Comments on: Is Honest ALWAYS the Best Policy in Marketing?

By: Sam | Freelance Web Designer Birmingham

Sam | Freelance Web Designer Birmingham — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:33:16 +0000

It’s important to manage expectations of clients – in this regard, I always try and be as honest as possible, because it can be damaging to our reputation if we over promise and leave clients feeling unhappy and ripped off.

By: Ole

Ole — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:02:09 +0000

great post.

By: Kelly Watson

Kelly Watson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:15:44 +0000

You're right on the money — I'm a huge perfectionist, and it can be a problem when you're trying to run a business. I try to keep the 80-20 rule in mind … once you get a project 80 percent perfect, leave it alone!

By: Kelly Watson

Kelly Watson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:14:13 +0000

I agree — thank you!

By: Kelly Watson

Kelly Watson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:13:38 +0000

You bring up another side of Twitter — seeing all the great projects your peers and competitors are working on! I try to avoid it when I'm in a jealous mood, otherwise it's just counterproductive.

By: showpony

showpony — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:49:31 +0000

This is a fantastic post, thank you so much for putting forward this argument so well.
I am often left feeling amazed and quite dumfounded when I yet again read some of my competitors tweets or posts about how much they are selling and how busy their websites are. Seriously if they were that busy would they still have full time jobs to support their business? It leaves others feeling woefully inadequate or just plain disbelieving.

By: callinsky

callinsky — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:02:05 +0000

I believe honesty is hard, but always a good thing. People are feed bull on a fairly consistent basis, even by those whom are closest to them. It's okay not to know something and admit to it as long as you tell them that you will figure it out. When you say something like that most people have a “like wow” moment. They typically find it extremely refreshing. People rarely become wildly successful or madly sought after without taking risks, having passion, and messing up.

Typically, if a client or potential client does not find honesty a good thing they are probably not worth your totally sincere, hardworking, bend over backwards work ethics or effort. They would have probably driven you wacky anyway. Professionalism and humanism do fit together quite well.

I enjoyed this. Thank you.

By: Clara

Clara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:27:42 +0000

I tend to think that the quandary you describe — and yes, it's a struggle for me, too — is often connected to perfectionism. If you expect perfection of yourself, and you don't achieve it, it's hard enough to live with it yourself, much less let anyone else know about it. I also think that many of us who demand this much of ourselves are the same people who have difficulty reaching out to others for help in personal matters, in part because we're afraid of showing our vulnerability (not that I have any personal experience with this, of course…)

And, of course, those of us who approach our work that way are always convinced that everybody else is doing the perfect work we've failed to achieve. That's why a reminder that this is not the case, like the Tweet from your colleague, is such a relief. And, if we're lucky, a wake-up call.