Using Ethical Marketing Strategies to Benefit Your Brand's Reputation

Incorporating ethical marketing strategies into your business is key to having a good reputation. In the competitive marketing world, it's important to have a well-trusted, positive reputation. This includes following rules and regulations, keeping up-to-date with social media, and great content. In this blog, we explore the different ethical marketing strategies that can benefit your brand's reputation.

Ethical Rules in Marketing

Focusing on the British case, we have The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. And also the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which wrote the Advertising Codes. Here's an example of their ethical rules:

“Marketers bear principal responsibility for the marketing communications they produce and must be able to prove the truth of their claims to the ASA; they have a duty to make their claims fair and honest and to avoid causing serious or widespread offence. Agencies have an obligation to create marketing communications that are accurate, ethical and neither mislead nor cause serious or widespread offence. Publishers and media owners recognise that they should disseminate only those marketing communications that comply with the Code. That responsibility extends to any other agent involved in producing, placing or publishing marketing communications.”

Source: The CAP Code The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing

Similarly, in the United States, these practices are regulated by the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE). They have implemented codes of ethics that provide guidance for any organization and that primarily emphasize a society that values information and transparency.

As marketers, we have a responsibility for the messages we convey and the specific target to which we are addressing. Similarly, if we have to repair a reputation, we will use the strategy that's best to do so.

Let's See What the Data Says

• A survey conducted by GlobalWebIndex shows that one in five Generation Z and Millennial respondents, in the US and U.K, made a purchase inspired by what an influencer or celebrity posted on social media. (GlobalWebIndex defines Generation Z as those aged 16 to 22, and Millennials as those aged 23 to 36).

• A report made by Morning Consult (focused on America users and based on over 2,000 survey interviews with 13 - 38-year-olds), shows that 88% say they learn about products they’re interested through social media and 56% have purchased a product after seeing a post from someone they follow.

A Good Reputation Builds Trust

If someone that influences us recommends a product, we're likely to buy it. It’s a matter of trust. As we are increasingly using e-commerce online shops, rather than physical shops, we rely on what we see or read. That's why consumers should better have criteria and know that what's advertised to us has a creative process behind it.

Ideally, both the influencer and the advertising brand have to be impeccable. If either of the parties performs any unethical action, the brand's reputation will be the one receiving the impact, and therefore the increase or decrease of sales.

Ethical Marketing Strategies to Benefit Your Reputation

• Product and service reviews are important because they involve the reputation of many participants. This starts with the product itself and ends with the brand. Next, where the review appears and how permissive it is with the user ratings.

• Misleading and exaggerated advertising about the benefits of your product creates unrealistic expectations. This is something that consumers are likely to notice when they buy the product, thereby damaging your brand's reputation.

• Avoid SPAM in your emails. Clarify the use of cookies on your website and give a correct treatment to the data of your users.

Conclusion

Marketing and ethics are two concepts that can increase the credibility of your business and improve the perception of the customer when used together. As reputation is a matter of perception, its impact will be directly reflected on your brand, product or service.

Written by Cristina Moreno