How to Practice Ethical Marketing in Your Business

What is ethical marketing?

Ethical marketing at its core is promoting your product or service in an honest and transparent way. It's marketing that feels good to you, not pushy, salesy, or sleazy. It's boosting your visibility in a way that's fun and feels aligned to your values.

If you've ever experienced "bro marketing", ethical marketing is essentially the opposite. It puts the feelings of people in front of the desire for revenue, which typically, results in more revenue in the end because people feel valued and taken care of. Utilizing ethical marketing in your business is an effective way to build trust and grow a close-knit community within your audience.

Ethical Marketing Examples

There are many different ways you can practice ethical marketing in your business. At Bud to Bloom Marketing, marketing in an ethical way is a value and priority. Here are some different ethical marketing examples that I use in my business and you're welcome to try for yourself!

It's worth noting that ethical marketing is not always what's taught, because sometimes the bro marketing principles are more likely to bring in quick cash. That being said, if you don't do these things in your business, don't feel bad. You likely were never taught, and there's always time for change. In my marketing business, I learned more and improved these things with more experience. Ethical marketing is something you can move towards over time, so give yourself grace.

Be Open about Your Availability

If you work in an industry where you're capped at a maximum number of clients/students per month, share that information honestly. While this number can be used as a scarcity tactic (and rightfully so—you don't have endless time in a 1:1 business), you want to share it from a place of transparency.

What you don't want to do is share that you only have 10 seats for a group coaching program, then welcome 15+ students in. This tells your audience that you don't honor your word, and therefore, they'll have a hard time knowing if they can trust you. In addition, those first 10 students that joined thought they'd have a more intimate group, so right off the bat they may feel confused or slightly neglected.

Transparency in Pricing

This is a controversial topic, but being upfront about your pricing is an ethical marketing practice—for your potential clients and also for others in your industry. You can do this by sharing your pricing on your website, before people even inquire. If your packages vary or if they're more custom, share a starting price, pricing range, or the average client investment.

Why is it important to share your pricing? First, it saves you and your potential clients time. Personally, I won't even inquire with a service provider if I don't know the investment. Many potential clients have a dollar amount in mind, and no matter how great your sales calls are or how life-changing your service is, they simply won't spend above a certain dollar amount. By sharing your pricing upfront, it'll save you both time emailing back and forth and hopping on a call, and you'll stand out more to your ideal client.

Transparency in your pricing is important for your competitors, too. If everyone in your niche is sharing pricing, the industry standard becomes more clear. You'll likely fall a little above or a little below the standard, but it will still exist. However, if the higher ticket businesses don't share their pricing, someone could think your business is way too expensive when you're actually pretty reasonable for your niche.

This has happened to me more times than I could count—someone thought my 1:1 marketing strategy and management packages were "too expensive", when they're actually below industry standard for the full-service marketing deliverables provided.

Avoid Certain FOMO, Urgency, and Scarcity Tactics

Have you ever received an email with the subject line "LAST CHANCE!!" or "DON'T MISS OUT!" or "2 SPOTS REMAINING!"? The sender was using FOMO (fear of missing out), urgency, and scarcity tactics. Let me start by saying these tactics are not inherently unethical, as long as you use them in an honest way.

You never want your audience to feel stressed out or pressured into buying something, and that's where these tactics can turn unethical real quick. For example, telling someone they'll stay stuck or won't find success if they don't purchase your product or service isn't going to make them excited to buy. They'll likely feel guilty or stressed if they DON'T buy instead.

The best way to utilize these tactics is just by being honest. Focus on painting the positive picture of what's possible for them if they join/purchase instead of focusing on the negative things that happen if they don't. Remind them that you're sharing about the remaining spots available or the time they have to join because you care about them and don't want them to be bummed out that they forgot to join in time. Having a heart-centered approach to marketing feels more aligned for everyone involved, including you.

Charge the Same for Payment Plans

This is another controversial topic, but charging the same amount for payment plans that you do for pay-in-full is an ethical marketing practice. No one should be penalized for spending their money wisely, budgeting, or simply not having the ability to drop a large investment at once.

The argument for charging more for payment plans typically stems from accounting for failed payments. The truth is, most payments do not fail. The ones that do are typically the result of a customer forgetting or an expired credit card. While failed payment nightmares do exist, they aren't the norm. Some ways that you can ensure your clients remember to pay are sending reminder emails, turning on autopay, and having your clients sign a contract with a payment schedule included. I highly recommend using a service like Honeybook that helps automate sending out contracts to clients and allows you to require autopay to be turned on with clients. That’s why I rarely run into failed payment issues. Click here to get 25% off your first year of Honeybook!

Treat People Like People, Not Potential Dollar Signs

The underlying message when it comes to ethical marketing is to treat people like people, not potential dollar signs. That's the motto over at Bud to Bloom Marketing and how I've come to build deep, intentional relationships with my community and clients.

If you're intrigued by ethical marketing and you'd like to learn how you can market your business in this way, click here to inquire about working together. I offer quick 60-minute marketing strategy sessions, as well as monthly marketing strategy packages so you can always have a marketing strategist in your back pocket. Click here to inquire, and I'm excited to chat with you!