What Does Ethical Marketing Mean?

Ethical Marketing

Ethical Marketing, as the name suggests is a type of marketing in which companies try to market their products and services by not just revolving the campaign around the product and its benefits but also balancing it with how the society will benefit from the introduction of that product or service in the market.

So, Ethical Marketing is a kind of philosophy which tries to promote fairness, honesty, sense of responsibility in all the marketing done by a company.

Principles of Ethical Marketing

• All marketing should be true.
• Marketing and advertising must be different from entertainment and news content.
• The privacy of the end-user is most important and must not compromise.
• All marketing campaigns must adhere to the norms, standards, rules, and regulations laid by the government and law-making authorities.
• Personal ethics should follow by all marketing professionals.
• Customers should treat them fairly.
• Also, Marketing professionals must be transparent about what they are trying to convey and who they are approaching to convey the same.

The Five Dos Of Ethical Marketing

Be Transparent

Whenever you are marketing a product or service to customers, ensure that you are fully transparent about it, including key information about its safety and effective use.

Protect Consumer Data And Privacy

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about entrusting their personal data with companies. For this reason, it’s important to emphasise the company’s commitment to consumer privacy.

Commit To Sustainability And Human Rights

Ethical consumerism is becoming a bigger priority for many customers. People want to feel assured that what they are purchasing is sustainable and ethically produced. Be honest about your ingredients, product components, and your supply chain.

Respond Meaningfully To Consumer Concerns

If customers have safety concerns about a product or service, then this should be seen as a company’s top priority. Always seek to protect consumer rights and immediately investigate any complaint.

Maximise Benefits And Minimise Risks

Every ethical marketing strategy should try to benefit as many people as possible while creating as little harm or cost as possible. Making an overall and lasting positive impact should always be the aim.

The Five Don’ts Of Ethical Marketing

Don’t Exaggerate

When you exaggerate the benefits of a product or service, you are making a false claim. You are promising a customer a level of quality that cannot be delivered.

Don’t Make False Comparisons

This is an unscrupulous tactic that involves making false, inaccurate, or misleading statements about a competitor’s products.

Don’t Make Unverified Claims

This involves promising to deliver results (e.g. improved skin) without providing any scientific evidence to back this up.

Don’t Stereotype

This involves the promotion of stereotypes (e.g. portraying women as sex objects) in order to sell a product. The harm here is that this sort of marketing helps to maintain a sexist culture.

Don’t Exploit Emotions

Getting an emotional reaction from consumers is one of the most effective ways to generate interest. However, if you evoke negative emotions such as rage, fear, sadness in a tasteless way, this could be seen as exploitative. Customers want their emotions to sympathise with, not manipulated.

Examine your current marketing strategy and see how it could be altered in line with these 10 ethical principles. If you change the planning, implementation, and monitoring of your digital strategy with ethics in mind, you will be able to drive success while maintaining a solid reputation.