Walk up to the average person on the street and ask them what they think of when they hear “sales and marketing” and you’ll get responses like “liars”, “shisters”, “they’re just trying to sell me something.” Sales and Marketing have a long earned negative reputation to shake off before consumers will be willing to listen to their messages again. So how do we overcome the consumer with his fingers in his ears? By being honest and transparent.

I know, I know. The idea of throwing open the doors of your company might make you feel, well, a little tense. That’s to be understood. In the past, marketers sold products by making them look better than they really were. I still spend most Saturday mornings with my kids warning them that the toys in the commercials during cartoons “Aren’t really as fun as they look.” No one is going to create a commercial for a toy that says “It will break after a few hours. But, boy, you’ll have fun for a little while!” Today’s consumer has too many choices and information venues to fall for an exaggerated sales pitch. They want the truth. The truth about the product, the price, the quality, and how the product will improve their lives. If they’re unsure about your claims they’ll just hop online and read product reviews and blogs. They’ll watch videos involving the product and post to message boards asking if anyone has bought it.

Let’s take the iphone as an example. Their ads were clear. Apple showed the phone and what it does. They didn’t film hip people being cool while holding the phone. They didn’t suggest that you’d be left behind. They demonstrated the phones features. The actual features you’ll find on the phone when you purchase it. Did it work? Oh yeah. They’ve sold millions of phones to people willing to wait inline all night for the privilege of shelling out three times what other phones cost. Why did it work? Because Apple was confident that they had a quality product that people would find useful if they knew how it worked. If you can’t be that open about your product then, well, you have other issues that need to be resolved first. So here’s the lowdown…

5 Tips for Transparent Marketing

1. Blog about the development of the product. Talk about your plans, get feedback from consumers. Be honest about the time line for its release and your efforts to make it the best possible.
2. Advertise the product’s actual features and uses. Don’t waste your time, or your consumer’s time, trying to convince them that they’ll be cool, hip, skinny, pretty, smart etc if they buy your product. They can figure that out on their own.
3. Give consumers a voice. Don’t wait to find out that people are disappointed by your product when someone starts “_Your Product Name_ Sucks.com”. Create an open dialog through development and after the product is available and, here’s the big bit, LISTEN! Listen to what consumers are saying.
4. Don’t make excuses for your product. Make improvements.
5. Make your advertising viral. Post commercials and other product info in a format that people can pass along to a friend, post to their blog, and share in other ways. If you’re being straightforward and interesting people will want to share your message. Let them!