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PM Forum - Manchester

Ethics in Marketing

At Manchester’s third Forum event of the year, held at Ernst & Young’s stylish new offices in Spinningfields, members considered how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be part of a firm’s strategy and what marketing’s role is in the process.

Our presenters Gary Fox, membership services manager from Business in the Community, and Kelvin Collins, head of brand at The Co-operative Bank, identified a number of issues and questions, which provided lots of food for thought.

Ethics in marketing is not as black and white as it seems. Organisations need to ensure they have an ethical stance at the top level which is driven and embedded through the whole organisation and that it’s not simply for commercial advantage.

Every organisation is now asking what can green do for us? Can an ethical/green product offering really strengthen the emotional bonds with your customer? And the big question: will it drive people to you? It will strengthen the emotional bond by engaging and involving clients in your ethical policy so it has to be good for business.

An ethical policy is a means of differentiating your business. It can make the difference to trust which is crucial, particularly in certain business sectors, eg. financial.

But are ethics and marketing compatible? PR or no PR? Is it ethically right to publish details on what the organisation is doing? Well, that all depends on why they are doing it. An ethical approach can make a difference but must be genuine.

In today’s marketplace purchasers are more likely to buy from organisations with social respect, and companies need to be completely transparent about what they are doing. Brand, value and trust are very much the order of the day.

Responsible businesses can deliver competitive advantage through building customer loyalty. The strongest businesses have integrated CSR through their organisation in sync with their business objectives. Brands which are recognised as being ethical are doing very well. For example, SpeedyHire give health and safety talks on how to use the equipment they sell to help minimise the number of accidents, and this has boosted sales in safety equipment.

Organisations need to build the brand from the inside out. Ethics not only grows a business but helps motivate and develop employees, generating pride, excitement and momentum internally. Today’s generation of employees want to work for organisations who are ethical and responsible. Business win = society win.

Ethical marketing is possible but challenging. Organisations need to build brand integrity, trust and transparency and embed this in the heart of the company and across the business.

Doing the right thing can deliver real business benefit.

Julie Taylor
Keoghs LLP

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