The Snake Oil Syndrome

In the 1800s, when marketing was very personal and done at the local level, itinerant purveyors of goods would travel from town to town, holding product demonstrations with promises of wondrous benefits to be had by using their wares. Frequently the hype far exceeded the results and the term “snake oil salesmen” came to mean quacks and frauds. “Snake oil” came to represent anything sold through exaggerated marketing claims.

It is now two centuries later and the method of snake oil marketing is alive and well. It has just been transferred from small towns to the global community of the Web. The media has changed, but the promises of greater wealth, health and beauty remain. However, the snake oil salesman is much more elusive in this global media than the fast-talking salesman who fast-tracked it out of town when customers got rowdy.

For those who sell products and services without exaggerated promises there should be concern about some of the marketing being practiced on the Web. Disillusioned Web customers will quickly transfer their lack of trust to any Web marketer. And they’ll take advantage of the social channels on the Web to share their experiences.

You don’t need to deceive customers to be successful. In fact, it is the opposite – complete transparency – that will bring customer loyalty and rewards to you. Take a look at your Web marketing and be sure you aren’t the Harold Hill of online promises.

Make it Real. In the days of snake oil salesmen it was common practice for the salesman to travel with a companion who became the “plant or shill” in the audience. This person would testify and verify the salesman’s claims, then split the profits with him after splitting town.

If you are making claims about your products, be sure they are real. If you are using testimonials to back your claims, they need to be real too. When customers send you testimonials get permission to publish their names and use their comments. Do not edit their comments to mean something other than what they stated.

In college I was in a lecture class being conducted by Judith Crist, then the movie critic for the New York Times. She told how movie producers would take bad reviews and edit them to sound great. She would write a review that stated, “This movie could have been one of the best movies of the season if it had been thirty minutes shorter,” only to find herself quoted in the movie ad as having said, “One of the best movies of the season…”

Avoid Deception. Zig Zieglar, one of the most successful recognized salesman of the past few decades, said that trust is 75% of getting the sale. If your online sales process includes having the consumer click and accept a “sales terms” document that is multiple paragraphs or pages long, it is quite likely you aren’t placing much value on trust and do not have the best interests of the customer at heart.

Keep your sales terms document brief and to the point. Write it in language that is at an 8th grade level. If your sales terms include an automatic renewal where you keep a customer’s credit card information on file and recharge it at a later date, make that clear to the customer. Tell the customer exactly when that additional transaction will occur and give the customer the option to back out before the charge occurs.

Create a system where you Email your customer two weeks before re-charging a fee to their credit card, reminding them of the agreement and giving them the option to cancel. If your customer is happy with your product or service they’ll gladly continue to get it. If they find your product or service to be of little value you will most likely lose the sale. But you were going to lose it anyway as soon as the customer realized he/she had been charged by you again. This way you won’t have a dissatisfied customer telling the rest of the world what they think of you.

Be Available. The value of the relationship is key in being successful at sales. With online sales there is no face-to-face relationship. The way to build rapport is much different. One of the first is to have a phone number prominently posted on your Web site.

Be assured that online shoppers will not want to call you. They want to get on the site, make the transaction, and get off as quickly as possible. They want it to be fast and easy. But if there is a problem they’ll want to know how to reach you. The same is true if they are just on your site to get information.

The abandon rate for online transactions is as high as 66%. Processes are too complicated, Web sites don’t make navigation easy, the checkout system doesn’t perform correctly, or the customer needs to make changes and there is no process in place to edit and redo the order. If you give customers the option of voice-to-voice help you’ll be able to save transactions and build good will. Not being accessible to your customers is like fleeing town.

Be Global, Think Local. The Web makes it easy to do business around the world. It is a great equalizer. Large corporations and the self-employed can have a similar impact and online presence.

That’s why it’s important to think locally. Treat your Web customers as if you will see them face-to-face at the grocery store, in a restaurant, at a social function or going to church. The minute you think of a Web customer as a person you put a human face on the contact. You treat them with more consideration and respect.

As more marketers divert offline funds to online media buys, it becomes increasingly important to operate with integrity when conducting E-commerce. The term “snake oil” originally applied to medicinal products, and there is no shortage of medicinal wonders being promoted on the Web today. But there are also beauty enhancement products, easy ways to make fast money, and many other come-ons that sound too good to be true.

Use the Web with honesty and integrity and consumers will feel safe and confident about doing business with you. Get your social network in high gear so that the buzz about how great you, your products and your service are can quickly spread through the online community.

Stimulate that buzz. Create the position of company blogger and hire a person with the skills to fill it. Build relationships with your online customers. Instead of being chased out of town, you’ll have a high-speed path with customers coming to you.

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