How To Spot Irresponsible Marketing

Sensational marketing is out of control today. Unfortunately, consumers fall for misleading marketing schemes without checking the details. Today, I want to talk about what you should look for so that you don’t become a victim of irresponsible marketing.

The job of a marketer is to create a marketing campaign that makes you take action. They need to produce something that will motivate you to want their service or product. Now there are some great marketers out there. The great marketers don’t use trickery and smoke and mirror techniques to create a false reality. They don’t have to create a false reality. They know the greatness of their marketing and they are great at communicating the message.

The great marketers come up with campaigns that force you to think differently, show you the benefits of thinking differently, and motivate you to action for a better way of life.

The irresponsible marketers create a false sense of reality. These are the companies that are giving you the good deal. It is like the person who tells you that they are “honest.” Honest people don’t have to tell other people that they’re honest.

So, here are things to look for when deciphering the marketing:

1) They are willing to send you something for free – They are going to send you their amazing life changing secrets for free just because you are a nice person. Oh wait, there is a small shipping and handling fee. Well, if I were going to send out a book it would probably cost roughly $ 1.50 when it is all said and done. I have done the research on many of these free deals. The small shipping and handling charges range from $ 6.95 to $ 9.95. Basically, they are selling you an item. Incidentally, Donald Trump is the only one that I have found that actually does send out something for free.

2) Their offer flies in the face of conventional wisdom – They promise to do something that no one else can do. The claim is so extraordinary that you even think that it is too good to be true. A good example is the commercial that offers health insurance regardless of your health. There are no underwriting questions. They take anyone. I called and checked on this one. The truth is that for 12 months they do exclude any health problems that occurred 12 months to the beginning date of the health policy.

Then there is my favorite. They don’t cover “pre-existing conditions specifically named or described as permanently excluded in any part of the contract.” Interestingly enough, throughout the terms and descriptions this special list of pre-existing conditions are referred to but never defined by anyone. No health insurance company is going to take on medical expense risk. This company is no different than any other except for their irresponsible and misleading marketing.

3) The ads that guarantee – Any guarantee, especially those that are outrageous, should be met with skepticism. My favorite guarantees are the equity indexed annuity claims that market you will make money when the market makes money and never lose money if the market loses money. If you check the fine print, the returns they market are far from the reality of what happens long-term.

4) No credit, bad credit? No Problem – Always be leery of a company that advertises the sale of an item that allows for you to pay it out over time regardless of your credit. They will be overcharging you somewhere. My favorite one is get the free computer and just pay 29.99 a week. There are no credit checks at all. They will even throw in a printer and a flat screen TV. Well the computer costs probably around $ 600. You could add another $ 300 for the “free” items. Basically, you paid a total of $ 1,554.47 for roughly $900 worth of products. You paid $ 659.48 in interest for an annualized interest rate of 57%.

Always keep one thing in mind. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

Copyright © 2008 Prudent Money and Bob Brooks. All rights reserved.