Ad Age has an article called "Integrity in Marketing Not Optional" written by UC Berkeley professor Lynn Upshaw. Key quote:
"In a world where buyers are continuously in touch with other buyers and claims are publicly deconstructed by anyone and everyone, marketers' toughest job may be to simply convince buyers that they speak the truth. In such a world, marketing integrity is not just a virtue; it is a driver of choice."
Upshaw goes on to say that "companies that have a systematic approach to marketing integrity will hold a significant advantage over those that fail to treat honesty as the new driver of choice." The article lists a number of things to look at to see if your marketing is done with integrity.
While Ad Age and Lynn's article are targetted at big businesses, small businesses also need to be aware of the growing importance of marketing integrity. Small business transparency is increasing, and small business claims are facing the same customer and 3rd party deconstruction.
I've posted several times on the growing impact of user reviews and the local internet on small business transparency and small business marketing. The local internet will also result in substantially more scrutiny of small business marketing claims as well as small business product and service quality.
Comments