Effective marketing is about loving your customers – genuinely.

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.”
Henry Ford

Do you cut corners in your products and services? Or do you make the honest effort to do it right even when no one is looking? You can’t expect perfection as that is an impossible goal for the imperfect people we are. The question is simply “have you done your best?”. Did you do the job right even if your customer or client may have never known the difference?

Marketing with integrity is about loving your customer. Develop a relationship with them. Advise them. Help them. Offer them products and services which will help them. Protect them from those who would take advantage of them. It isn’t about being the cheapest in the market, although you could make that your unique selling position – but that’s a tough call in this hyper competitive marketplace and not one I typically recommend. Remember there can really be only one company that’s the cheapest (and not necessarily the most profitable.)

Sincerity brings more profits

It is really caring about the results your customers get from your products. If good service and quality require higher prices, then you’ll have to charge higher prices. Base your business on really helping solve your customer’s problems.

That shouldn’t just be a buzz phrase. Make it the truth to you and your business. It should be the driving philosophy of the business, because solving people’s problems is how typically businesses achieve real success.

The simple definition I like to use to define marketing is “satisfying consumer needs profitably.” It’s very profound when you consider the meaning of each word separately and then collectively in context.

“Obviously everyone wants to be successful, but I want to be looked back on as being very innovative, very trusted and ethical and ultimately making a big difference in the world.”
Sergey Brin – founder of Google, billionaire.

Employ educational selling. Tell your customers the whole story if necessary. Give them reasons (tangible, relevant and with substance – people don’t want marketing fluff) why they should buy from you. Promote the benefits of your product or service. Being honest doesn’t mean being boring.

It also doesn’t mean being bland. You can still have exciting benefit rich ad copy and true stories to sell you products. You have to use good salesmanship to bring in buyers. Just don’t use salesmanship as an excuse for lying or dishonesty.

ALWAYS sell the help – never focus on the $$

If you truly love your customers, you won’t deceive them or trick them into buying something they shouldn’t. You won’t tell them this is the best price when it isn’t. You won’t make up fake stories to sell more items. You will do everything you can to help them make a right buying decision. You will give them all the information they need to make a wise decision.

You will show them how well your product will help their lives. Do your best to produce or find the absolute best product or service for your customer’s wants and needs. Tell them how your product will improve their lives. Use examples. Tell true stories.

"Once I began following my own instincts, sales took off and I became a millionaire. And that, I think, is a key secret to every person's success, be they male or female, banker or pornographer: Trust in your gut."
Larry Flynt – founder of Hustler Magazine

Paint a picture of the results they can achieve through the product. Once someone buys, nurture and continue to care about them. Support and reinforce their buying decision by how you contact them. Then offer them other products and services which will benefit their lives. Don’t use integrity as an excuse to keep your products hidden and not show the full benefits of them to your customers.

“The point to remember about selling things is that, as well as creating atmosphere and excitement around your products, you've got to know what you're selling.”
Stuart Wilde – self help author and lecturer

You’re hurting your customers if you keep good quality products hidden from them.

Your level of success is only limited by yourself.

Best wishes,

Vaughan