Why You Need To Speak The Truth In Your Marketing

November 19, 2013 Blogging Guide

In recent years, the marketing landscape has been revolutionized. Gone are the days when brands crafted cookie-cutter advertising campaigns to send out in a handful of popular established media outlets. Today, marketing is fluid, dynamic, and borderless.

Brands can communicate in an endless variety of mediums and formats; and consumers no longer view marketing but they live in an environment saturated with it. Statisticbrain reported that 98% of people age 18 to 24 already uses social media networks, meaning there is a larger young audience looking at and breathing in the marketing and at this age they are more likely to spread the word on brands. So, while the digital age has given marketers many new opportunities for reaching audiences in creative ways, it has also opened brands to countless new opportunities for PR disasters. To navigate the fast-moving and intimately connected world of modern marketing, brands today need to speak the truth and here is why:

Credibility

To remain credible in the eyes of consumers, businesses must acknowledge both the good and the bad. Social media is a huge component of marketing campaigns today, and it allows businesses to connect on an unprecedented level with their customers but brands that fail to present themselves as honest and reasonable about their shortcomings inevitably distance themselves from the communities they seek to communicate with.

Building Trust

When you encourage people to buy your goods or services, you also ask them to trust that you can deliver what you promise. So in the long run, marketing that doesn’t measure up to reality only leaves customers feeling disappointed and today, because it is easier than ever to post reviews and give instant public feedback about the products bought, disappointed customers are a nightmare for any business. To build trust, just be honest.

Dominos is a good example where their honesty let them down and damaged their brand slightly. If you have not heard of the failed Facebook compliment I would recommend you look this up. What happened was this, the fast food brand received a good Facebook compliment from a happy customer however Dominos read it wrong and took this as a complaint and responded with an automated repetitive message apologizing.

Firstly, Dominos used social media in the wrong way by not using a human voice to deal with what happened and secondly they looked poor in the customer’s eyes. The marketing and brand management was filled with errors. Instead of recognizing the fault they tried to respond back to the situation with a ridiculous excuse and laughed it off. It is much better for a brand to take responsibility and build trust with the consumer and show they have real people that can look after them rather than automation message.

Being Human

On the note of being human, everyone makes mistakes, even businesses. So, showcase the people who stand behind your products by acknowledging that your company is capable of making mistakes and owning up to them. Don’t be afraid to admit that you are learning and growing as a business, and that you will inevitably take some wrong turns along the way. Customers can relate to the real world, remember that.

Avoiding Bad Press

This one is simple. If you never lie or mislead, you eliminate the possibility of huge PR disasters. Honesty is just good business and if your marketing has failed its honesty or caused any harm then pull it down immediately and do not burn any more bridges. Reebok back in 2012 for example demonstrated this point well.

Reebok ran an advertisement which had an infidelity slogan that was “Cheat on your girlfriend, not on your workout” – this went down really badly. Not only, did it offend but the ad circulated Twitter and YouTube with over 100K views the complaints rolled out of control. Reebok apologized and the ad launch in Germany demanded it be stopped, and it did not stop there as it carried through to the USA where a US customer threatened to boycott Reebok. Avoid bad press and think about your marketing slogan first before you act.

Responsible PR

Candid honesty is often a simple necessity of responsible PR. When your business gets into hot water, it only makes matters worse to equivocate and hide from the truth. Show your customers you value their relationship, want to make amends, and are willing to take responsibility for the slip-up.

When someone over at The Red Cross, for example, had the bad judgment to tweet “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas touch beer…. when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd,” it was obviously a very poor reflection on the organization. But rather than ignoring it or making excuses, they dealt with it by promptly following up with another tweet saying “the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.” Thus, they turned bad press into an opportunity to connect with their followers and spread a little humor.

Providing Great Content

Demonstrating honesty can also be an opportunity to produce valuable content marketing. Companies can write blog posts about their past mistakes and the lessons they learned from them, explain current problems and outline plans for remediation, or even hold live Q & A sessions soliciting constructive feedback from customers about how to change methods that aren’t working.

Because marketing has become social and is now dictated by exchange rather than assertion brands need to become more conscious of their position in a community. Honesty is essential for smooth social interaction. As such, it has also become essential for marketing.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Author: Hannah is a freelance writer who works with food brands and is positioned on the Vouchercloud.com Sainsbury’s team. With experience in product strategies and marketing Hannah is here to provide her advice to you.