Telling the Truth In Marketing

There are many instances that you get a mail/envelop saying it is urgent, when you react the that, you find that you are faked. You were told a lie to compel you react on the effort. This may work one time in short term but in long term you are actually training your prospect to not take any action on you future campaign even if you are making a right and truthful campaign.

Here are the most common types of subterfuge marketing offers:

1. Claiming the communication is urgent. Remember that what is urgent to the seller (getting the order) may not be urgent to the buyer.
2. Claiming that something is time sensitive. My favorite examples are radio commercials that state, “Only available to those that call within the next 30 minutes,” even though the same commercial runs for months.
3. Claiming that the offer is personal. We all get those emails that claim, “This offer is reserved only for my closest subscribers/members/friends.” Yet, you have no doubt that you are one of several hundred thousand of the sender’s “friends.”
4. Claiming the offer is “official business.” A large number of direct mailers are practicing this subterfuge by putting text on the outside of the envelope that shouts something like: “To be opened only by addressee — Fines for interfering with delivery of this mailing”. The implication is that the correspondence is from a government agency, when in fact it is usually selling something like an extended car warranty.
5. Claiming that the product or service is free. More often than not, these so-called free offers are just bait for something that will cost you money.

These types of marketing communications techniques are the lazy marketer’s way of avoiding the painstaking work required to craft offers that are both truthful and effective. It’s like the comedian who compensates for a lack of talent by throwing as many curse words as possible into the routine. Misleading marketing offers insult both the intelligence of the prospect and the professionalism of the marketer. You may get a few extra sales in the short-term, but it will have dire consequences in the long term.