Don't be a marketing scumbag

Tell the truth

My wife has a joke every-time she see’s something shady or dishonest by a brand.

“Oh that’s just one of those marketing scumbags who did that”

We laugh but she isn’t wrong. Marketing has become synonymous with deception. Brand’s green washing their labels is a great example:

Trust is one of the biggest factor in most people’s decision making process, and brands put it at risk daily. In B2B :

• If you aren't going to put pricing on the page called pricing - you are losing my trust as a buyer.

• If you have a "free trial" but I have to talk to sales first to get it - you are losing my trust as a buyer.

• If I simply engage with your content then get crushed with calls and emails - you are losing my trust as a buyer.

• If you try and get me to sign a contract by pretending discounts actually expire by end of month - you are losing my trust as a buyer.

Trust is the number one thing which influences peoples decisions yet losing it is incredibly easy. So is honesty actually the best marketing strategy?

Yes. Your target audience is already skeptical of sales pitches and marketing jargon, so honesty cuts through the noise. It's about showing your audience that you value their intelligence and respect their time. This approach doesn't just earn trust; it fosters loyalty and long-term engagement.

At my marketing agency Growth Union we are honest.

We have told more companies no then we have said yes simply because we truly weren’t a fit and were honest about it.

We aren't for everyone.

> We are overkill for someone who just wants to run some paid ads.

> We are not the cheapest agency out there.

> We aren't a great match if you don't have any sort of product market fit yet.

> We can't produce miracles in just a month or two.

> Sometimes companies are better off making a hire vs bringing on an agency

So we have told about 20 possible deals that we aren't a good match for them because of that. We have even helped some of them hire full time people, recommended freelancers or lower cost solutions - anything we can do to help.

Is it because we are amazingly nice? No. It is because B2B is a small world and:

> If you put goodness out into the world it tends to come back.

> Your reputation as a company matters.

The result? 75% of our inbound requests are all from referrals. From clients we work with and even from the prospects we were honest with and told no.

So in a world of marketing scumbags - be honest. It actually works plus you tend to sleep a lot better at night too.

Thanks for reading,

Adam