{"id":6987,"date":"2013-01-21T06:21:19","date_gmt":"2013-01-21T14:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=6987"},"modified":"2013-01-21T06:21:19","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T14:21:19","slug":"the-role-of-market-research-in-marketing-ethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-role-of-market-research-in-marketing-ethics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of Market Research in Marketing Ethics"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his latest book\u00a0To Thine Own Self: Honesty in Marketing<\/em>, Romi Mahajan has combined a series of blog posts that talk about marketing ethics and authenticity into a treatise on how marketers in all industries have the opportunity to behave — with true and real authenticity.\"to<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a marketers\u2019 responsibility around authenticity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It seems that we\u2019ve been traveling down the slippery slope of\u00a0bastardizing authenticity and integrity. \u00a0We\u2019ve been playing with definitions and changing them around to suit our needs \u2014 and then we wonder why our customers aren\u2019t buying what we\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n

As a marketer, you\u2019ve probably said \u201cbe authentic\u201d more than a thousand times \u2014 but what does being \u201cauthentic\u201d look like? \u00a0The simplest definition of the word \u201cauthentic\u201d is that it is\u00a0indisputable or original. \u00a0In other words, it\u2019s an honest representation of your product, service or opinion that isn\u2019t colored or covered up by fancy words or terms that serve YOUR purpose of appearing smart and knowledgable instead of focusing on your ideal customer and what matters to them.<\/p>\n

People see through this and they turn against it.<\/p>\n

Can market research really help you be more authentic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The short answer is — yes. \u00a0Take Domino’s pizza for example. \u00a0This is one organization that got such bad feedback from their focus groups that they took the “risky” path of putting it all out there on an entire series of commercials that showed clips from the focus groups and then they told a story of what they did about it. \u00a0This series of commercials was hailed as revolutionary.<\/p>\n

Mahajan’s book rails against the marketing machine and it’s seeming abuse of holidays and human emotions for the sake of selling more stuff and building their brands to the point where I have to admit that it made me a little mad. \u00a0After all, the purpose of marketing is to trip your “I want that trigger” — because that’s what makes folks pull out their Visa card and that’s what keeps the brand machine going. \u00a0But have we gone too far?<\/p>\n

I got to thinking about that and have laid out a few tips that you can bring into your own marketing practice that will get your market enrolled and connected to who you are without going past your ethical boundaries.<\/p>\n

How to bring magnetic authenticity to your marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Be clear about who you are.<\/strong>\u00a0 You can use research to get to the heart of who you think you are versus who your customers think you are. \u00a0Simply create a series of statements that reflect you YOU think you are as an organization and ask your customers to rate you on those elements.<\/p>\n

Focus on what matters to your audience.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The simplest way to measure this is to lists what you think is important to your customers, add some elements of what your competitors are offering and then put those into an importance\/satisfaction matrix question type. \u00a0This is probably my all time most powerful question type because it not only tells you what matters to your customer, but has them rate how well you are doing. \u00a0This data will help you focus on the critical few elements that make a diference to your customers.<\/p>\n

Target the right audience.<\/strong>\u00a0 If you find yourself stretching yourself, your fact, and features, you may be targeting the wrong audience. \u00a0Inside yourself, you\u2019re thinking you need to impress or tell them something they want to hear. \u00a0If that\u2019s the case, you\u2019ve got yourself the wrong audience. \u00a0Stop. Look. Listen. \u00a0And don\u2019t be afraid to switch your audience or your message.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made this mistake too many times to mention. \u00a0I chose an audience that I was familiar with and had relationships with and forgot to pay attention to the fact that they were simply not interested in my message or what I was selling. \u00a0They liked consuming it, but they didn\u2019t want to pay for it. \u00a0This is obviously no way to build a profitable business. I found another audience.<\/p>\n

Speak plainly and carry a big offer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t be afraid to speak in your own voice. \u00a0I know, you\u2019ve got this little voice inside your head telling you it\u2019s not good enough, you\u2019re not good enough. \u00a0This is BS. \u00a0If you\u2019ve had at least one client, you are good enough. \u00a0There is at least ONE company or person out there happy to trade dollars for your offer. \u00a0Build on that.<\/p>\n

The next step is to have an offer that resonates with your customers. \u00a0If you\u2019ve chosen the right customers, paid attention to what matters to them and decided to serve them \u2014 then the offer will become self-evident.<\/p>\n

It may take some time \u2014 but that\u2019s what it takes to build an offer. \u00a0Rome wasn\u2019t built in a day, your house wasn\u2019t built in a day and neither will your offer. \u00a0Give yourself the time it takes to craft an offer that your customers can\u2019t refuse.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t be afraid of who you are, what you have to offer and whether or not your audience will choose you. \u00a0You will look desperate, your prospects will smell it and you will achieve exactly the opposite of what you intended.<\/p>\n

Focus on who you are in the world. \u00a0Decide on what you\u2019re committed to and what people can count on you for. \u00a0Then go out there and just do it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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