What is Bro-Marketing? How to ethically market your business!
Bro-marketing. When you first heard this you may think it means "boys club". Well, we thought the same and guess what? You aren't entirely wrong!
Bro-Marketing is a group of marketing tactics that we have all been taught to use to help "grow" our business. However, some can be seen as misleading and unethical.
Don't worry if you didn't know. We are here to explain more. Let’s explore the ins and outs of Bro-Marketing and how to avoid it in the future.
What is Bro-Marketing?
Simply put, bro-marketing is using unethical forms of marketing practices to manipulate clients. It is a way to disempower clients and remove a customer's agency so they can be easily pushed into buying a product or service. It is self-serving and includes only short-term gains.
This type of marketing is there to manipulate natural human psychological triggers like scarcity, likeability, authority, trust and reciprocity.
You have probably witnessed bro-marketing online without even realising. We see it all the time through one-time offers that provide over-the-top (usually unattainable) value that say they are only available for the next 5-20 minutes. For example, you may see this pop up on your Facebook feed as an advertisement that says “Pay only $20 and get $5000 value from this service”.
When we see one-time offers like this, the scarcity trigger is ignited in our brains and we feel the need to purchase before the opportunity goes away. It’s that sense of urgency that draws people in.
Small investment offers are usually the offers that work best in this instance. They are very low risk and therefore we are more comfortable purchasing without going through the entire buying process. For example, you usually won’t feel like you have to ask yourself things like: Is this product what I need?, or, can I afford it?
This is why Bro-marketing is manipulative. These sales and marketing tactics are used to bypass the decision-making process. It is quick-acting and draws customers in without the need to persuade continually.
Many business owners are using Bro-marketing tactics without realising as they are often the norm in the industry. Now, this isn't about shaming anyone or calling anyone out, we simply want to bring awareness to what it exactly is and how to avoid it!
We want to address this topic because people must know the history of these tactics and the thinking behind them. This way, as consumers and marketers, we can make more aligned, ethical and profitable decisions for ourselves and our brands.
How to identify Bro-Marketing?
It may seem cliche, but you need to trust your gut when identifying bro marketing. It is all in the emotions that the business creates when marketing; as we explored earlier, bro-marketing brings feelings of scarcity and extreme urgency. These negative emotions can make consumers feel unworthy if they don’t buy from that particular business.
One particular sign of bro-marketing that can be seen day to day (which you may have never noticed before OR you are offering unintentionally) is extra costs for payment plans. Let’s explain…
Payment plans take away the pressure of clients to pay the entire cost of your product or service upfront BUT will usually cost clients more in the long run.
For example, if you’re offering a 6-month service for $6000, that may seem quite daunting for a lot of consumers. However, if it is broken down monthly and they are given the option to pay it off, while it may seem financially smarter, there is a fee tacked on. So, instead of a total amount of $6000 being paid, the customer may pay $1200 per month which leads to a total cost of $7200.
A lot of people will say the extra cost is for admin, however, there isn't that much extra admin involved. In this day and age, these types of things are automated, so admin doesn't increase simply because they are choosing to do a payment plan instead.
This in itself is a form of bro-marketing. The reason why is because to the client, it may seem like a smart financial decision because you don’t have to come up with the money straight away, but it will cost more in the long run.
In this week’s podcast episode with our special guest Rachel Kurzyp, she used an awesome example of the difference between ethical marketing and bro-marketing when discussing 10k months, so let’s compare:
A benchmark for a lot of online businesses when they are first starting out is to reach $10,000 (10k) earning months. While this is an awesome business goal to have, there are a few ways a business owner may go about reaching it. Let’s look at 2 of these ways.
Person 1 - Ethical marketing:
When offering services or products they were transparent with costs
They asked consent when posting testimonials
This business took the time to paint the full picture with all services.
They let the client know realistically what they can expect with the investment they will make.
This business also gives the tools and knowledge a client would need if they were to eventually take on the task at hand alone.
Person 2 - Bro-marketing
The second person isn't as ethical.
They will push for the payment plan option to be taken
Their marketing consists of the “buy now or else you'll miss out” urgency
They will share results and testimonials from past clients without that person's permission.
Empty promises are being made without proof or validation.
Usually have offers like “Get all of this for $1, you’ll never get the results you need without this”
There is a feeling of no patience and scarcity is constantly being created.
How to ethically market your business
We’ve chatted a lot about unethical marketing, but now let’s explore how instead you can market your business ethically.
Firstly, have a look and see if you can find your examples of good and bad marketing. If you can spot the signs of businesses that are doing it right or wrong, you’ll be able to spot those same characteristics in your own practises.
When doing this, make sure you are also noting down what you value in your marketing. What things are you proud of in your brand? Maybe it’s your transparency with your clients or your friendliness and acceptance of all customers. No matter what they are, note them down and lead with them!
Then think about how you want people to feel when they are interacting with your business. What emotions do you want to create and how do you want people leaving your interactions to feel? This is also a great way to then think about your tone when marketing. Remember, if you wouldn’t say it out loud or tell the story to your best friend or grandma, why would you do it?
Lastly, it’s important to think about consent and informed consent. Ask yourself “What information do I need to provide to help them make an informed decision?”. And, of course, BE HONEST!
The ethical marketing Do’s and Don'ts you need to know
Do:
Think about your intention behind the marketing (what are the goals)
Paint the whole picture for your audience
Ask for consent - whatever you use from your clients or audience to turn into content, you need to ask for content. Whether it be a DM or testimonial, ask first before posting.
Market to your values
Don’t
Make someone feel unworthy without your help - We don't want to make our clients feel like they will never be able to do certain things or reach certain goals without us, we need to empower them instead
Hide the truth (remember you need to be transparent)
“It worked for me, so it will work for you” (We know this isn't the case so honesty is essential)
Not give everything you promised (empty promises will NOT get you far, so don't make them)
Final thoughts
If you find yourself noticing that you have been using some bro-marketing techniques, it’s not the end of the world. The techniques are the ‘taught standard, it isn’t our fault, it is what has been taught.
However, it is important to remember a few things: consent is a must, empower those around you (especially your clients) and think before you post about how you want your community to think, feel and do when interacting with your business.
As well as this, don’t waste time with strategies and tactics that don’t work for you. There is nothing wrong with strategy, it just has to be ethical and authentically you.
How can you make sure you're being authentic? Start by telling YOUR story! Learn how to do this by checking out our storytelling freebie, it’s here to help you develop your authentic and aligned brand story.
