John Smith Scenario

"Should John Smith sell the names? Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue?"

If the decision for John to sell the names was based solely on moral and ethics, I do not think he should sell the names. Those names were used for a privately run survey and for no other use. Although John's company is going under, it is clear that he is very torn on what to do. From John's perspective, if he releases the names to the car salesman, he receives $8,000 and will avoid laying off a number of employees. The car salesman also benefits because he receives a list of potential customers that may be looking to buy a car within the next year. This gives the car salesman an competitive advantage on other car dealerships because he has time to research and pin point what those potential customers will be looking for in a car. However, by John selling those names without consulting the participants from the survey, breaks the "embrace ethical values" listed in the AMA Statement. Embrace ethical values states "building relationships and enhancing consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing by affirming this core values: honestly, responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency and citizenship." John would be breaking more than one of those core values by going behind the backs of those customers, and selling their information to other corporations.

What would you do if you owned your own company and were put in the same situation as John? Would you sell the names or follow the AMA Statement of Ethics?

Target Markets & Market Segmentation

It is vital for marketing managers to come up with a target market in which they try to satisfy. A target market is a specific group of customers on whom an organization focuses its marketing efforts on. There are all different types of target markets. A marketing manager may try to target elders or teenagers, women or men, wealthy or lower class. No matter what the case may be, it is important that you decide who you are trying to reach out to. Who do you think will be the most interested in your products? Once a manager asks themselves that question, they can then advance in the process of producing their product by fitting the wants and needs of that specific target market. Target markets make it possible for products to be successful once introduced to the public.

Target markets can be segmented into four different variables: demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioristic. Demographic variables deal with factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, income, education, occupation, family size or life cycle, religion and social class. For example, clothing stores such as American Eagle, Abercrombie, and Aeropostale, target teens and young adults. This calls for marketers to be aware of the changing styles and age distribution. Also the company, Dial, tends to target a gender-specific segment by making soap for either male or female. Geographic variables works with region, urban, suburban, rural, city size, county size, state size, market density, climate, Terrain. Some firms, such as Wal-Mart, start in small towns where they believe they have more opportunity to survive and succeed. Psychographic variables works with personality attributes, motives and lifestyles. Now a days more and more people are concerned about their weight and getting the proper nutrition, therefore many fast food restaurants are trying to make their menu's appeal to the weight conscious customer. For example, Subway advertised, Jerry, who lost hundreds of pounds from eating a Subway sandwich everyday. Behavioristic Variables covers volume usage, end use, benefit expectations, brand loyalty, price sensitivity. In this type of market users may be separated into categories such as heavy, moderate, or light users.

No matter what way a marketing manager may chose to segment their target market, it is important that they fulfill the wants and needs of the consumers in that market. Can you think of a product you buy continuously? If so, do you think that company tries to target a certain target market when selling that specific product?