Sell Your Products by Selling Your Process

Gaining a loyal following is something that businesses everywhere work to attain. They recognize that it is crucial for business success. It requires implementing various techniques and strategies, such as investing in high-quality content and leveraging popular radio influencers to deliver your message to an engaged audience that trusts their recommendations. But that work is futile if you don’t inspire confidence and trust in your brand.  

Though it is vital for all businesses, new brands and small businesses, in particular, must show customers why they should choose them over their competitors. Consumers are willing to pay for what is important to them, whether it is quality or a brand that aligns with their values and priorities. The goal of marketing is to show them that what you offer is superior to other choices. One of the best ways to do this is by being genuine and transparent about your values, manufacturing process, and sales process by using them as part of your marketing materials.  

Understanding Transparency 

Committing to transparency in your business processes means much more than boilerplate disclaimers necessitated by regulations. It is about displaying a level of vulnerability by inviting consumers into your brand story. Once you do that, you can then walk them through how that influences your sales and manufacturing processes. It is about humanizing your company. 

Other critical factors in transparency include having clear pricing and ethical responsibility. For instance, the recent headlines regarding price transparency include healthcare pricing and hotel resort fees. Without knowing any details, most consumers can identify with the feeling of distrust caused when the ultimate total charged for a good or service exceeds the advertised price. That is why price transparency is so critical for customer trust.  

Transparency in ethical responsibility requires the organization to be completely open about its values and how it exhibits and upholds them. A blurb about what the business supports isn’t enough. To truly inspire trust and create a rapport with your target demographic, you must show them how you walk the walk. That means letting them see the changes or ongoing efforts to review, revise, and exemplify your ethical responsibility in every part of your business. 

Selling Your Process in Marketing  

Make your process a part of your brand story by using it as inspiration in your marketing materials, using it in campaigns, or as part of your online brand story. Warby Parker is an excellent example of a brand that incorporates its story into an omnichannel campaign, reiterating its mission to provide affordable glasses using an environmentally friendly process while giving back to communities. They accomplish it through radio, digital, and television ads that detail its sourcing, design, manufacturing, and sales processes. They further reinforce their commitment to the communities they serve with their Buy a Pair, Give a Pair campaign, where they donate a pair of glasses to someone in need for each pair sold using global partners.  

Another company that has made its mission front and center in its advertising is TD Bank. They recently implemented a contact hub where they connect its employees with its support for the military. TD Stories highlights employees with a military connection to how they serve their communities to further the mission of supporting all active duty, reserve, and military veterans. These stories humanize one member of a banking sector long-vilified as being heartless. 

The Benefit of Transparency 

Being candid about your processes requires a willingness to be upfront about not only your values but any challenges your business faces. People will be more likely to interact with your business if they sense the motivation and people behind it. Staying genuine in your interactions resonates better with customers and keeps you top of mind. It also provides a host of other benefits, including: 

• Consumer trust – 86% of Americans believe that business transparency is more important than ever for earning their trust.  
• Brand loyalty - 94% of customers stay loyal to a brand that practices transparency, and 75% of them will even pay more for their goods or services when they perceive the company as genuine. 
• Business growth – Earning a reputation for transparency makes customers want to buy your products, as they trust they are getting what they expected. 
• Integrity – Consistent honesty and a commitment to upholding your values exemplify authenticity and integrity, attracting even more customers.  

Transparency Is a Way of Doing Business 

Many companies use transparency as part of a tagline. Though they say that is an inherent part of their operations, few follow through. It can also have various meanings to different businesses. The key is finding an authentic way to make your actions uphold your mission and values. Inviting the consumer community into your brand story and demonstrating how it shaped your operations is the ideal way to be transparent.  

Radio is an excellent medium for portraying a brand’s authenticity. It is even more impactful for prospective customers when they hear from a trusted radio influencer that the brand does what they say. Radio works exceptionally well when combined with digital to give customers multiple ways to experience your brand. Work with a media partner to help you craft your image and evaluate your process as part of your marketing.