated as the product was not used as specified.

20. Demand and keep the bill: Consumers have demand for a bill as taking the bill will ensure that the VAT (value Added Tax) paid by them will reach the government. If the consumers don’t take the bill the VAT that is being collected will not reach to the government. Also the bill is a legal entity and it will ensure justice in case of faulty product or any other claim that has to be settled legally.

Public policy on Marketing (Part 5)

The final player and the king of the process is the customer. Let us examine his/her role

1. Caveat Emptor: Let the buyer beware. This is the caveat on which marketing hinges itself on. Let the buyer Beware and let the buyer be aware. It is his money that is exchanging hands. So he should be careful selecting the right product and paying the right price and check if the product is of right quality.

2. Use the product correctly: It is the responsibility of the customer to use the product correctly to enhance the life of the product and to ensure that he gets full satisfaction.

3. Damage and claim the discount: It has been noticed that the customers deliberately damage the product in the store and then claim discount. Such unethical practices should not be practiced by the customer.

4. Extra warranty: Some customers argue and try to get extra warranty/guarantee than what is due to him. Customers should understand and agree to the warranty terms before the purchase transaction and not after the purchase.

5. Create deliberate service problems: Some customers tend to harass the company service people by making repeated calls complaining that the product is not working. It is better that the customers try to do trouble shooting (preliminary fault analysis) themselves before calling in for company's help.

6. Not ask for extra and more discounts: Customers ask for discounts that are too much to bear for the company. The company might even give the discount to make the sale. This way the customers are bleeding the company and not allowing it any healthy profit margin for the company to survive.

7. Discourage fake products: It is imperative that the customers don't buy fake products knowingly. Buying of fake products damage the company's and the national economy. In many cases the makers of false products don't pay any taxes and don’t contribute any way to the exchequer.

8. Discourage pirated products: Customers buy pirated products as they are cheap and easily available. We have to remember that once the pirated products are bought in big volumes the supply of original material will cease as there is no incentive for the manufacturer to come with new products. Just consider the troubled case of pirated African music.

9. Claim extra or what is not available: Frequently consumers buy the products and later get it back to the company saying that some features are not available. It is the responsibility of the consumer to check all aspects of the product and then only purchase the product.

10. Be courteous to the sales people: It is very churlish to misbehave with the sales people. The consumers should understand that sales people are very knowledgeable and in many cases can solve our problems and can give valuable suggestions.

Public policy on Marketing (Part 4)

11. Spurious products: No company shall make or market spurious products. It will also not allow misuse of its company's name and brand by others to market spurious products. Even silently watching other's market spurious products should be considered a crime.

12. Fake products: No company shall make or market products that have names and sound like popular brand like "Suun Light" for "Sun Light", "Niki" for "Nike" or "Lacaste" for "Lacoste"

13. No fake surveys: It has been noticed that companies conduct fake marketing surveys. The modus operandi is serve a questionnaire and try to sell the product if the respondent shows positive attitude.

14. Transparency: There should be transparency in marketing products. There is a raging controversy about the ingredients of soft drinks in many countries. The way the marketers of these products are combating this issue leaves a lot to be desired.

15. Give total information: best way out of tricky problems is to offer total information about the issue and let the customer decide. Like the father of advertising has David Ogilvy has said "the customer is not a moron, she is your wife". Don’t under estimate the intelligence of the customer.

16. No fake discounts: It has been noticed that the companies enhance the price of the product and then give the increased price off as discount. This type of fake discounts should be discouraged.

17. No discrimination: No company shall discriminate among its customers. Usually discrimination is based on color, caste, creed, religion and on geography.

18. Benefit related products: All companies should try to sell or market only those products that give a genuine benefit to the customers. Often it has been seen that companies market products that offer no tangible benefit but encourage wasteful expenditure.

19. No forced sale: No company will sell a product by force. The days of hard sell are gone and now is the era of the soft sell or relationship selling. Make the customer a partner in your business and see your business grow.

20. Exact quantity: All companies will sell or market the product with the quantity that is specified on the package. There have been many instances where the companies have marketed products with 10% less quantity than what is mentioned on the package or made the package very big to make it appear as if the material inside is more. Such types of dubious activities should be stopped by the companies.

Public policy on Marketing (Part 3)

The second most important player in this process is the company that makes and markets these products. Let us examine its role and responsibilities. The company is the critical clog in the triad of Government – company and customer and it is the company that makes the product or the service that satisfies the need of the product.

1. Confusion: No company will deliberately or by accident create any confusion about the product its usage or about competitions or about competitor's products. For example saying "my product is 102% better than the competition" does create confusion.

2. Safety: It is the company's responsibility to market only those products that can be used safely. We have heard of products especially electronic that give the users shocks when they are used. Safety precautions or circuit breakers should be provided.

3. How to use safely: Expanding the above the company should provide a clear instruction manual clearly sating how the product should be safely be used. And if the product is technical training should be imparted to the user.

4. Stick to promises: The saying goes deliver to the promises made. It is said that good service leads to the satisfied customer telling one another about the good service and bad service leads to the dissatisfied customer telling 10 more about the bad service.

5. Never be too aggressive: It never pays to bad mouth the competition. The more the sales people talk bad about a competitor the more the customer will think positively about the competitor. It is the positive feeling about the competitor who is not present or defense of the underdog.

6. Differential pricing: No company will sell the same product to two different customers at different prices. No advantage of distances, low literacy or any other factor will be taken into consideration to push differential pricing.

7. Forced attachments: No company will force a customer to buy consumables (or material to run the product) when substitutes are available in the market. For example the printer company should not force the customer to use its own toner only.

8. Good after sales service: Good after sales service is no longer seen as something special. It is very much a part of the product offering and a company that offer mediocre service will be consigned to the dustbins of history.

9. Competitive products: No company shall physically damage competitive products to gain competitive advantage. There have been examples of blade companies who have rusted competitive blades and put these rusted competitive blades next to their own in the market.

10. Misleading advertisements: No claims should be made in the advertisements that can't be proved or validated. There is a need for self control and a watch dog in the company circles to discourage companies in indulging in these activities.

Public policy on Marketing (Part 2)

8. Regulation of sale of certain products: The government also a responsibility in regulation of sale certain products like kerosene, diesel, petrol, water and electricity. The role of the government was brought into sharp notice in the recent sharp increase of an essential commodity like sugar.

9. Price fixing (administered price): The government also has to controls the price of certain commodities like kerosene, diesel, petrol, water and electricity. The administered price is imperative; otherwise greedy retailers might hoard the products and try to black market these commodities.

10. Fair price: The government also has a role is seeing that there is a fair price that is charged for the products. It is all right to say that let the market dictate the price. But is the market mature enough to dictate the price?

11. Cartel formation: It has been noticed that a group of sellers come together and set an artificial price and don't let the price come down. This type of cartel formation is very dangerous and should be broken at any cost. Cartel formations are harmful to all concerned except the cartel itself.

12. MRP: It has been noticed that in many countries that the same product is sold to different people at different prices. This happens because there is no price tag on the product package. This leads to frequent over charging. The best way out is to have a MRP (maximum Retail Price). The printing of the MRP would see that the same price is charged by all sellers.

13. Adherence to standards: The government has the responsibility to see that all the companies are adhering to the set standards. The quality control division should conduct frequent checks to see that the standards are not being diluted. The most abused standard is the wrong weights that are used in weighing the merchandise.

14. Encourage recycling: One of the thrust area that the government needs to focus is recycling. Most products that we use are environment unfriendly like plastic. Government should seriously consider laws that encourage recycling.

15. Encourage local products: It is also noticed that globalization is resulting of lots of cheap products for the customer. But globalization is sweeping away the local products. This should be avoided at all costs. The best way is to encourage the producers of the local products and provide a LEVEL PLAYING GROUND.

16. Encourage competition: The best way to make the companies more competitive is to allow competition. Once the competition enters the companies will cut the flab and will offer better products at a more economic price.

17. Discourage wasteful products: It has also been noticed that there are lots of companies that encourage the customers to buy wasteful products. The government should watch these trends and should cut such practices in the bud stage itself. For example most of the products that are advertised in the "Sky shopping channels of various television channels" can be considered as wasteful.

18. Protect own markets: Globalization does not mean that we will allow every body with open arms. Every country has the right to protect its own markets, companies and customers from exploitation. The government needs to draw up a comprehensive policy to address this issue.

19. Encourage local products or services: The government needs to encourage companies that are labor intensive and that generate employment for large number of people.

20. Discourage blind aping: The government through the media should subtly say how we are better off using our own indigenous products rather than blindly trying to ape the customers of some other countries.

Public policy on Marketing (Part 1)

Whenever we talk about the public policy on marketing it is always assumed that the discussion is about the responsibility of the government in protecting the customer's interest. But why should there be any protection of interest in this globalized world? It is important for us to realize that there are other players in this crucial discussion; the companies that market these products and the customers who buy these products.

So let us look at the public policy from three angles,

The role and the responsibility of the government under which the companies and the customers operate.

The role and the responsibility of the company that makes and markets the products. The company works under the aegis of the government

And the role and the responsibility of the customers who buy these products and who are the citizens of the country.

It is worthwhile to remember here George Washington's words who said "before we ask for our rights it is better to remember our responsibilities". And "before we ask what the country did for us better to ask what we did for our country".

The government is the first and most important player in the management of sales management. Let us examine its roles, and responsibilities

1. Level playing ground: It is very important that the government provides a level playing ground for all the concerned. It has been noticed in the past that certain companies both local and foreign are given a preferential treatment. This treatment leads to unhealthy monopolies and other unhealthy marketing practices.

2. Equal treatment for all: It is imperative that the government deals with all the companies in the same fashion. The law of the land should be same for all and should not be different for different companies.

3. Public safety: The customer's safety is of paramount importance and every government should have laws that ensure the same. No company however big should be allowed to compromise this dictum.

4. Right to redressal: Irrespective of how well the marketing system works there will always be some grievances or complaints about the system. These complaints have to be handled and handled quickly if the marketing system has to mature. Setting of consumer courts and consumer forums will go a long way in addressing this crucial issue.

5. Spurious products: Many country's economies are suffering the bane of spurious products. Spurious products are products that look like the real products and try to confuse the customer. Spurious liquors, spurious food products and other such items have killed lots of innocent people. The government needs to watch these unscrupulous practices carefully and handle them with a firm hand.

6. Fake products: fake products are products that appear to be exactly like the original products. For example Soni for SONY, Adibas for ADIDAS, Panasonice for PANASONIC etc. The government should not think that the customer's are getting cheap substitutes, the companies that have invested money on developing of these products are getting harmed by these practices. The same is the case with the music industry which according to the news is getting killed because of cheap pirated version of licensed music.

7. Control of certain products: The government has a role in controlling the sale of certain products like drugs and medicines. There are many cases in which harmful and addictive drugs were given to customers without any valid prescription from a registered medical doctor.