Not a Choice But a Necessity: How Responsible Marketing Practices Can Bridge Gap Between Brands And Customers Today's marketing practices are not just limited to satisfying the needs, demands and aspirations of customers and consumers. They have become an integral part of business strategies

In a highly evolving and challenging market, brands are continuously evaluating newer and meaningful avenues that can bring them closer to customers. Realising the growing importance of stronger brand-customer relationships, brands are focused on embracing responsible marketing practices which are no longer a choice but a necessity. As the number of conscious customers increase exponentially, the focus is shifting towards practises that are not just business driven but also value driven.

Today's marketing practices are not just limited to satisfying the needs, demands and aspirations of customers and consumers. They have become an integral part of business strategies with the aim of creating a positive impact on the lives of customers and society at large. Responsible marketing practises are essential for developing trust with customers, making them feel proud of the brands they associate with and eventually endorse. More and more customers are understanding their responsibility towards the society at large and increasingly preferring brands that are focused towards sustainability and other responsible value systems.

Ensuring customer privacy in a digital world

Businesses nowadays are operating in a heavily digitised ecosystem with huge amounts of data being generated every day. Analysing consumer insights and creating tailor made offers is becoming critical to win in the market. Personalisation has become a key differentiator that is enabling companies to get closer to their customers by catering to individual tastes and preferences. With big data analytics, they can identify market and customer needs, trends, and forecasts more accurately and provide the right solutions based on customer's stated and un-stated needs. However, this also adds to the brand's responsibility for maintaining data privacy and security.

While creating personalised experiences can significantly enhance a brand's value in the mind of the consumer but at the same time, data breaches and cybersecurity risks can damage brand's reputation to a great extent. Data privacy has emerged as one of the important factors which brands have to protect at any cost to build trust and credibility. They need to be more honest, transparent, and open by informing customers how they are utilising their data by taking their explicit consent for data usage and storage.

Linking consumers to larger goals like sustainability

With rapidly growing population of young students and professionals, consumers in India are becoming more curious than before. They want to know what positive or negative impact companies are making on the society apart from selling products and solutions. With responsible marketing, companies are expected to walk the talk and demonstrate the real actions they are taking towards making the world a better place to live.

This is not only beneficial in solidifying long-term brand-customer partnerships but also in creating a sense of pride in the minds of customers. They feel happier and proud to be linked with brands that support social causes and take concrete actions for the betterment of communities.

We need to realize fast that climate change is no longer a future threat but today's reality. Sustainability has become an important strategic priority for everyone including the marketing fraternity. Climate conscious customers who are aware of their responsibility and care for the planet are increasingly inclined towards embracing brands which are focusing on sustainability. With responsible marketing practices, companies and brands need to communicate how every product or service they deliver contributes towards building a greener and more sustainable planet.