Many businesses are looking at how they can conduct themselves in a more ethical manner. Of course, there are plenty of different ways that you can go about this task, and schools of thought vary from company to company. One aspect of ensuring that you run a more ethical business is all about marketing and promotion. So, let’s look at some of the core principals of ethical marketing that you follow yourself.
Stay Open and Honest
Whether you are planning on doing your own marketing or you are going through an agency such as Eleven Marketing, there is no doubt that staying open and honest should be a core aspect of what you are doing. This means not being misleading about your products and/or services, as well as including key safety information as and when it is all required. Beyond this, it should mean not using any ‘underhand’ tactics in order to exploit your audience. You also need to make people aware about any use of their data, such as how long it is going to be stored and so on. This is particularly important in the modern world in which so many transactions are now being completed online.
Avoid Exploiting Emotions
Triggering an emotional response has been a tactic that has long been used by marketing as it is a fast way into the user’s heart. However, if you are planning on doing this, you should avoid being exploitative in your approach. If you purposely set out to trigger some of the more negative emotions out there such as sadness, fear, rage, or anxiety, you need to ask yourself some serious questions about what you are doing. This is particularly the case in our modern world which is so much more aware of mental health and the ways in which companies can be more careful in protecting it.
Respond to Customer Concerns
When you run a marketing campaign, it is often going to be the case that you are going to attract some customer concerns along the way. Rather than simply sweeping all of these under the carpet, it is certainly worth responding to them in a proactive way. While this does not mean that you need to make any sweeping changes straight away, you do need to be honest about whether there is any validity in what is being claimed, and you should be open and willing to make changes as and when they are going to be required.
Avoid Exaggerating and Making False Promises
There is no doubt that exaggeration and making false promises have long been typical tools that have been used by marketers. While it is important that you highlight the positive features of your product and/or service, this does not mean that you should simply claim things that are not true. Otherwise, you can end up putting the hard-won trust that you have with your customers in jeopardy.
Following all of these rules to the letter will certainly help in ethical marketing at your company.