Bait and Switch
| * Harvest Point * |
If any part of your marketing involves leading prospects to believe one thing is going to happen when instead something else happens, I suggest you re-work your plan. Tricking, misleading, fine print - whatever you call it; if you’re baiting your customers with an idea, and then you try to hook them with something else, you’re not being forthright, and your customers will notice.
Examples include placing an ad for a listing which isn’t yours (hoping to pick up buyers). Advertising a lower-level, $50,000 condo (which already has offers on it) in the hopes of up-selling somebody to an upper-floor, $500,000 unit. Promoting a low interest rate which almost nobody can qualify for.
Today I received an updated credit card in the mail for an existing card which is set to expire next month. It had a sticker on the front which asked me to call an 800 number in order to activate the card "for my safety." I spent 90 seconds on hold waiting for a customer service specialist to activate my card for me. I then spent 90 seconds defending against a barrage of add-on sales - payment protection in case I died, credit report monitoring, a cash advance offer, an offer to transfer balances - my head began to spin.
Needless to say, that was a complete sham! As if an automated system couldn’t have activated my card for me? They asked me to call to activate my card, and then they tried to take advantage of me. In 3 minutes, they managed to make me dislike them. And that’s after being a cardholder for 10 years!
Branding builds slowly, one interaction at a time, but it can last for a long time. I don’t recommend a bait and switch strategy as part of your marketing campaign; you’ll end up branding yourself as something you don’t want to be.
Posted: October 17th, 2008 under Business Development.