Transparency is not only the best policy, it’s the only policy. Honesty is the basis of your entire interaction with consumers and colleagues. It’s not just about lies or lack thereof – it’s about the free exchange of honest information. “Open and honest” should be included in your new employee handbook and should be a mantra for company culture. This doesn’t mean that you should start sharing company secrets – quite the contrary. It means that if you can’t share company secrets, simply say that. It means employees need to understand that nothing they do is hidden or secret anymore. And it means that we all need to really stop and consider what’s really a “secret” and what’s simply bothersome to discuss.

Transparency, as used in the humanities, implies openness, communication, and accountability. It is a metaphorical extension of the meaning used in the physical sciences: a “transparent” object is one that can be seen through.

Consumers have always talked about products they like. Marketers must empower consumer evangelists by implementing programs that facilitate spreading the word.

Loyalty is defined as the willingness of someone (customer, an employee, a friend) to make an investment or personal sacrifice in order to strengthen a relationship. How can said someone make an investment in something it doesn’t trust?

I posted some presentation PDFs from the WOMMA conference here.

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Tags: business values, customer loyalty, honesty, transparency, WOM, womma