Trends in Ethical Marketing

A review of ‘Trends in Ethical Marketing’ by Salesforce.

The full document, at time of review, was found here.

What is this article about?

Primarily, this document seems to be covering the ethicality around customer data and AI. As of today (Jan 2024), this field seems to be really exploding, but it’s by no means refined.

Many tools, platforms, and methods are developing. While there is fear and some outcry, for the most part, everyone seems just unsure of the impact that these tools will have. There have been no significant legal rulings as of yet, that impact these, but personally I suspect they are coming.

Purpose of the review

The title immediately caught my eye. In my professional work, I argue fiercely for ethical business decisions.

In todays world, we’re getting fed up with unethical decisions and profit-first everything. It’s exhausting and disheartening. While no-one can change the world alone, what I can do is advocate for positive change. I also truly believe that ethical decisions lead to a longer term higher profit company. Distrust and employee burnout kill companies.

Content Summary

Key Points

The document starts with a review of the current landscape. This direct quote says it best:
- “Cautious optimism: Emerging technologies often come with risk,
  but generative AI and related developments have such wide-reaching
  applications and an arresting grip on the public imagination that many
  marketers are both excited and wary about the potential implications.”
It also raises a few notable examples of issues gone wrong – companies accused of racism, leaking data, and suits of other prejudice.
The idea that unwanted pressure from poorly informed marketers is really annoying is a key point as well. It also raises that a ‘too personalized’ offer can also be unsettling, which is a fair point.
- Finding the balance between providing relevant and valuable communication, striding in the space between spam and mind reading is the key.
“The State of the Connected Customer report found that 61% of consumers are comfortable with companies using relevant personal information if it is used in a transparent and beneficial manner”

Personalization that prioritizes people:
- Future Proofing – being ethical and responsible prevents the risk of regulatory changes taking out essential data streams
- Responsibility leads the pack – Being the ethical leader can lead to being the industry leader
- Ethical risks compound – marketing is a long term relationship. Risky moves erode your foundation
Key Techniques for ethical marketing
- Knowing the data you need, and collecting as little as possible
- Targeting interests, not demographics
- Collect and respect preferences (opt outs)
- Deliver value
- Be intentional with data use

Practicality and Relevance

Application to Digital Marketing:

At the end of the day, my job is to help build a relationship between companies and their audience. Both in emerging fields and in the normal methods, keeping your eyes open for the right way to do things is very important.

Other Resources:

Personal Insights

Learnings and Takeaways: I think this was an ok read. At the end of the day, it’s a 20 page ad for salesforce, but the key messages are still valid:
- Be good to your customers
- provide value
- be smart with private data

If you read this far, you probably got as much as I did out of it, in far less time. A quick google search can probably find a better resource.

I give full credit of the ideas summarized here to Salesforce, this review is for educational purposes alone.