Is business meeting its responsibilities to consumers with regard to the safety, quality, pricing, and

labeling and packaging of its products? If not, how might it do better? Provide examples.

I believe that there are significantly more companies that are meeting their responsibility to consumers
than those companies that are not meeting their responsibilities. Consumers expect companies to meet
certain responsibility standards and obligations and will do business with the companies that are
meeting or exceeding those responsibilities. Consumers have become more aware of how their buying
decisions impact the world around them and will take the time to research a company’s beliefs, values
and cultures. As more businesses enter a market, consumers have more options available for making a
purchase. A company that provides a quality product that is safe and reasonably priced will build a
larger customer base than one that is only focused on the profit margin of their company.

A company that provides quality products will gain increasing amounts of customer loyalty and
satisfaction. Many studies have shown that consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service
that they feel is quality made or exceeds normal standards. If consumers do not feel that your products
are well made, they will look for an alternative. On the other side, when consumers feel that the
products and services that you provide exceed their expectations for quality, they are willing to pay
higher prices for your products and services.

The companies that are successful at meeting responsibility expectations of their consumers are
providing products that safe, made of quality materials and competitively priced. According to an article
on the AmericanBarAssociation.com, “products must be safe and must inform and sometimes warn
customers of any potential issues with such products. Additionally, marketing and advertising for goods
and services should also reflect the overall CSR policies of a corporate entity, including truthfulness, and
fairness of such materials”. Companies that take a proactive approach to these responsibilities will have
a stronger consumer base that will make repeat visits and referrals to their organization. Providing
quality products, safe products, reasonably priced products, well packaged products and adequately
labeled products contribute to long-term revenues and profitability growth for an organization.

For organizations that are not meeting their responsibilities to their consumers, investing in the needed
changes can prove to be more beneficial to the organization, both financially and socially than paying to
solve and/or settle problems later on. Companies that produce low quality products or do not meet
service expectations, will have increased costs to determine where the issues are, retesting products,
paying for returns or replacements, or in more serious situations, be faced with legal costs due to
product failures, injuries caused or failure to comply with industry or even consumer standards. Putting
a focus on ensuring that the organization is meeting their responsibilities can provide opportunities or
the organization to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Companies that are able to provide
not only a quality product but a better customer experience than their competitors will gain a larger
portion of their market.

Works Cited:

"Product Responsibility And Customer Care: Customer Health And Safety; Marketing And Labeling; And
Customer Privacy." Americanbar.org. 2020.
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/publications/blt/2019/10/customer-care/
"How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Buying Decisions | Clutch.Co". Clutch.Co, 2020,
https://clutch.co/pr-firms/resources/how-corporate-social-responsibility-influences-buying-decisions.