Is There Marketing... "Ethics"?
Dear Friend,
Listen, far be it for me to determine what your ethics should be.
Lord knows if I had all the answers to all these kinds of questions worked out, I'd be a lot wiser than I am now.
But here's something to think about: I recently read an article in the New York Times about a woman who suffered a miscarriage, and who was livid because she kept getting marketing pieces from baby product manufacturers, even after she had her miscarriage.
She said "a good company would ask me if I wished to receive their literature" in the first place, and now she says she's going to boycott all these companies' products in the future.
This is simply ludicrous. Presumably, she wouldn't have felt this way had her pregnancy been successful.
Listen, I love my kids dearly, and I appreciate them much more than most parents appreciate their kids. And it took us a long time to "make" my daughter, so I empathize with this woman tremendously. I'm really NOT insensitive to what she's going through, and in fact my ex-wife had a miscarriage back in the early 90's.
So this isn't about me being ignorant about this woman's situation. It's about how you're constantly going to be running into situations where your prospects are going to be making -- or trying to make -- their problems... your problems, and ultimately wanting something from you for "free" as a result.
Like it's YOUR fault what happened, or at least "somehow" in this big cosmic web of connections we live in, it's at a minimum, at least your responsibility to make things right, at least in part.
In some situations, like this one of course, they at least deserve your sympathy. But rarely, however, will they deserve any financial concessions on your part. Be careful though, because unfortunately allowing your desire to do good and help people in need, sometimes forces you into making bad decisions that ultimately DO NOT benefit you business-wise, and instead usually wind up leaving you with a bitter after-taste in your mouth, over the whole deal.
If you want to be charitable or giving, do as I do, and get satisfaction out of being good to others -- outside your business.
This ultimately leaves your spirits, and your bank account, in a lot better position.
Anyhow, just thought you might be interested in this, and perhaps it will give you some food for thought about "charity", which is something people tend to think about around this time of the year.
I debated whether or not to discuss this with you because it IS a sensitive issue, as is the entire concept of "ethics" and "doing the right thing" to each and every one of us. And some people will disagree with me -- they'll feel it's their "duty" to ALWAYS help others out, especially if someone's in a bind.
To "sacrifice", if you will.
This is incorrect thinking, at least when it comes to your business.
But like most subjects that are "uncomfortable" to talk about, once you actually "start" talking or thinking things through, you usually end up making some kind of breakthrough or discovery about yourself, you needed to accomplish.
Now go sell something,
Craig Garber
Any comments?
Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them -- I appreciate your feedback!
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