Does field marketing need to be conducted ethically? Do ethical and
trustworthy business practices provide tangible benefits and is the longterm view prevalent enough to allow this most basic of business practices to shine through in the modern commercial world?
In the profit driven world of commercialism, ethics might seem like the
furthest thought from the minds of some executives. When the aim is to make money,
the temptation is always there to cut corners, promise lots and give little
because by the time the consumers have bought the product or service it's too late, and with some
crafty small print, businesses can fall back on that very well worded text to protect it's sales. So long as
you're making money you can't lose; Or can you? The world of marketing when it is 'at-a-distance' is one where very few of the decision makers have to confront their customers. But in the word of field marketing or experiential marketing the people at the coal face are right there and visible to potential and existing customers. The opportunity here is only one of how much goodwill can a field marketing campaign generate towrd a brand and for what budget can this be acheived?
Tesco had an opportunity to act in a manner far outstripping the expected corporate stance recently; it was a minor clerical error
with a misplaced decimal point, in their online store, that offered new iPads for
£50.00 instead of £500.00. When customers flocked to take advantage of what
seemed like a brilliant deal Tesco defaulted on all purchases referring to a
small print clause stipulating no deal was complete until shipment. The result
was that, although they breached their customer's trust, they did save lots of
money on iPads not sold at 90% discount, the moment for their chance to step up came and went and the bad press has clung to them .... for a while at least. At the time of the furore there was a golden opportunity, in field marketing terms, to take this mistake and generate incredible amounts of good will and brand loyalty; face to face in every store and collection point across their considerable network of customer facing venues. They didnt choose to go in that direction and for some spectators at least a perceived opportunity was lost.
What about the long term impact of mistreating customers however?
For Tesco, all of those customers who have had their transactions cancelled
may very well now take their future business elsewhere. It is not only the potential
iPad sales that have been lost, but all of the unhappy customers have told
their friends of their mistreatment and the resultant bad feeling generated that may over time add to the negative brand impact. Word has generally been
spread across the country that Tesco made a mistake and then failed to honour their 'in-error' commitment. The same goes for field marketing exercises, the wrong impression created on the day can last and reach to un-imaginable heights and lengths of time. Many of us have experienced bored, pushy or just over zealous face to face marketers in-store, on the street and at our homes, this leaves us with a concious and subconcious reaction to logos and brands that can last for a considerable time - longevity can work both ways.
Other successful businesses have proved that an ethical outlook can be very
valuable. Customers like to feel appreciated and clients like to deal with
agencies they can trust for their field marketing contracts. The success of entrepreneur Richard Branson is
testament to this, his Virgin brand is highly prided on providing ethical,
trustworthy services and dispelling the image of hard nosed, sharp suited
capitalism, perhaps that's why he even has a friendly beard.
On the other hand however, that's not to say the image of ethics is not
open to manipulation. Apple, the globally successful technology company, is a
remarkable success, especially popular amongst younger customers who have been known to respond
poorly to the image of corporations and capitalism. Apple appear to have recognised this
and the laid back, ethical image was one of the many keys to their success; whether the production methods of the company's products were representative of the same ethical approach is, for many, a good question.
Therefore field marketing agencies that can
present an ethical approach will be successful, treating customers well
and earning their trust for the benefit of long term loyalty. This approach is a longer term view but as the world continues to evolve and customers become more savvy, the more a company or brand can do to foster long term loyalty the better they position themselves for the times ahead.