Marketing Ethics
We are a member of the American Marketing Association.
American Marketing Association Code of Ethics
ETHICAL NORMS AND VALUES FOR MARKETERS
Preamble
The American Marketing Association commits itself to promoting the highest standard of professional ethical norms and values for its members. Norms are established standards of conduct that are expected and maintained by society and/or professional organizations. Values represent the collective conception of what people find desirable, important and morally proper. Values serve as the criteria for evaluating the actions of others. Marketing practitioners must recognize that they not only serve their enterprises but also act as stewards of society in creating, facilitating and executing the efficient and effective transactions that are part of the greater economy. In this role, marketers should embrace the highest ethical norms of practicing professionals and the ethical values implied by their responsibility toward stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, investors, channel members, regulators and the host community).
General Norms
- Marketers must do no harm. This means doing work for which they are appropriately trained or experienced so that they can actively add value to their organizations and customers. It also means adhering to all applicable laws and regulations and embodying high ethical standards in the choices they make.
- Marketers must foster trust in the marketing system. This means that products are appropriate for their intended and promoted uses. It requires that marketing communications about goods and services are not intentionally deceptive or misleading. It suggests building relationships that provide for the equitable adjustment and/or redress of customer grievances. It implies striving for good faith and fair dealing so as to contribute toward the efficacy of the exchange process.
- Marketers must embrace, communicate and practice the fundamental ethical values that will improve consumer confidence in the integrity of the marketing exchange system. These basic values are intentionally aspirational and include honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, openness and citizenship.
Ethical Values
Honesty - to be truthful and forthright in our dealings with customers and stakeholders.
- We will tell the truth in all situations and at all times.
- We will offer products of value that do what we claim in our
communications. - We will stand behind our products if they fail to deliver their claimed
benefits. - We will honor our explicit and implicit commitments and promises.
Responsibility - to accept the consequences of our marketing decisions and strategies.
- We will make strenuous efforts to serve the needs of our customers.
- We will avoid using coercion with all stakeholders.
- We will acknowledge the social obligations to stakeholders that come with increased marketing and economic power.
- We will recognize our special commitments to economically vulnerable segments of the market such as children, the elderly and others who may be substantially disadvantaged.
Fairness - to try to balance justly the needs of the buyer with the interests of the seller.
- We will represent our products in a clear way in selling, advertising and other forms of communication; this includes the avoidance of false, misleading and deceptive promotion.
- We will reject manipulations and sales tactics that harm customer trust.
- We will not engage in price fixing, predatory pricing, price gouging or "bait-and-switch" tactics.
- We will not knowingly participate in material conflicts of interest.
Respect - to acknowledge the basic human dignity of all stakeholders.
- We will value individual differences even as we avoid stereotyping customers or depicting demographic groups (e.g., gender, race, sexual orientation) in a negative or dehumanizing way in our promotions.
- We will listen to the needs of our customers and make all reasonable efforts to monitor and improve their satisfaction on an ongoing basis.
- We will make a special effort to understand suppliers, intermediaries and distributors from other cultures.
- We will appropriately acknowledge the contributions of others, such as consultants, employees and coworkers, to our marketing endeavors.
Openness - to create transparency in our marketing operations.
- We will strive to communicate clearly with all our constituencies.
- We will accept constructive criticism from our customers and other
stakeholders. - We will explain significant product or service risks, component substitutions or other foreseeable eventualities that could affect customers or their perception of the purchase decision.
- We will fully disclose list prices and terms of financing as well as available price deals and adjustments.
Citizenship - to fulfill the economic, legal, philanthropic and societal responsibilities that serve stakeholders in a strategic manner.
- We will strive to protect the natural environment in the execution of marketing campaigns.
- We will give back to the community through volunteerism and charitable donations.
- We will work to contribute to the overall betterment of marketing and its reputation.
- We will encourage supply chain members to ensure that trade is fair for all participants, including producers in developing countries.
Implementation
Finally, we recognize that every industry sector and marketing subdiscipline (e.g., marketing research, e-commerce, direct selling, direct marketing, advertising) has its own specific ethical issues that require policies and commentary. An array of such codes can be accessed through links on the AMA Web site. We encourage all such groups to develop and/or refine their industry and discipline-specific codes of ethics to supplement these general norms and values.
Catholic Healthcare Facilities and Marketing
High-quality care and concern for the poor are among the core values that all Catholic healthcare facilities share. And marketing is a proven tool for extending those values.
In times past, healthcare providers, including Catholic facilities, were concerned about whether healthcare marketing was ethical. Much of the concern focused on advertising and promotion. A number of ethical violations do appear in hospital advertising. But government and professional organizations have established guidelines for ethics in advertising. Hospitals should encourage their marketing professionals to personally adhere to these codes. To ensure marketing activities are conducted ethically, a hospital must clearly articulate its commitment to ethical marketing; ensure that marketing professionals adhere to this commitment; and monitor activity.
These steps should extend to a hospital's strategic plan, particularly its mission statement. Although strategic planning has many critical elements, the heart of the plan and the process is the mission statement, the expression of an organization's distinctiveness. For a Catholic hospital, this distinctiveness is found in two tiers of value: the core Catholic values, as articulated by its religious sponsors, and the institution's specific values flowing from its history, location, and services. If a religious healthcare provider is really committed to its values, it will actively affirm them in its marketing.
