Why did you lie? Where is the honesty in your copy?

I was sold: I thought I was getting this fabulous product.  Why did you lie?  Where is the honesty in your copy?

I was looking forward to transforming my life.  And I have, but just not in the way I thought I would - according to your copy. Why did you Lie?  Where is the honesty in your copy?  I'm very disappointed.  I want my money back.  And I'm never doing business with you again! 

Why Did You Lie?  Where is
The Honesty in Your Copy?

The aftermath of this faux-pas results in a review of your copy to figure out what could have gone wrong. You laid out all of the features. Those were killer.  You made it sound so convenient and easy to use your product.  Yours was the best whats-a-ma-whooz-it on the market, according to the information you provided.  

Certainly, it was different from any other whats-a-ma-whooz-it  in the same class.  And the benefits... oh my!

Ooh... and that extra information to really put your copy over the top was a bonus.  However, was it truthful?  Did you amp it up just a bit to make things sound a little better than they really are? Did you use testimonials that support these claims?  Hmm... I wonder...

Businesses take heed.  Of course you want to promote your whats-a-ma-whooz-it .  It's in your best interest after all.  Your business growth and sales are vital and your success is dependant on it.

But what happens when you misrepresent yourself or your product?  Customers become dissatisfied. You lose sales. 

You might be thrilled to receive those positive testimonials.  You even include them in your copy.  It can only add to your credibility, right?  But what are you doing about the negative feedback?  Are you ignoring them?  Are you solving the problem with your whats-a-ma-whooz-it copy?  Or, are you just letting is slide because those negative comments seem insignificant in number?

While you're letting that slide, so are your sales.  You're losing those existing customers. They're talking about you and those negative comments have a bigger impact than you can imagine -- further losses in business on a compound basis.

Remember... It's much harder to earn a new customer, than to keep existing ones.

Once you've lied to your customers it will be very difficult (if not impossible) to regain their trust and get them to buy from you again. Trust is a main factor in the reason people do business with each other.  If you've broken that trust... the relationship  is done.

What's the solution? It's simple. Don't lie about your product or its capabilities and benefits.  Keep your copy honest.  Any embellishment about it is not worth the consequences. Use truthful, accurate information with testimonials that support your claims about the product's properties.

You can do without that extra fluff and hype, because the results can be disastrous - from a simple loss of clientele, to even a lawsuit. So why lie?  Keep the honesty in your copy and save yourself a lot of trouble.  Your business and customers will thank you.

(If you value the skills of a professional copywriter and want to talk about how it could help improve your business results, connect with me to start that conversation.)