How Should We Market to Vulnerable Customers?
Ethics of Advertising to Vulnerable Customers
Brenkert argues that marketers owe a special responsibility to vulnerable customers. Specifically, he says that marketers should protect or avoid marketing to those who are vulnerable. A vulnerable customer is defined as someone who suffers from either a “physical”, “cognitive”, or “social” vulnerability and these vulnerabilities are out of their control and make them more susceptible to harm by others. Since marketers have more knowledge than consumers, they have a special responsibility towards their customers. This responsibility is especially significant for vulnerable customers because they are less able to protect their own interests than normal customers and therefore more susceptible to harm from marketers. Therefore, it is morally wrong to take unfair advantage of them.
Some may argue that Friedman would disagree with Brenkert. Friedman argues that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” By marketing to customers, even vulnerable ones, companies can increase their sales. Friedman believes this is moral because companies have a fiduciary relationship with stockholders. This involves trust and establishes a contract that makes managers accountable for acting in good faith to further the relationship. The means by which to do so is…