WOMMA's 3rd Standard: Genuine Honesty in Communication

I think WOMMA's third ethical standard, "Genuine Honesty in Communication," is its most important. Word of Mouth (WOM) is the voice of consumers seeking advice from each other, and its power comes from honest communication upon which others can rely. If the communication process isn't transparent or honest, then the usefulness, and ultimately the potency of the conversation is lost.

If WOM Marketers are not complying with this fundamental condition of successful WOM, then they are missing the entire point. At best, they will find themselves in the more traditional marketing postition of communicating a pre-determined message, instead of truly listening and naturally joining the consumer conversation. At worst, they will be accussed of manipulating the truth or flat-out lying. In either scenerio, the Marketer has missed the opportunity to harness the power of WOM by not being honest.

On a side note, I feel compelled to mention WOMMA's Core Value of Respect in conjunction with my opinion about ethical standard 3. It notes that "WOMMA members believe that the industry is best served by recognizing that the consumer, not the marketer, is fundamentally in charge and control, and that is the consumer that defines the terms of the consumer-marketer relationship." It seems to follow that if an individual holds this opinion, and understands the basic nature of WOM, then honest communication would be a natural result.