Why You Must Avoid Gaslighting in Marketing

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Psychologists define gaslighting as a tactic in which an individual or an entity makes the target question their reality in a bid to gain more power. Some of the most common tactics include denials, deflections, and downright lies. Granted, the concept of gaslighting isn't anything new. In fact, you can trace this back to literary classics dating as far as 1938. Still, 20th-century pop culture has exacerbated the situation, which has morphed to include tactics in marketing. That’s why it’s imperative to learn what it is and how to avoid gaslighting.

What is Gaslighting in Marketing

It is safe to say that marketing has changed a whole deal over the years. Brand creators and advertising execs have to work harder to create a sense of agency, jealousy, and even inadequacy in a bid to have the target audience purchase what they are selling.

Gaslighting in marketing involves purposely manipulating people. A great example of purposely manipulating consumers includes the use of misleading advertising. According to the Consumer Protection Laws, advertisements categorized as dishonest involve false, misleading, or deceptive information that is likely to influence the average consumer to act in a manner they would have otherwise not. Note that an advertisement might be deemed misleading if the information is purposely left out.

Another form of gaslighting in marketing is contacting people without their consent. You can see this mostly in dishonest B2B email marketing. Businesses use the contact us page to gain access to the contact of someone higher up the chain only to lie they got the contact from another employee.

The competition could also be involved in gaslighting your business. This comes in the form of campaigns meant to badmouth, undermine, or falsify information related to your business or products. For instance, the competition might embark on releasing defamatory communication pertaining to your product or the company. This immediately gets the target audience skeptical of their dealings with you.

Overall, gaslighting in marketing can be quite insidious. It could start with just a little false news on Twitter. However, it could evolve into an entire campaign that discredits the brand and its offerings. 

Can Gaslighting be Unintentional?

Given the examples highlighted above, it would be pretty unlikely that gaslighting is unintentional. A marketing executive and their team are often responsible for any gaslighting campaign directed to either a brand or its products. Granted, information put out by a brand or entity might be misinterpreted and thereafter spread like wildfire. Still, for most brands, there is likely a team that has already theorized the impact of said information.

In some instances, a brand might be caught in the crossfire when there is a gaslighting campaign between its competitors. In that case, then, it would be safe to assume that the gaslighting is unintentional.

What are the Consequences of Using Toxic Tactics?

When you over promise and under deliver, you come off as dishonest. This is a sure way of turning away your customers. This comes when more customers have been subject to dishonest chatter and brand-tanking marketing attacks.

Notably, today's instant messaging and social media-centric culture has no room for deceptive and manipulative marketing as the average user is expecting it. When customers associate your brand with this toxic tactic, you are likely going to reduce your reach.

Oftentimes, businesses that opt to use this toxic tactic do not account for the effect gaslighting in marketing has on their employees. These employees are often on the front line. As such, they will have to bear the brunt of the consequences that come with the tactic. They find themselves between a rock and a hard place, seeing as they probably end up feeling guilty for creating false ads or endorsing them. Expectedly, these employees will have to deal with the unrealistic expectations that customers end up with and the ensuing anger. This is such a terrible condition to have the employees work in and could lead to a dip in their motivation or job satisfaction.

What's more, gaslighting in marketing creates friction between competitors. This is detrimental, seeing as healthy competition has vast advantages, including improving individual products and services as well as lower costs for the customers. When the competition feels that you are intentionally defaming them, there's little likelihood of collaboration.

Businessman looking at his computer, reading negative campaigns, and gaslighting comments from his business competitors.

How to Avoid Gaslighting

As a brand, the best way to avoid gaslighting is probably gravitating toward inbound marketing. This type of marketing involves the business grounding its marketing strategies in information sharing, user-centered design, and collaboration. This would mean a complete shift from pushing advertisements to creating value and essentially boosting trust. Essentially, it would be best if your business permanently focused its marketing on consumer needs.

If a competitor embarks on a content marketing campaign that discredits the content already put out by the business, it would be best if the business invited them for a good debate on this contrary opinion. This should contextualize the argument and hopefully bring about a more positive outcome to the story. Additionally, consider optimizing the content you put out against the competition by the use of thought leaders and keywords. Overall, the idea is you want to outperform the competition for the consumer's attention and trust.

As highlighted, the waters are murky, and you cannot afford guesswork where your marketing is concerned. The rest of the players might not be willing to play fair, and you will likely have to deal with gaslighting in marketing. Seeing as you are all garnering the attention of the customer and the competition might just use underhanded means, you want a full-service marketing agency obsessed with seeing your business navigate ethical issues in marketing.

That's where Viral Solutions comes in. We are a data-driven agency well-equipped in analyzing market conditions, competitors, and brands to ensure you end up with a leg up in the marketplace. We invite you to schedule a call with our cross-functional team. You are sure to get a fresh perspective on your marketing and how best to navigate gaslighting in marketing.

 


At Viral Solutions we are committed to seeing YOU succeed. It is our goal to grow your business with proven digital marketing strategies that will help your business for the long haul.

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Filed Under: Business Tips