You’re a marketer and business owner, I know, but imagine just for a second that you are the head of a huge multi-national oil company.
And then imagine that you screw up royally.
And now imagine you try to sweep your screw up under the carpet; even though it’s all over the news.
Well, I would be forced to think that you are a complete and total lying sack of crap. And generally, I don’t do business with someone who is a lying sack of crap. And I’m not the only one so it would probably affect your business quite negatively, to put it mildly.
Okay, you can stop imagining now. And since the above was a completely fabricated scenario that would never happen, let’s bring it a little closer to home and talk about the importance of transparency and how it relates to your marketing.
Marketing transparency is much more important in business these days than ever before. The combination of the tidal wave of consumer rip-offs starting way back with Enron plus the speed and ubiquity of information, make for a very ‘open’ environment today. If you try to hide something negative, it will be found out and be on the internet in minutes. And it works the other way too; if you’re transparent, you’ll be rewarded for it.
Here are my 3 Transparency Quick Tips to keep in your back pocket that will help grow your business:
- Be Yourself - you’re an original, so embrace it and use it. Use YOUR voice in your writing, blogging, etc. and don’t try to sound or act like someone else. Your quirks, opinions and ideas are what set you apart dude. We prefer Rocky Road to Vanilla every day of the week.
- Admit to Your Screw Up, Immediately – everyone makes mistakes; I even made one last year (but it was a small one). Jump right in there and say “My Bad” and apologize. What? You’re telling me to eat crow. Yes sir, open up wide! If you take responsibility right away and are impeccable with your word, almost everyone will give you a second chance to do right. (which is a hell of a lot cheaper than finding a new customer).
- Go the Extra Mile – if your product doesn’t deliver, do everything you can to make it up to that customer. Duh, right? But guess what? It’s not crowded on the extra mile because no one does it! It will cost you a lot less in the long run. Plus these are opportunities to turn customers into evangelists for you. If you don’t, your name will be MUD (or BP!) on Yelp and that’s gonna cost you my friend.
This is more common sense than rocket science, but the difference is made for those who actually do it. And oh by the way, there’s also that little tip about always keeping your word. Yeah, that’s gold baby. How else will you teach others to trust you?
Wanna hear a great interview on this topic with the Chairman of Ben & Jerry’s? Go here, it’s free: http://bit.ly/aGHWV2
What are your thoughts on transparency? Leave me your comments below.
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