The days of high-pressure scare tactics, exaggerated claims and exploitative marketing are numbered. Newer generations of consumers are smarter and savvier than ever, and they’re demanding that the brands they support utilize ethical marketing.
Ethical marketing incorporates principles like trustworthiness, fairness, honesty, empathy, transparency and responsibility. It puts a brand’s values front and center. And it clearly communicates these values to their target audience in hopes that customer and company can come together through shared morals and standards.
According to Forbes, 94% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency. And 73% are actually willing to pay more for that brand’s products and services.
In this blog post, we’ll look at some of the benefits of ethical marketing and share a real-world example of a big brand using it to their benefit.
Benefits of Ethical Marketing
Increased Trust
People tend to trust brands that align with their own morals and beliefs. By making yours clear, you’re proving your trustworthiness straight out of the gate, attracting exactly the type of customer you’re targeting.
Enhanced Customer Loyalty
Ethical marketing doesn’t just attract customers; it allows you to keep them, too. When people feel good about the brands they support (and what those brands support in turn), it makes them loyal.
A Competitive Edge
Although we’d love to say that all businesses are adopting ethical marketing practices, that just isn’t the case. By adopting ethical marketing strategies, you’re setting yourself apart from the competition and giving people a reason to choose your business over another.
Higher Employee Retention Rates
Employees who perceive their company as being ethical are more satisfied and motivated than those who don’t, making them more likely to stick around. And since happier employees are better employees, your customers will benefit!
Patagonia: A Case Study in Ethical Marketing
When it comes to ethical marketing, Patagonia is often mentioned as a frontrunner in the field. The outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer made waves way back in 2011 when they ran an ad in The New York Timesinstructing “Don’t Buy This Jacket.”
The message, straight from the source: “to lighten our environmental footprint, everyone needs to consume less. Businesses need to make fewer things but of higher quality. Customers need to think twice before they buy.”
Patagonia is still very invested in ethical marketing, touting environmental responsibility programs that focus on reducing fossil fuels, working toward 100% reusable, home compostable, renewable or easily recyclable packaging materials by 2025, and targeting 2040 as the year when the company goes completely net zero.
While Patagonia is clearly focused on environmental issues, that certainly isn’t the be-all, end-all of ethical marketing. Other companies have found their niche in lowering prices, increasing employee wages, giving back to the community, establishing foundations to help disadvantaged children or championing sustainability.
The Bottom Line
Ethical marketing is an umbrella term for many things. But it boils down to simply doing right by your customers and treating them the way you’d like to be treated. And if you happen to create a bit more good in the world while you do it, that’s even better!
At Mischa Communications, we are committed to helping our clients develop marketing strategies that are as ethical as they are profitable. Let’s get started!