MaryAnne Harmer MaryAnne Harmer

Let's Get Real: It's Time To Be Authentic!

Authenticity is the path to trust. And today people, particularly Millennials, make choices about employment, what organizations to support, and where to buy things, based on whether they trust the organization or company.

Being authentic means there is no space between what you say, and what you do.  People may not agree with what you state, but they know where you are coming from, and your words reflect what you believe.  Authentic people don’t...

"I know of nothing more valuable, when it comes to the all-important virtue of authenticity, 
than simply being who you are."
- Charles R. Swindoll

Authenticity: A Critical Value for the New Leadership Paradigm

Authenticity is the path to trust. And today people, particularly Millennials, make choices about employment, what organizations to support, and where to buy things, based on whether they trust the organization or company.

Being authentic means there is no space between what you say, and what you do.  People may not agree with what you state, but they know where you are coming from, and your words reflect what you believe.  Authentic people don’t say things just to make a customer or client happy. Instead, they are candid, honest and real. 

It's not about spin, hype or packaging a message to be liked or to make the sale. It’s about delivering on your promises and sharing who you are without a wearing a mask.

"Authenticity is alignment of head, mouth, heart --thinking, saying, feeling and doing the same thing – consistently.  This builds trust… and followers love leaders they can trust."
 - Lance Secretan
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Tom Hering Tom Hering

What Is Conscientious Marketing and Why Should You Care?

"Feeling a moral responsibility to do your work carefully and to be fair to others"

According to the Cambridge dictionary, that is the definition of "conscientious." Marketing is defined as:

"Understanding your buyers really, really well. Then creating valuable products, services, and information especially for them to help solve their problems"

 "Feeling a moral responsibility to do your work carefully and to be fair to others"

According to the Cambridge dictionary, that is the definition of "conscientious." Marketing is defined as:

"Understanding your buyers really, really well. Then creating valuable products, services, and information especially for them to help solve their problems"

You put the two words together, a descriptive adjective followed by a noun, and you get the essence of what our business is all about.

Today, mission-driven organizations and corporate America cannot ignore the mandate coming from their constituencies.  To ignore the planet, to ignore people, to ignore social purpose is a certain path to failure.

Just take a look at the numbers: a 2014 research study by Nielsen reports 55 percent of global online consumers across 60 countries say they are willing to pay more for products and services by companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.

While the idea of social purpose is not new (think Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Toms Shoes), the "reshaping" of main street organizations and businesses so they can market their goods and services in a conscientious manner is. Which includes everything from how the product or service is created to how it is delivered to how it is marketed.

This where we at HCollaborative come in. We have spent our careers in ad agencies and corporate America. Certainly there is no denying that the marketing of goods and services has been part of our performance. But recently, the two of us felt a "calling" to take our senior-level marketing souls to a higher purpose.

The thinking is simple.

We have a moral responsibility to make sure the work we do provides what the world desperately needs. Not just spitting out strategies or creating a campaign to increase profit, but doing so with humility and in a manner that is fair and equitable to people and the planet.

Which is the essence of what conscientious marketing is all about.

Care to join us?

~HCollaborative.com ~

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