It has become a tradition that I publish these ten commandments at the beginning of every year. I admit that there is a bit of laziness in this because I don’t have to create something new at a busy time, but I also think that these principles that I developed are comprehensive. I would like to share them again for 2014.
The Ten Commandments of Marketing
For your marketing to be successful, you will want to
- Clearly, honestly and accurately represent your products, services, and terms and conditions. Tell it like it is. Do not omit essential information, exaggerate, or lie. Customers can be fooled once, but they will not come back and they will tell others.
- Avoid misleading or deceptive visual images and messages and deliver products and services that are consistent with your representations. Photographs, illustrations, artwork, and written and oral communications should provide accurate portrayals of your products and services.
- Be committed to your customers’ satisfaction and honor the best practices of your industry. Make sure that your customers get what they have the right to expect. Strive to make them happy by following the established standards of your industry.
- Communicate in a respectful, honorable and courteous manner. Whenever someone communicates on behalf of your organization, they create an impression of you. Train your employees well.
- Respond to inquiries and complaints in a constructive and timely way. Studies show that an occasional shortcoming is accepted by customers if you conscientiously strive to rectify the mistake. In fact, if you apologize, correct the error, and offer additional consideration, you can actually strengthen the relationship.
- Determine the most appropriate means for reaching your customers and follow channel-specific best practices. With so many media available, you will never have the resources to exploit them all. The bulk of your customers will most receptive to a few channels so you will want to determine and concentrate on those. Be sure you follow appropriate guidelines for each of those communication channels.
- Monitor the results of your communications and eliminate less successful channels as you implement new technologies. You may have begun doing webinars and found that you have new leads that translate into sales. In that case you will want to reduce other, less successful channels like direct mail, telemarketing or advertising perhaps.
- Avoid transferring personal data outside the scope of the original purpose for which it was collected. When prospects provide information to you, take care not to let it be misused. If their trust is abused, your customers will be offended and that will undermine your public relations.
- Maintain appropriate security policies and practices to safeguard information. With so many channels, criminals are constantly developing new ways to steal from individuals and organizations. It is essential that you reliably protect key data as they develop new ways for exploiting them.
- Openly disclose the sponsor and intent of your communications and honor requests regarding the limitation of future solicitations. Avoid misrepresenting who you are or your goals. It is not ethical to create an inaccurate impression about the speaker or the message. When recipients request to “opt out,” promptly take them from your address list.
If you conscientiously follow these guidelines, you will develop the reputation you need to build your business in the coming year.
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