CGM blog: The value of marketing your ethics and integrity

04 May CGM blog: The value of marketing your ethics and integrity

Photo: FT Images.

May’s Business Media Club meetings have an Image and Reputation strategy theme – how to add integrity, ethics and values to your business marketing…

It was a close run thing but I’ve never been so pleased that attendees at our Worcester and Birmingham Business Media Clubs chose this theme for May’s Image and Reputation strategy meeting.

The alternative was brand development, which while important to the profile of any business, doesn’t present the same challenge as wearing ethics and values on your sleeve.

Indeed, promoting integrity can seem a contrary attribute to sales and marketing – which is often based on pushy, short-term, quick-win, persuasive techniques.

Isn’t that fascinating? Sales and marketing – a bit like PR, sometimes – has an image and reputation problem.

Ponder that if you will – the promotional, business-winning arm of an organisation often presents an image problem.

How come? There’s only one logical answer. Lack of integrity.

We all know people prefer to buy than be sold to. They like to buy-in to the values of a business – whether as a customer, supplier, employee or partner.

So why does mass marketing focus on inappropriate tactics designed to lure people to products and services in a way that is at odds with the values of the business offering them?

Okay, no one buys into you or from you just because you’re a nice guy. But offering a flavour of your knowledge, expertise and values is today’s smart marketing.

Why’s that? Because we’ve never had it so good.

We’re never had so many ways to market our businesses by providing information and opinion to explain how we do business and what makes us special, distinct, different and unique – rather than merely what we do.

And the good news is this is intensifying as new means of communication come on board faster.

We have more choice. Choosing who we do business with has never been more transparent.

Promoting your values is high value stuff.

Skimming, duping, lying, boasting, bragging and conning is pointless, Jurassic mass marketing that should have been laid to rest in the 1980s.

Leading with ethics and integrity – well positioned PR, informative blogs, incisive social media, well shaped case studies and testimonials, presentations, speeches, carefully-crafted video (say no to cheesy corporate video – you know it makes sense!), resources, profiles, white papers – is the smart way to go.

We’ll discuss all this and more at our May Business Media Club meetings in Birmingham (May 20) and Worcester (May 27). We’d love to see you there…

Chris Green is an award-winning author and broadcaster – and managing partner of Chris Green Media – which inspires business people communicate better by connecting deeper.

CGM offers communications coaching, media training, inspirational events, media relations and creative services.

Our Business Media Clubs offer a monthly blend of media training, personal development and quality networking in a sharing setting. For details see Business Media Clubs