I had the misfortune recently of joining a one hour teleclass that was touted as providing valuable lessons in the marketing of products on-line but which was nothing more than an infomercial for the host's numerous products and an opportunity for the host to make money on an unsuspecting and captive audience. I rated the teleclass as follows:
- Valuable content = 0
- Benefit to me = 0
- Time wastage = 60 minutes
- Trust Factor = 0
- Net Result = Never do business again with the person/company
You may well have asked why I didn't hang up and that would have been a valid question. But although tempted to do so, it occurred to me that people and businesses that rely on the Internet to sell their products or services were, I felt, beginning to cross that very thin line of trust between buyer and seller, if they had not already done so.
I have no doubt that these companies do offer a valuable service or product that can benefit their target audience. But I have to question the execution of their strategies. In instances where buyer and seller are not able to meet face-to-face, personal credibility is built through trust and I am not convinced that these people are doing enough to build that trust. Perhaps, competition is mudding their waters of integrity and intent.
Some people or companies do get it right though. At one teleclass this week, the host spent 45 minutes talking about the topic and only that topic. He then spent a further 14 minutes fielding questions relating to the content of his teleclass and one minute providing his contact details should any of us feel the need to discuss the topic further or address issues that we had. There was no mention of his product range; there were no freebies; no extra courses offered for the first 25 people who signed up straight after the call. It was focused totally on the topic that we had all signed up for and for which we had taken 60 minutes out of our busy lives to stop what we were doing and listen to someone whom we had never met before. My rating for the teleclass:
- Valuable content = 100
- Benefit to me = 100
- Time wastage - 0
- Trust = 100
- Net Result = Repeat business definitely likely.
As soon as the host of a teleclass says something along the lines of 'I cover this in a lot more detail in my program xxxxx which you can get if you go to my site xxxxxx at a cost of $xxx but if you are one of the first 25 people who buy the product (CD set) after this call, you can get loads of free material valued at $xxxx',' I think to myself, 'Oh, no! another wolf in sheep's clothing' and I immediately question their intent for holding the teleclass and my trust begins to wane. This is a pity because I am sure that they have a lot of wisdom to share from which we can all learn.
ian
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