The Best Marketing "Tactic" is to be Humane & Uphold Everyone's Dignity

I met a woman once and, as our conversation went to what we do for work, I told her that my background is marketing and so a lot of my time with dignify is spent doing marketing-types of things. She replied,

“Oh, yeah, I get it. Trying to convince people who wouldn’t want it to buy your stuff. I have a relative who breeds dogs and she works so hard trying to find and convince people to buy her dogs.”

Ummm…  No. I am not interested in convincing anyone to buy something that they do not want or need!

I am not a huckster. If I "convince" someone to buy something that they don't want, nobody really wins. I may have a higher bank balance, but the customer doesn't feel good about it. I don't ultimately benefit, because they don't say good things, and they don't come back.

Plus, the vibes in the world are no good! I don't believe in karma, but who wants to feel like they've added regret and disappointment to the world, not delight, pleasure, & satisfaction?

My goal, as a business owner and as a marketer, is actually to find more of the people who are looking for exactly what we have, even if they’ve never before heard of “kantha”.  To connect our product, which we are proud of and confident in, with the right people who will feel exactly the same way.

That, truly, is the crux of our marketing. 

(We just want our customers to have this kind of happiness ↑.)

One of the greatest joys we've experienced in this business has been customers' delight at finding exactly what they were looking for, even if they didn't know it.

Last week, I spoke to a woman who was inquiring about buying a classic kantha throw as a gift for a friend beginning cancer treatment. We do not advertise that, because it is delicate, but there are a number of people who have purchased or received our classic throws as a cancer gift. 

It was so special to speak to her on the phone, hear about her heart for her friend, and be able to address the needs she had in looking for a gift (yes, washable; yes, portable; yes, soft to the touch...)

She was happy to talk to someone who was human (and humane!) and I was thrilled to hear how she had found us (she saw kantha blankets at a weekend market, but the saleswoman was crabby; Google searched and found dignify).

I "convinced" her to buy a throw for her friend. But, I think this kind of marketing — with mutual respect & dignity for the customer — is a win-win.