Ethics in Marketing

When it comes to marketing, you’re walking on thin ice if you push the limit on what’s considered ethical and unethical, especially within the aesthetics industry. 

Ethical marketing entails making honest claims and satisfying the needs of potential and existing customers. It boosts credibility and trust, develops brand loyalty, increases customer retention, and prompts customers to spread word about the products or services you’re marketing.

Unethical marketing, on the other hand, can send wrong signals about your products and services, destroy your brand’s reputation, and possibly lead to legal problems. This explains why you should avoid them like a plague. Many business owners and sales personnel have erroneously engaged in unethical marketing practices just because they never knew what these practices are in the first place.

Examples:

Making false, exaggerated, or unverified claims-In a desperate bid to compel potential and existing customers to buy their products or services, some marketers use false statements, exaggerated benefits, or make unverifiable claims about their offers. This is common in the weight loss industry, where marketers convince potential buyers that a particular product can help them shed so-and-so pounds within two weeks without exercise or dieting!

Distortion of facts to mislead or confuse potential buyers-This is another common unethical marketing practice. A typical example is when a food processing company claims that its products are sugar-free or calorie-free when indeed they contain sugar or calories. Such a company is only trying to mislead potential buyers, since they are unlikely to buy the products if it is made known that they contain sugar or calories.

Concealing dark sides or side effects of products or services-This unethical marketing practice is rife in the natural remedies industry, where most manufacturers deceive potential buyers that their products have no side effects because they are “made from natural products”. But in reality, most of these products have been found to have side effects, especially when used over a long period. In fact, there’s no product without side effects—it’s just that the side effects might be unknown. It’s better to say, “There are no known side effects” than to say “there are no side effects“.

Bad-mouthing rival products-Emphasizing the dark sides of your rival’s products in a bid to turn potential customers towards your own products is another common but unethical marketing practice. Rather than resort to this bad strategy, you should emphasize on those aspects that make your offer stand out from the rest of the pack. That’s professional and ethical.

Using fear tactics-This is another common unethical marketing practice among snake oil salespersons. You will hear them saying something like: “This price is a limited-time offer. If you don’t buy now, you might have to pay much more to buy it later because the offer will end up in two days time, and the price will go up.” The only motive behind those statements is to prompt the potential buyer to make a decision on the spot. And that’s wrong. Why subject someone to undue pressure because you want to make money off him or her?

Demeaning references to races, age, sex, or religion-Ethical marketing must be devoid of all forms of discrimination. If your marketing messages contain lines that place people of certain age range, sex, religion, nationality, or race at a higher level than others, then you are crossing the bounds of ethical marketing.

Spamming-Spamming is when you send unsolicited emails to potential customers, encouraging them to buy your products or services. This is the commonest unethical marketing practice done online. The number of time you send such emails doesn’t matter. Whether you send them once, or on occasions, or frequently, you remain a spammer.

Solutions

1.Hire Right

2.Create Policies and Practices

3.Develop People's Understanding

4.Incent the Right Thing

5.Put Controls in Place

6.Build a Culture of Transparency, Openness, and Communication