When it comes to advertising, transparency isn’t always clear. Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right, does it? Advertisements were not meant to mislead us but often times they do. You can see a restaurant advertisement where they are showing you a delicious-looking example of the type of food they serve but when you go there, you are often disappointed that what you receive looks nothing like what the advertisement showed.

I am not picking on the restaurant industry here as they are far from the only industry that advertises one thing and then gives you something different. We all have a story of being misled into something and we can draw from those examples.

Transparency in a business is so important because it plays to the very essence of customer service. When you tell your customer that you are going to do something for them, and then do exactly just that and maybe even exceed their expectations, they walk away from the experience with positive thoughts about your business and are likely to come back and even tell their friends about you.

If I were starting a business, one of the most important questions is “how much does it cost?”  That means I want to know of any foreseeable cost and I want an exact figure if possible. I don’t want there to be hidden fees. I don’t want there to be costs that come up down the road that I was never told about. I don’t want to hear about figures that are not realistic to what I am looking to do. In short, I don’t want to be misled. I want the information I am looking for and I want honesty. I want transparency.

If you could make a process more transparent (clear and easy to understand), what would it be?