🚯 Ethical Marketing
Ever lured into something that promised upto 30% discount, only to find out that it’s applicable only above a certain order amount?
I dabbled in the marketing domain last November and found the space to be a fine line between (ethical) persuasion and (unethical) manipulation!
A classic example is the following campaign which promises a 50% cashback. A significant percentage of users won’t doubt that there might be an upper cap on the cashback amount. Are we supposed to guess that from the coupon code (TICKET150)? Or from the sneaky star (*) placed near the 50% cashback denoting some extra terms and conditions may apply?
And that’s when it’s one of the unicorn startups! Talk about leading by example…
How about the following one?
On the first look, it’s designed to catch your attention by mentioning 80% off. Only when you go deeper, you realize that it’s only applicable for your first order (since the company is trying to increase their top-of-the-funnel by attracting more new users). On top of that, see how the savings are split up…
It’s actually a 30% off in disguise, with 25% Mobikwik cashback (the worst wallet I’ve ever used - allows only 5% of the balance to be applied as discount in future transactions) and 25% eCash points (an even shittier lock-in, you can only purchase medicines through that - coupled with a 10% usage policy in one transaction). I had to look up how eCash points work! This baffles me.
I’m skeptical when I see a “spin-the-wheel” section which shows attractive prizes. I know the outcome is pre-decided based on whatever the company determined would result in the most LTV (life-time value) out of me.
I’m skeptical when I see a “XYZ bought this product 2 minutes ago” popup on a website. I know it’s designed to target my FOMO and buy it immediately.
And the list goes on and on.
The bigger problem is that as consumers, we have accepted this reality.
It’s time to say no!
Tell. Me. Everything. Upfront. Or. Get. Out.
I’m quite enthusiastic about solving this problem. If you are too, let’s connect using your preferred medium from here.
Until We Meet Again…
🖖 swap