Excellence in marketing directly impacts consumer spending around the world. Between 2009 and 2018, UK consumer spending grew by more than 70%, approximately 384 billion British pounds. Much of this increase can be attributed to marketing, and specifically, marketing transparency.
Today’s market is saturated with advertising. Companies are able to take advantage of online, television, radio, and print media of all kinds to get the word out about products and services. However, because of the sheer volume of information available, consumers struggle to cut through the clutter.
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Consequently, you should spend your advertising dollars in ways that get your message through the muck. You want to tap into growing consumer spending and build customer loyalty. So here’s what you need to know to get started.
What Is Marketing Transparency?
Marketing transparency refers to providing necessary information about products or services your business provides. That includes information about the following:
- Quality of product or service
- Price
- Where to purchase
- Quantity available
- Your company’s methods in manufacturing and in order fulfillment
The more information a potential customer has about a product/service a company provides and the company itself, the more comfortable consumers are in making the choice to do business.
Photo by Maurício Mascaro from Pexels
Why Is Marketing Transparency So Important?
Marketing transparency helps you develop a loyal customer base. Transparency of information creates a sense of security for consumers. Customers envision themselves as investors in your product or service. This is fertile ground for building a following and furthering your market reach.
Consumers can quickly get online and research a surprising amount of information about your company and your products. Tending to transparency in marketing allows you to think through what the customer may be searching for. You are then able to answer their questions before they are asked. Take care with the information you provide. It must be accurate and consistent in order to build trust.
Also, keep in mind that people do not buy from businesses. People buy from people whom they like and trust.
Customer Trust and Loyalty
Marketing transparency adds a level of value to a customer’s experience. Customers feel more comfortable purchasing goods and services from companies they trust. A recent study showed that 94% of consumers will tend to be more loyal to a brand offering complete transparency. Additionally, 73% of consumers questioned indicated they’d be willing to pay more for products from companies offering complete transparency.
When you are transparent, you communicate that you value your customer’s time and attention. Once you have built trust with your customers, you have the opportunity to build loyalty. Consider what you would like or dislike about an experience with your business. Not only will this practice refine your marketing strategies, but it will also eliminate any unexpected and unpleasant surprises. Over time, your marketing transparency will render customer loyalty.
Employee Loyalty and Productivity
It’s not just consumers who want to know more about the company and the products/services they provide. Employees value transparency from the company they work for. Employees want to experience transparency in their interactions with different levels of management. This helps them to feel as though everyone is working together as a team.
Employees deserve to know the values of the company they work for. They also want to feel they are fully aware of their company’s position in its perspective industry, how company leadership makes decisions, and the company’s stability. All these things both inform the employee about their own job but also lay the groundwork for employees to become customers.
Privacy Concerns
Marketing transparency is a must with today’s privacy concerns. As hackers grow ever savvier when it comes to accessing and disseminating information, business owners must be sure to treat all data with care. Criminals are ready to steal the personal information of consumers. In 1998 the Data Protection Act (UK) stated that the privacy of consumer data is the responsibility of the companies who have acquired it. In 2018, the EU implemented the General Data Policy Regulation (GDPR). The legislation gives customers more protection against cybercrimes. The more a business educates its customers on how the company stores and protects its customer’s data from potential hackers, the more likely a customer will continue to do business with that company.
Investing in marketing transparency ensures that your company’s best profile is available to potential customers. The world of marketing is always changing, but the need to be transparent is only growing. Keep learning how you may implement your own strategies for marketing transparency to build your customer base and access the billions of consumer spending entering the market every year.
This article was contributed by Alex Holliman from Climbing Trees.
