The Art of Compassionate Business, 2nd Edition

Appendix C: Marketing and Manipulation

Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools that have not wit enough to be honest.

Benjamin Franklin

C.1 Consumption and Consumerism

The majority of customers in the marketplace look for new products, services, and experiences on a regular basis. Most customers are utterly attracted by novelty and innovation. Hyde (2012) observed that, as customers, “sometimes we go to the market to taste estrangement, if only to fantasise what our next attachment might be.” Oftentimes, customers obtain a very short-lived sense of satisfaction from their purchases, which prompts them to engage in buying again. Not only do customers create a continuous demand for innovative offerings from companies, but customers are ...