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understandably leading to perceptions of surveys to mask the true intentions the product? Luckily for the profession,
that marketers are manipulating of the caller and then pressing the era of big data gives us a golden
customers. But marketing is not, customers to commit to a purchase, opportunity to understand customers
and should not be considered, are widely shunned. more deeply than ever before, provided
manipulation. Given the pervasiveness the practice is conducted transparently.
of the perception that marketers CHANGE THE PERCEPTION
are manipulators, I suggest that the To counter the perception that Facebook’s famed experiment in which
profession – both academics and businesses are deceitful, marketing it purposefully manipulated users’ feeds
practitioners – should be proactive should seek to be a social influence, by changing what appeared in front of
in changing these viewpoints. specifically the kind that is not exerted them in order to study how this affected
covertly and does not use deception their behaviour, caused widespread
INFLUENCE, DON’T or abuse to achieve its aims. condemnation and – rightly so.
MANIPULATE
Given increasing awareness of (Editor’s note: In 2012, Facebook
To do this, we should turn to the marketing tricks among consumers, controlled the news feed of nearly
broader definition of manipulation marketers need to approach customers 700 000 users – without their
to examine whether this is what with sustainability in mind. While it is knowledge – over a one-week period
marketing is. According to a definition true that the marketers of the 1930s as part of a study in conjunction with
used in the psychology literature, used to think of their job as directing two US universities. The social media
“psychological manipulation is a type the flow of products to consumers in platform said at the time that it was to
of social influence that aims to change a very one-way fashion, marketing gauge whether “exposure to emotions
the perception or behaviour of others professionals today are coalescing led people to change their own posting
through underhanded, deceptive or behaviours”. However, the experiment
abusive tactics.” To say, therefore, that ? was heavily criticised for manipulating
marketing uses deceit and abusive Manipulation is people’s emotions.)
tactics would be inaccurate. indeed pervasive
in our daily lives MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
If marketers employ covert tactics to FOR MARKETERS
manipulate customers, then they run around the notion of exchange between Marketers should aim to create
the risk of being seen as unethical. customers and producers, focusing on sustained value, considering both the
Take the example of subliminal value for the customer. long-term and short-term motivations in
advertising, where viewers are exposed marketing a product or service. This will
to information that slips below their This can be seen in crowdsourcing mean the closer study of customers,
conscious awareness. Such practices and push-and-pull strategies on social the creation of experiences and not
caused moral outrage in 1957 when media. Beauty brand L’Oréal, for just products and services, developing
it emerged that movie-goers had been instance, created a product in response equitable relationships with customers,
exposed to split-second advertisements to online customer chatter around a new and considering the impact of all
of Coca Cola and popcorn without their hair style. Exchange in this way implies practices on society more broadly.
conscious knowledge. Such practices agreement and is a status quo that
have been banned in the UK ever since customers not only accept, but take part Only then will we be able to counter
and it’s still unclear as to whether the in. Crucially, organisations should think the perception that marketing
practice even works when it comes to long-term in such marketing efforts. is manipulative.
influencing purchase decisions.
Most marketing classes I teach Hubert Gatignon is a Professor of
As we saw in the case of Volkswagen, start off with a debate about whether Marketing and the Claude Janssen
where customers were falsely led to marketers are filling needs, or creating Chaired Professor of Business
believe their cars had lower emissions them, in order to sell products. This is Administration at INSEAD Business
than they really did, deception was tricky territory. Who could say consumers School, based in Fontainebleau, France.
not only detrimental to the customer wanted iPhones until they were shown This article is adapted and republished
relationship but to the firm as a courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge (http://
whole, landing it in legal hot water. knowledge.insead.edu). Copyright
Telemarketing ploys, such as the use INSEAD 2016.
August–September 2016 strategicmarketing 41
