Partner Article

The only way is ethics

In a letter of resignation published in the New York Times in March, a former employee of Goldman Sachs articulated his view that the company, with whom he spent 12 years of his working life, had lost its moral compass. And in the UK, the tabloid press are being investigated for numerous breaches of privacy, some of which make your stomach churn.

It’s no surprise that these examples are drawn from two industries in which the public have lost faith almost completely.

It’s apparent that, in an increasing number of cases, ethical business practice is being sacrificed in pursuit of profit. We’re not naïve, Ve Interactive’s in business to make money, too. In our opinion, however, there’s a right way of doing things and a wrong way.

Digital data professionals, in particular, need to best adopt the transparent and ethical frameworks necessary to develop an honest, open and trusting relationship with customers. In the world of e-commerce, we handle a great deal of personal information, and our success as an e-commerce industry is dependent upon our consistently and continually demonstrating that we’re capable of processing that data responsibly.

Once made, that kind of commitment should permeate every level of your e-commerce business from the way you sell to clients and the way you treat your staff, to the honesty of your advertising and marketing. You may lose out on one or two ‘quick-wins’, but in their place you’ll develop valuable, long-term client-relationships and a legion of brand-advocates.

We’re not saying that Ve Interactive is bucking a trend or reinventing the wheel, of course; lots of digital businesses we admire wear their principles on their sleeve.

But, like them, we proudly put integrity at our very core.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kathy Heslop .