How far is too far in marketing? When advertising are there any limits? I've always wondered when affiliates blog about using Product XYZ in their lives and how their readers should use it, is it considered a scam if they truly haven't used it but convince others to? Also when is creative marketing bordering 'scam'? A few years ago I ran across an ad about a man whose cousin leaked the biggest 'secrets' that all the gurus were using and he was going to spill them for a small price. Once I read the secrets they were just common sense tips that I'd already thought of myself before. I wasn't upset and I didn't feel scammed because he delivered what he promised --his secrets-- and I'd come across disappointing information before. Now clearly it was a marketing ploy to pull the reader into buying. (Isn't that what all marketing is?) SO my question is if it was found out that the man had actually never gotten leaked secrets from his cousin AND all the gurus weren't actually using the tips, BUT he delivered what he promised and the secret tips were actually good and worked, would his marketing tactic be a scam? Or just creative marketing? I completely understand that if he took the money and ran and never provided any secrets or even had a page that said 'haha i fooled you' or some sort of thing, it would clearly be a scam. BUT if he delivers what is promised, disappointing or not, even if the 'backstory' was false, is it considered a scam? If not is is considered deceptive advertising? Is that not what most marketers are doing when they make claims like that? Isn't this sort of stuff common anyway? (Inventing a backstory and Embellishing the truth to make a sale). Is that not how MOST marketers/ad-writers operate? Or is that deceptive advertising? All please respond, but I'm really looking for answers from fellow marketers rather than angry consumers who feel cheated regularly. Thanks
Yes... That's a scam. He completely misleads the customer into believing that what he is buying is something that is unique and secret between the said gurus. It's not quite a full blown scam but it does not fully provide what he offers and therefore it is in part, a scam. Dishonest people that try to fool customers are scammers or con artists. This is more of a con than a scam. p.s I've never been scammed. This is entirely an unbias opinion
It sounds more like a gray area of dishonesty rather than a outright scam. The guys selling you tips like he promised, but the content just isn't living up to the hype he's using to sell it. Now on the other hand if the guy just cut and pasted some tips from another source and sold it as a ebook then I'd feel that was a scam. In many ways the market for this type of product is forcing marketers to make these grand promises. There's too many people trying to sell the same thing and nobody wants to buy "common sense tips" they want the "secrets of the gurus". I'm not saying it's right for marketers to make all these false promises, but people bring it on themselves for buying into something that's too good to be true.
When I sell something on the Internet or Ebay, I make it a point to spell out the product features and why I think that what I'm offering is worth paying for. This is why it is so important to make sure that if you're buying an item, especially an intangible, that you are really sure that you getting something for your money. Further, make sure that the seller offers customer satisfaction and reasonable return terms If you charged the purchase on a credit card and the seller won't honor the return policy, you can complain to the card issuer and possibly force a credit that way.
Ok so that all makes sense, I guess I'm wondering how he would be legally affected for something not quite ALL the way scam but kind of con-artisty? I wonder would he face jail time for something like that or would he just lose credibility?
I think more of the product or service being the scam rather than the advertising. If a product is an outright fraud that doesn't do what it claims, then it is a scam. But, I guess that false advertising falls under the same umbrella. If you have a product that does what it says, I don't think it can be called a scam even if the advertising is a bit optimistic. I would say that a scam is something that is created from the very beginningwith the intention of deceiving people to take their money.
In most cases it's just a loss of credibility, but I suppose that if a enough money is involved and the promises are pretty outrageous, then there's always a chance of legal repercussions.
He would just lose credibility. If there was a written contract outlining exactly the product he was selling then he could get done for fraud providing that what he said was an outright lie. There are a lot of loopholes in the system that could get him out of any sort of criminality but It's worth making his name known just so that he loses his reputation (if he had one). I suggest doing thorough research whenever purchasing anything like that. Just as iminphils said, if it's intangible you must know what you're getting for your money.
The reason I started thinking this was that one of the affiliate programs I wanted to promote mentioned that a personal recommendation was better than just placing a text link. I'd never used the product and really didn't want to (weight loss pill-not into that stuff but I know theres a big market for that). Someone suggested that I say I knew someone who did and she was happy since we'd seen bloggers make passing comments like that all the time. and how else could I give a recommendation? But I was fighting with my conscious too much and decided against it. To me that seems like connery. I don't know if it would be considered a scam. They would get their product from the sponsor based on my convincing them but my recommendation would have been a lie. So it got me to thinking all of those claims that I read online about Dropouts making tens of thousands of dollars in their bathrobe after buying ProductX and Newbies raking in hundreds a day doing surveys can't all be true, am I right? Does anyone ever ask for verification? Or do most people understand it's marketing. Could they get in trouble if someone found out their backstories were untrue? Like Newbie dropouts making hundreds a day doing surveys is actually a college grad student that never got a cent for a survey but is an affiliate who wants to get others to sign up.
Personally, I don't think it's a scam but it is flat out dishonest. It really annoys me that there are so many dishonest tricks out there. If you have to trick someone into buying something, they didn't need it. If they truly need what you're selling they would buy it anyway. Just because the marketer needs the sale, doesn't mean the prospect needs the product. Just my 2 bobs worth Ben
Here's a good example. Does anyone remember lonelygirl15? Where the fictional videoblogger was outed. Was that considered a scam or creative marketing?
This is Very true. I was wondering though is this kind of thing 'the norm'? Because most of the ads I see are making big, lofty claims.
If you're a blogger then you should be honest with your readers. Especially if you want to build up a base of loyal visitors. Most people will see those comments for what they really are and be turned off by them. This is even more so if the product deviates from the common subject of your blog. You're better off being honest about what you're advertising even if it means lower sales, because you'll benefit in the long run with your readers, and ultimately they're the ones who support your blog.
What happened to lonelygirl? I'm interested, i do remember her name but i didnt get caught up with all that crap videoblogging.