Ethics in Business: What You Can Do as a Business Owner - Direct Selling Education Foundation

As a business owner, you know how important your reputation is. People do business with you because they know, like, and trust you. As a result, it’s important to be sure your business transactions are conducted with the highest level of ethics. In this interconnected world, even on questionable transaction can come back to haunt you time and time again.

So what can you do to assure your customers that you hold yourself, and your business, to the highest level of ethics? Here are some tips:

If you’re a direct seller, join a Direct Selling Association (DSA) member company. (http://dsa.org) Organizations that are members of the DSA agree to the DSA Code of Ethics. Explain to customers how shopping with a DSA member company benefits them.
Understand how the DSA Code of Ethics works, and what it means for your business. A great place to start is by watching our series of ethics videos. You can view them on our YouTube channel here: (http://youtube.com/TheDSEF)
Make sure your customer always understands exactly what he/she is purchasing, how it works, and how much it costs. Always follow up after the sale to ensure that the customer is satisfied. If he/she needs to return something or changes his/her mind about a purchase within 3 business days, make it easy. This helps build a customer for life.
Make sure it’s easy to contact you both before AND after the sale, so if a customer needs something they can find you easily. Include your name and phone number on the customer’s receipt, and verbally tell them how to contact you at the end of the transaction. If you’re online, it’s also a good idea to connect with your customer via your social networks, so you’re easy to reach if there’s a need.
Keep your word. If you tell a customer he/she can expect something from you, make sure it happens. Ethics and integrity are paramount when you’re a business owner.

Ethics is a key component to any successful business. Not only will you feel great about the work that you’re doing, but customers will prefer to shop with you, because they know they can trust you.

To learn more about ethics in business, and resources we provide to help, visit our website at http://dsef.org. We’re here to help you do business better! We wish you much success.