Since first looking at internet marketing, some years ago now, one of the things that has always struck me is the quality of the people involved. It also seems that the more successful they are, the more likeable and straight-forward they are. We are often led to believe that business people are ruthless and devious and would sell their own grandmothers to make a profit, but in the field of internet marketing that just does not seem to be the case. They treat their colleagues, competitors and customers with equal respect. I’m sure there are a few rogues around, but there always are in any aspect of human life, but they seem to be few and far between in the world of online business.
I am not saying that internet marketing has a monopoly on goodness and honesty by any means. The first financial adviser I used was superb and I always felt that everything he did for us was done with our best interests at heart, rather than his commissions. He seemed to take a real pride in ensuring that our financial situation was in the best order he could manage. I remember his moving to a new company at one stage, but remained with them for only a fairly short time. It was the attitude of the other advisers in that organisation which led to his leaving them. He told me with disgust that his colleagues in that company used to refer to their clients as ‘punters’ and often spoke of the people they were supposed to be serving with disdain. They were primarily interested in what they got out of each transaction rather than doing what was best for the client.
The message I have always received from those whose mentoring I have encountered is to be absolutely straight with customers and potential customers. Their advice has always been the same: always be honest with your customers; never exaggerate; never be aggressive in your marketing; always keep your promises; never quibble over returns; always go the extra mile. Given that we are highly unlikely ever to meet our customers face to face; it is difficult to establish a relationship at arms-length. Only by being totally reliable and honest in our dealings with others can we expect them to come to trust us to deliver the sort of service they are looking for.
Never Spam! We all know how irritating spam can be so don’t inflict that irritation on others. A couple of days ago on this very site I had a spate of responses through my “Comments” facility which were just a form of spam; no wording other than web-links. I obviously did not click the links as I never ever click a link if I am not totally sure of its origins. I also deleted them immediately as I have a responsibility to protect my readers from any dubious stuff coming through my site. Whether these links were just sales pitches or something more sinister I shall never know, but it was very irritating to find them. Spam is a form of dishonesty as the whole point is to mislead people into believing that the message is coming from a known source, hence the deceitful subject lines they often carry.
Within the internet marketing community, honesty is most definitely the best policy. If you want to establish a good rapport with your customers you will not realise that ambition in any other way.