Responsible marketing in the time of B2B and B2C
The conventional understanding is that if you are a business selling to another business, it is B2B. If you are a business selling directly to consumers, then you are a B2C. This has been the tradition and continues to be for most marketers until today. In this categorisation, marketers are missing something crucial. Responsible marketing. A marketing approach in which people are at its core, and to make it happen the business should show that it shoulders more responsibilities. Only when a business makes this its uncompromising strategy, it will be able to connect with its targeted consumers emotionally, and thereby turning them loyal consumers. For a responsible brand or a business, the opportunity is enormous. However, it isn’t something businesses can achieve easily.
Its objective is to make a brand or a business a living and breathing human.
In today’s digital era, a consumer’s interaction with a business could be bots, Artificial Intelligence, and more. But introducing the responsible elements through responsible marketing can be a huge differentiator for businesses. But how can marketers make their businesses more responsible and what do they gain?
Last year, I purchased a pair of sunglasses from an online marketplace. When the glasses arrived, I realized that they were defective. My instant wish was either to get them exchanged or get the money refunded. But the process wasn’t smooth. This resulted in taking the fight to social media, creating a desperate situation. Then a call from a warm customer care executive mollified the situation, and thus the trust was restored.
If you’re a product company and take responsible marketing seriously, you will go a long way in business. The first purchase by your targeted consumers will, of course, make a difference. But it is the repeat purchase that will ensure your business goes a long way. This can be achieved if you take responsibility or even ownership of your product even in after-sales. No one wants to buy a great product from a marketer who disappears once the product is sold or doesn’t address any after-sale concerns. If your customers know that you are there to help address any pain points, they will be your repeat customers.
In the digital age, marketers shouldn’t even court the notion of holding any information from consumers. Consumers today can instantly obtain any information they need easily. They should be transparent when it comes to product information, ranging from materials used to origins and the condition in which it is manufactured. This is an undertaking successful global companies have adopted. No sensible consumer would purchase a product manufactured in a factory that employs underaged labourers and where the working conditions are horrible.
This approach to business demands marketers to share more information. Humans are a curious species, and we care more about what is in someone’s backyard than what is in the front yard. If you are a consumer goods company, your consumers may be curious about who makes the products they consume and what they look like, whether they are happy people or not.
Additionally, in digital marketing, it calls for innovations in marketing components like bots. They’re an important part of digital marketing. A large number of consumers communicate with chatbots since they offer quick answers and solutions. But the interaction could be quite monotonous. Note that over-engineered, robotic language is not believable and resonates with no one. Give your bots some human elements to enable casual and conversational or maybe by giving the chatbot a name and a photo. Think of how Apple’s Siri has made our interactions with technology more fun and intimate.
Today’s marketers should understand that consumers are always keeping a tap and nothing escapes their attention. If you don’t act responsibly, then someday your customers will force you, and if you don’t mend, you can forget to achieve your long-term business goals.