Post MBA exam results, Group Discussion will be crucial for MBA admission so it is advised to read and practice with variety of topics. In following GD topic you will be getting some points with divergent views which you can pick up and develop. Today, you will read GD topic:
"Bluffing to customers at market place is a business tactic"
Although bluffing or lying to customers is considered unethical to many, it is a tactic that many businessmen use at a market place. To increase the volume of sales, businessmen resort to various tricks to entice customers into purchasing products. Some businessmen and sales personnel exaggerate the benefits of a product so that they can sell more products and earn a higher commission. So, when a customer is at a store, he hears all the positive attributes of a product, only to realize after reaching home that the product does not have as many benefits as mentioned by the salesman.
Another way that businessmen trick customers into purchasing products is by painting a rosy picture of their after-sales service. Especially for electronic items, after-sales service is an important element of a purchase. At the point of purchase, salesmen guarantee that they will resolve any problem a customer may face after purchase at no cost. Many businessmen don’t give this in writing and when customers require after-sales service urgently, organizations charge an exorbitant fee to the customers. This is another form of cheating that’s common at a market place. In India, maximum cheating cases have been reported of investment companies who claim they can offer high returns to consumers but close their business the next day.
There are a number of businesses in the world that do not resort to such cheap tricks; yet, they are successful. Businesses grow because of loyal customers and repeat purchases. Once customers realize that a business uses unethical means to sell its products, the customer will not purchase items from the same store again. So, bluffing to customers may give a business more revenue in the short run, but not in the long run.
Bluffing to customers does not take place only at the business to consumer (B2C) level, but it also occurs at the business to business (B2B) level. When it comes to corporate purchases, not all vendors speak the truth. Since corporate purchases are made in bulk, vendors may cut corners to save on cost. In addition, they may deduct money from a corporate account without delivering items.
This is the harsh reality of life. Today, very few businesses practice ethical business tactics because everyone wants to stay ahead in the rat race. One must remember that it is acceptable for a businessman to speak in favor of a product, since it is part of the advertising and marketing strategy. However, withholding information is clearly unacceptable. Bluffing to consumers is unethical and tarnishes the image of a company in the long run.