Well, Lee, you've touched a real nerve. If all marketers took a vow of integrity and ethics and agreed not to lie, I think many products and services would be in big trouble!

How many marketers work for companies that have big dud products or services? It may not be every prouduct/service in the entire line, but I'll bet there are some. And even when the companies can't stand behind these duds, the marketers still need to make them sound appealing.

I think your examples are very real and many of us have experienced something similar. Yet, they're more disappointing, I believe, at the small business level, where the reputation and service are the strongest part of a company's brand. If the business owner or manager gets a reputation for being dishonest and that information is shared in word-of-mouth bitching, that can be disastrous for that business. On the other hand, maybe consumers are fickle and buy the bull?

Lee --

It sounded to me like the first two "liars" were actually more misinformed than anything else, and that the bike shop staffer who gave you the true explanation of Schwinn was educated about market dynamics and understood the forces at play.

I wonder if, in addition to a post about business ethics, you also have a post about the importance of educating your floor staff -- you know, the people who are actually TALKING to your customers and as a result creating a large and lasting impression?

Just a thought. Either way -- good insight, as always.

Elaine, I think your post actually raised more interesting questions than my original article. Should consultants and agencies take on dangerous (cigarettes in the old days) or inferior products knowing they're going to have to either lie or merely suppress the truth? Can consultancies and agencies have a role in getting products/services to an acceptable level of quality?

Lack of quality in a product or a service may be more disappointing at the corporate level, but, you're right, failure to set up an honest relationships with customers and potential customers is much more disappointing on the small business level.

Ann, first, I don't think that the shop owners who castigated Consumer Reports were misinformed. They looked truth (or certainly the honesty of what Consumer Reports does) in the eye and spat at it.

I certainly couldn't agree more about educating floor staff (or with cataloguers and other direct marketers, telephone staff), but in this case it was the OWNERS talking to the customers.

"...but in this case it was the OWNERS talking to the customers."

OUCH!

I agree with Ann; maybe neither of these vendors had any idea about the market. Maybe they never went to college and took classes in marketing. Maybe they don't understand the value/idea of business ethics. There's lots of possibilities, but I think you bring up a good point, is nothing sacred? In advertising, what would happen if marketing or advertisers stopped lying? Would they be able to sell products as well as they do, or gain more services for their clients? Who knows, but we can only imagine.

Julie, I don't think you need to take marketing/sales courses, or go to college at all, to be ethical in business. As with any relationship, respect is the key. If I don't respect potential customers by telling them the truth (or at least avoiding lying) that relationship is not going anywhere.

When I was in my teens I worked in my uncle's book shop. I remember him telling a customer that an order wasn't in because he personally forgot to give it to the wholesaler. He could have lied to protect himself. He didn't and the customer remained loyal.

I used to be a car salesman (save the boo's and hiss's). The name of the game is sell it any way you can. If they are the owners, they are going to say whatever it takes to make them look better. They will also say whatever it takes to make the brand they carry look better. If bashing another brand is what it takes, then it will happen. You find Ford bashing at chevy and Dodge bashing at Ford. Consumer reports do rank them and their prices. It all boils down to what people want to hear.

We as marketers and advertisers are masters at that very phrase, are we not? We know what people want and we try our hardest to give it to them. I'm not sure if ethics has ever looked as good as ROI when it comes to most campaigns and they will come as close to the line or maybe even step across to get their product to the market.

Think of all the old advertisments that claimed outlanding things to sell the product. We have many products in the market today doing the same thing or claiming to be just as good. Many times, they are right, many times, they are very wrong. Only customers can distinguish the differnce. In your case, you were the informed customer. How many times do you think that line has worked on other customers who were less informed?

Shannon,you certainly raise many interesting points. Your last deals with the "informed consumer." I think we are (and have been for 10 years) in the "Age of Disbelief." Most consumers are skeptical. I read that half our customers have taken marketing courses in college and know our tricks. It is not, in my mind, the customer's responsibility to separate honest from dishonest; it is the marketer's or advertiser's responsibility to be honest. And that encompasses not only honesty about the product/service, but about the way we communicate.

Wow... this reminds me of a recent add I heard on the radio. A woman was explaining to her friend that she had just bought a luxury car from a dealer for $349 a month with only $2500 down. Her friend had just spent a "small fortune" on his car. She then reiterated that she BOUGHT a luxury car for $349 a month.

Of course, the quick talking man at the end of the commercial said "claims based on 36-month LEASE with $2500 down). Talk about deception.

Watch out - maybe some day these marketing campaigns will be regulated like my industry (financial services).

I think you hit the nail on the head! And you did the things I shout about: you advocate truth in marketing and you voted with your wallet! I started my blog to push these principles after the lights came on for me at the WOMMA conference. The light is:

It doesn't matter what the product or service - we must teach marketers to sell them ethically, to live up to the brand promise and to deliver a customer experience that meets expectations.

I (as a consumer) am too often disappointed with products and servies and all too rarely 'delighted'.

I have talked about only a few so far, but more will come! And I have made a personal commitment to praise good products, services and companies, to 'out' the opposite and to be a fierce advocate for change in our profession. And, yes, it is a profession with the same standing as accountants (despite my boss's protestations!), lawyers and engineers.

So let's adopt and put into practice WOMMA's code of ethics. Let's push for more people in our profession to strive for full professional qualifications (like the CIM's (www.cim.co.uk) Chartered Marketer qualification.

Steps off soapbox and retreats for dinner.