On the relationship between honesty, towels, and trees
Being honest with your customers
Very often people associate marketing with dishonesty, cheating, or twisting the truth and, let’s be honest, they sometimes have a point. As a consumer I personally prefer to be told truth in the face. As a marketeer I know it is not always easy. But we can at least try our best… A glaring example in this aspect are the signs in hotel bathrooms:“ Do you know how many detergents are used every day in the world…reuse your towel…throw it on the floor if you want it changed…environment will thank you.” Come on, guys, why don’t you just tell me that you spend a load of money on washing expenses and you want to minimize expenses??? Would it not be fairer if you tell me: Look, Mr. X., you can save us 20 cents per towel if you reuse it. Why don’t you do just that, and tell us where to put the saved money – environment, homeless children, wildlife preservation fund, or the hungry people in Somalia. Then I would feel much better knowing that I have been recognized as an intelligent human being, and that I have contributed somehow to a noble cause. The hotel, on its side, will have built a great reputation for honesty in my eyes.
It seems that some hotel chains are actually going in this direction, even though stopping short of telling the whole truth. Novotel (an Accor chain) started telling guests that a tree will be planted for every 5 towels they reuse, thereby implying that there were savings to be made by reusing towels and yet cleverly connecting it to environment. Good job, Accor – I wish more hotels were to follow your example!
