Marketing Deception: 4 Stories Why “Pretty Wrapping” Is Killing Your Business
Marketing vs. Reality: Why Flashy Ads Can Kill Your Business Forever
False promises, pushy managers, and the hidden cost of dishonest advertising.
We’ve all seen it: the perfect burger on the poster, and what we get in reality is flat and tired-looking. But what if this gap between promise and reality happens in other areas of life, not just fast food? As a consumer, I see it all the time.
Beautiful packaging and big words often mask a poor quality product or service, and an indifferent attitude. Here are four stories from my personal experience that prove one simple truth:
Marketing without honesty is not just a waste of budget; it is a direct path to losses.
First example
I see an ad: new collection, the dress is wonderful. But the model is 170–180 cm tall. But I am 152 cm. If I see that the dress fits the model wonderfully, I go to buy it, but if when I try it on, it fits me completely wrong, it will ruin my mood, I will no longer trust the store’s ad, and I will probably never go to that store again.
The adverts took care to show the model because they attract attention, but I’m an ordinary person for whom the Petite size wasn’t created. By the way, manufacturers, you don’t like petite women? Why don’t you sew for us?
Second example
I booked a hotel. Everything is beautifully described. Beautiful photos are taken, and the price suits me. I’m promised constant feedback. I had a question. So, I wrote on the booking platform. And I didn’t get an answer.
I found the hotel’s email and wrote there. There is silence for a day, and I called the hotel.
I didn’t get through on the first try. The manager answered, I said that I wrote on the website and by email, because I had important questions, but he didn’t listen to the question, saying that he would check and answer. He hung up.
For five hours, he has not responded either on the booking website or by email. I canceled the order. The hotel is losing profit.
Example three
I needed to know how much a promotion tool for my channel costs. I saw an attractive ad. It said that they had the lowest prices for this service. I wanted to know a specific price. I clicked on the link and watched the video.
A young man of pleasant appearance talks about being a professional and says he is ready to give the first consultation for free. It might not be necessary to pay anything, especially if my niche turns out to be super interesting, and in a month, I could already have 1,000 subscribers organically.
He said in the video that he was swamped, he had a lot of orders, and only answers on weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm; he does not answer on weekends. All you need to do is just fill out a short form, which consists of 4 questions:
- my name,
- my channel niche,
- link to my channel
- And what is my budget?
I filled out the form and answered in the budget that I don’t know what their prices were, whether I have such a budget or not, and asked to answer my question in numbers what budgets they work with.
After filling out the form, I received a response within 20 minutes at 8 pm, at the time when they told me they don’t work. The first oddity.
He again asked to clarify my budget. I didn’t want to waste money and was thinking of spending more than five dollars. But it’s embarrassing to even talk about such amounts.
I answered again that I wanted to know what budgets they work with. I immediately received a response asking me to clarify the budget. The second flag…
I stopped answering. It became clear that the person was not interested in my channel; he was interested in how much he could earn from me. I think that most likely, his service is just a promise, like SEO.
I deleted the chat and forgot about it… For a week… He wrote again, “Hello, I’m still waiting for your answer!”
Here, I understood that the first time he lied, when he said that he was incredibly busy and answered me after working hours. A week later, he remembered that I didn’t answer him. So he didn’t have clients, and he knew specifically who didn’t answer him, and I deleted the chat for both: for me and him.
A week later, I received another message from him again, “You still haven’t answered me :(“
The person should have realized last week that something was wrong. And he also started to play on pity and write endlessly. I blocked him.
If he told me that he had a lot of orders, I thought that it was a great company, a lot of clients, so he really was a specialist. When he answered me after the agreed time, I understood that he wasn’t that busy. If a person started writing to me every week, and demanding that I clarify my budget, I understood that he was desperate, and he had no other clients except me, and he needed to get money from me.
I’m ready to pay for promotion, but only from those who understand this, and not to waste the budget as if it were charity for some manager.
Example four
Once I saw an interesting procedure, it was just appearing at the time. It was supposed to reduce swelling and cellulite. It was a special vacuum massage.
I called the salon, asked the price, and the salon told me how many procedures I needed, and asked if I would buy my own suit or rent one. (The suit was something like a turtleneck and leggings sewn together and made of a material like nylon tights.)
I came and we signed the contract. After signing the contract, according to the rules of the salon, the money was not returned.
Then things start to get weird: they start asking me about my weight, and they told me, “Why are you going to do it? No one does it with such weight.” Then they start asking questions about contraindications. I asked, “Why are you asking such questions after, but not before, signing the contract?” The advertisement didn’t say that the massage may not be suitable for everyone. The girl at the reception just made a dissatisfied face and didn’t answer.
I signed up for 10 procedures, as this was the minimum. After the first procedure, they constantly start calling me and asking to reschedule the appointment. They called me by different names, no matter that I corrected them.
Once again, they called me and asked me to come an hour later. I sat in the office for an hour, waiting. When I arrived, the manager said, “You are an hour late”.
I showed her on my phone that she had called me recently and asked to come later, otherwise I wouldn’t have stayed in the office an extra hour!
Of course, I wrote a bad, detailed review. They didn’t ask me about anything before signing the contract. They couldn’t remember my name or read it from the client database, they postponed the dates, and the massage was useless, as it was intended for people with a lot of extra weight. Furthermore, they immediately saw how I looked, probably there were few clients, and they wanted to earn more. Over time, the salon closed.
Mistakes made by managers
Each of these stories shows the same mistake. It’s not just about a low-quality product (like with the massage) or a deceitful picture (like with the dress or burgers).
The thing is that all these companies failed to build trust with the potential client and scared them away themselves. The hotel didn’t provide the promised feedback, the marketer was pushy, and the salon didn’t show honesty at the very beginning.
Instead of solving MY problems, they created them. If your marketing is just promises that are not backed up by the actions of your employees, you will inevitably lose customers, and with them, your business.
To run a successful business, you need to work not only on the company’s wrapper — marketing, but also on the staff who bring your promises to life.
Maybe you’ll find something useful or beautiful here 🦝?
And what advertising tricks have you encountered?
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