Don’t Think Consumers Are Idiots!

A random lady called our company today trying to get us to advertise on her directory-like, totally unheard-of site. Very random!

Sleezy TV Salesman
(Via Cnet)

 

So as she was taking me through the site and telling me how wonderful it was (it’s invitation-only! oh my!), I began feeling antsy and like she was wasting my time. She proudly showed me their shady-looking blog (they don’t post actual entries; their posts are in the form of comments!) and I thought, “I gotta stop this please!”

So I put on my no-BS hat and here is how the rest of the conversation went:

LADY: (Something like) You should advertise on our site; it’d be a great resource for you.
ME: Oh yeah? How many visitors does it get?
LADY: Thousands each day, like tens of thousands each month
ME: Really? I just checked and learned you got 700 visitors last month
LADY: Oh wow.

Consumers are smart, you know? Companies like these (I won’t name names out of common decency) give Marketing a bad name and that needs to change.

GOOD Marketers want what’s best for consumers; we don’t lie to them expecting they’ll never find out the truth.

ALWAYS do your own research. Read reviews and/or testimonials. Check a site’s actual visitors. If your gut tells you a certain offer doesn’t sound right, obey your gut–not a shady marketer’s words.

Annie's the founder of Imperfectly Grateful, where she shares honest blog posts, helpful resources, neat printables, and beautiful phone backgrounds. She's a happy and blessed Catholic wife, SAHM, and homeschooler.

You might like these too!

Achiever/Experiencer

According to Strategic Business Insights’ VALS test, I’m what’s known as an Achiever/Experiencer— Pretty accurate, I must say. But first:1. What’s VALS? VALS  is marketing speak for “Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles.” Simply put, it’s a research methodology used for segmenting markets. And market segmentation is designed to help companies tailor their products and services to appeal to the people…

Case Study

Executive SummaryMy B-School is in serious need of a curriculum overhaul. Too bad it actually has yet to listen to what we need and want.Issues: Outdated case studies aren’t good teaching tools: Ever heard of real-world experience? How about giving us more of the latter and less (read: none) of the former? BIG groups (for…

Interns Are NOT Maids

I was listening to an NPR story today on internships: unpaid vs. paid, job responsibilities, and all that. The lady being interviewed said interns should be able to deal with “grunt work” like stapling, photocopying, and bringing coffee. As soon as I head that, I went, “NO THEY DON’T!”   Let me explain… I’ve been…