Marketing is a privilege, not a right

During tough economic times I often see companies that seem to think that marketing is more of a right than it is a privilege. Just because things may be tough right now doesn’t mean that you have the right to:

• Sneak in extra charges hoping consumers won’t notice.
• “Upgrade” your monthly email newsletter subscribers to a weekly email newsletter subscription all in the name of brand building with free stamps.
• Think that product shrinkage and price increases are the default and need no careful consideration.

If you’re lucky, you’ve carefully crafted the privilege to talk directly with your customers through hard work, trust and delivering n what they want. Now is not the time to ruin this for some possible short-term gain.