The world of marketing doesn’t have the most sparkling reputation…

Selfish businesses and shady practices have taught most of us to be skeptical  – or even if we aren’t wary of every piece of marketing, we can certainly spot a scam a mile away:

“Lose 20 Pounds – No Diet or Exercise Required!”

“Make $50,000 Without Lifting a Finger!”

Most of us would recognize ads like that for exactly what they are – traps for the person gullible (or desperate) enough to click the link or offer up their credit card number.

Beyond those super-obvious scams, though, we see plenty of ads with claims that look like this:

“Only 7 Remaining!”

“We’re so popular, our servers crashed!”

“Regular Price $99.99 – now just $19!”

“My boss is out of the office, so I’m going to do something I know I shouldn’t…”

In many cases, there is a genuine reason or limitation that must be adhered to, and if so, the above claims would be accurate.

However, for the above claims to work:

Your customers must believe that you are authentically limited, or have a valid reason why you’re offering a discount.

But the problem is, I get at least 3 emails a day with claims similar to those above, and the B.S. is so blatantly obvious, the stench makes me want to wretch!

C’mon, you really mean to tell me you have a limited supply of digital ebooks? Give me more credit than that…

You mean to tell me your boss is out of town, so you’re going to take the opportunity to offer me a discount? REALLY!?!

Can I really give you $97 for a trading robot that earned 11,000% last year? Stupid.

Even though you might get away with it once, you’ve GOT to resist the urge to tell lies to your customers, no matter how small they might be.

Once your customers and prospects begin to see you as inauthentic, the game is over.

Customers are no fools, and most of them will see right through any false information you throw at them.

And being labeled a liar isn’t exactly good for your business…

In today’s economy, it’s not going to be the best marketing, the best product, or the fastest service that’s going to position you as the dominant player.

It’s trust.

Your customers need to trust you’re going to deliver what you say.

They need to trust you’re going to be there if something goes wrong.

And they need to trust that you’re looking out for their best interests.

As I’ve said before, customer loyalty starts with being loyal to your customers – and if you’re not being honest, you’re hardly being loyal to them.

In your corner,

Charlie