Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 9

Marketing - Essay Example Cervo & Allen (2011 p.67) revealing the client information may not only raise ethical concerns, but also alienates the customers from the business. In attempt to unravel this dilemma, business critics have suggested a number of possible effects that would occur if a firm opts to disclose such information. The case study illustrates the above problem and provides a suggestion on how to handle the problem. Marketing issues at stake The primary marketing issue at stake is the leaking of customer secret information. IFA marketing executives have sought confidential information of customers of ShopSense. The marketing executives of IFA believe that confidential information about consumers of foodstuffs would be useful in developing products for their customers. However, extracting such information from another company such as ShopSense is not easy. A major concern raised against the idea is the detrimental effects that leaking such information may have on the reputation of the company. Es tablishing confidence of the consumers as well as maintaining a consistent customer takes long. The two firms seem to acknowledge this fact. The relationship between the business and the firm hangs on respects to the mutual agreement consented to by both parties (Russo, 2010 p.167). The deal seems lucrative, but poses serious challenges to ShopSense. Arguably, clients of this firm have demonstrated their trust to the firm. In addition, they have maintained trust to the firm by consistently buying their products from the firm. This means that disclosing the information is an attempt to break the bond between the firm and the clients. The nagging question is who should allow the dissemination of the client’s private information. Compare and contrast the advice provided by different critics. A common observation made by the marketing critics is the sensitivity of the information kept by ShopSense. ShopSense values the customers’ information more than IFA. In this sense, i t means that disclosing information about the client would affect their business adversely. Clients of ShopSense seem to confide in the company. However, disclosing such information for financial benefit seems to have a short-term benefit to ShopSense. In business, the benefits derived from any decision dictates the present and the future of the business. The critics have demonstrated their stands concerning the idea. George L Jones for instance argues that the engagement between IFA and ShopSense is valid provided that the clients of ShopSense do not feel the reverberations of the leaked information. Katherine Lemmon argues that the issue in this case is disclosing unintended information to another party. She believes that the consumers are likely to lose the trust they have to the company an aspect that might Influence the overall performance of the ShopSence. In essence, she believes that the decision about disclosing or not disclosing the non intended information would be valid if it would not spark any concerns that would have a negative impacts to the company. Norton and McCallister share the similar information that the scorecard of the ShopSense is the confidence that they have built from their customers. This means that the activity is not only risky, but also attracts ethical concerns. All the critics seem to suggest that the opportunity may not be fruitful at the long run. In all the cases cited, the integrity of the company disclosing this information would