What is an Ethical Marketing Strategy?

An Ethical Marketing Strategy for independent businesses

Are you looking to create an ethical marketing strategy for your business? That’s great to hear! Today, I’ll explain what an ethical marketing strategy entails and how you can apply it to your business. The core principle when it comes to an ethical marketing strategy is that it covers everything about your business not just individual marketing campaigns.

What is Ethical Marketing?

Ethical marketing is about applying values or principles to the practical activities of marketing. These principles will be different for every business and its staff. Some companies focus on very specific ethical issues, while others have a collective approach, including all areas of ethical marketing into their business plan. Previously on the blog, I have discussed the different focuses of ethical marketing and whether marketing can be ethical in the first place. Read these if you’d like to learn more about the basics of this subject.

Developing an Ethical Marketing Strategy

When developing an ethical marketing strategy, the values of the company must be the starting point. There is no way to run an ethical marketing campaign without following those same principles in your business practices. If your marketing collateral says one thing about ethics, while behind the scenes you do the opposite, you will fall foul of disingenuous marketing. This could be in the form of greenwashing, woke washing or even breaking the law.

Business Considerations

Ethical Marketing strategies are built from the ground up. The business must itself be an ethical business for one to market it as such. While every company is different and the services can be varied, these are some common ethical practices in business that should be adhered to by all.

  • Are workers treated fairly and are not exploited? From factory to office, if a company is not looking after their employees it cannot pursue an ethical marketing campaign in good faith.
  • Does the company help the planet or is trying to reduce its impact? Not every company is going to be selling sustainable, zero-waste products but there are other considerations when it comes to looking after the world. Are you reducing your electricity bill, have you upgraded your transport to electric, have you installed recycling bins at the office. All businesses need to employ certain green initiatives to use eco marketing.
  • Are the companies policies inclusive? Does your company make all staff, customers and the public feel safe and welcome when interacting with them? Do they discipline and train staff on diversity, equity and inclusion? Ethical practices are built on everyone equally.

A company must look inwards and evaluate its company ethos to see how that may lead its marketing campaigns.

Marketing Campaigns

Ethical Marketing campaigns comes from two aspects: focusing on a specific cause and promoting your business through the issue, and utilising marketing tools and styles that avoid unethical practices.

Specific Cause Promotion

A business may choose to focus on one or more ethical marketing targets. They could be:

  • Environmental – Therefore they may do marketing campaigns on how their business, goods or services impact the environment and steps they are taking to improve their carbon footprint
  • Inclusive – A company that puts diversity & inclusion first may promote how their services are accessible for various people and how they support charities and organisations that promote inclusion.
  • Upholding the law – The company may have an emphasis on how they uphold the laws of the land and how that benefits their customers. This could be from industries that have historically been corrupt or damaging to consumers and/or the planet.
  • Workers Rights – Businesses that focus on improving or maintaining the lives of their employees or supply chains workers. Practices such as fairtrade, a living wage or promoting women’s entrepreneurial pursuits could all be part of a company’s ethical focus.

Ethical Marketing Practices

Ethical marketing practices are about using truth & transparency. They consider community impact and company responsibility. It’s about promoting products and services in a societally conscious way. This entails:

  • Avoiding manipulative tactics – Charm pricing, false scarcity and countdown timers all use psychological phenomena to manipulate consumer audiences.
  • Being transparent – No bait and switch sales tactics, signing users up to marketing without consent or saying you have a secret recipe to get clients.
  • Avoiding washing – and we don’t mean a laundry or a shower. This could be woke washing, greenwashing, fair washing or any other social issues that a business has co-opted to promote their services.
  • Honesty – Describe products and services in as much detail as possible. Not hiding aspects of production, supply chains or organisational issues.
  • Creating campaigns with diversity & inclusion in mind. – This includes making campaigns and services accessible for the greatest amount of people. Furthermore, it should also be about creating imagery, text and audio in an inclusive way. Not to mention, avoiding stereotyping in your marketing collateral.

Whatever your campaign, just remember the three concepts of truthful, transparent and your responsibility to others in society.

Choose an Ethical Marketing Strategy

While I have provided areas of focus, each company’s ethical marketing strategy will be different. If you want to take your business to the next level for growth, society and the planet, let’s talk. I am experienced and passionate about developing better marketing practices and a better world for my clients and their customers. Get in touch today, and let’s grow your business ethically together.

Scroll to Top