In part one of this column, we defined ethics-driven marketing as leveraging your good ethics to grow your business. We explained that it involves defining your personal ethical beliefs, evaluating your business practices against those beliefs and communicating your ethical values to the marketplace. We also concluded that ethics-driven marketing is, in fact, ethical because it helps you attract and help more clients. And that's a good thing in an environment of disappearing pensions, reappearing inflation and budget-busting gas prices.
The key to ethics-driven marketing is intention. You should use it as a deliberate strategy for growing your business. You need only follow a few simple steps.
Reflect on your personal beliefs about business. What and who do you believe in? Consider some of your personal heroes and identify the principles they stood for. Consult the codes of ethics of respected industry associations such as the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, the Financial Planning Association, the Society of Financial Services Professionals, the Million Dollar Round Table and the National Ethics Bureau. What concepts and themes in these codes resonate with you? Now pull your thoughts together into a written code of ethics that reflects your beliefs and motivate you personally.
