As marketing students, you might know that marketing is all about understanding what the customer needs so well that you are able to successfully create a product that fits them perfectly.
Great marketing is so informative, compelling, and effective that it can carry the sales on its own. If you are not a professional advertiser or don’t have any training in the field, developing an ad might be a formidable task. Do not be scared; there are a variety of advertisement maker tools that are at your fingertips and can assist you in the creation of excellent ads in a snap. Anyone can use these tools and benefit from them. And while you can create some very stunning personalized advertisements using the advertisement maker tools, you can also use them for a great many other things.
However, today – it is not uncommon for advertisers and companies to feel the need of advertisement making false claims about a product to increase the sales numbers.
It goes without saying that being deceptive in marketing practices can come at a high cost. Let us give you an account of the different consequences of false advertisement.
Consequences for the Consumer
Your consumers are the first ones who will suffer the side effects of false advertising. If you are not clear about what you are offering, they could end up making uninformed decisions, and spending their earnings on a product they will ultimately be disappointed in.
For instance, let us say you are offering services of academic writing for marketing students. You advertise that your writers can offer top-notch services. Of course, this can be proved by providing them with samples such as poem analysis essay examples or any other paper on your platform.
On the other hand, if you claim you can offer exceptional critical lens essays without offering any critical lens essay examples, your customers will blindly believe your advertisements. And if you are not able to deliver, then your consumers will end up wasting their valuable money on your services. Ultimately, they might even receive a bad grade from their professors.
As a result, not only will your customer be unhappy, but they will also spread the word about their bad experiences. Hiding facts from your clients will come back to bite you the moment they become aware of what exactly you are offering.
You Could Face Legal Issues
Your customers are not going to like being lied to. And you can be sure that at least some of them will retaliate.
To begin with, it is highly unlikely that they will purchase any of your products again. To follow the case of our example, the next time your customer needs a causal analysis essay, they will look elsewhere.
Secondly, the consumer will make it a point to post negative reviews to ensure that others can avoid being tricked by false advertising.
In the worst-case scenario, the customer could decide to take legal action. The Federal Trading commission or the respective regulatory body in your jurisdiction can begin an investigation to see if your marketing is in any violation of any rules.
Depending on their findings, they could take further action. This might be in the form of a Cease and Desist order. You will be able to adjust the marketing campaign to meet the guidelines in order to run the ad again.
Your Company Could Incur Losses
Any such ad could lead to your firm facing financial losses. If you are to remove it, then it will lead to losing all the money you spent developing the campaign. Moreover, you might also have to pay the penalty to be charged by the FTC.
In addition, if customers decide to sue you for misleading advertisements, you will also have to cover the expenses of legal fees and any other settlement.
Consequences on Other Departments
As a marketer, any false advertisement or campaign you devise will have an impact on a company-wide scale. Your fellow employees in the front line, such as the customer service department, will have to bear the consequences of your shortcomings.
They will have to deal with unhappy customers and come up with strategies to combat any further issues that arise from false advertising. This could further harm the professional relationships and workplace environment.
You Will Lose the Trust of Customers
The purpose of any business is to increase sales. However, in order to be successful – you should also be able to retain customers.
As you can imagine, one black mark is enough for a business to lose any potential consumers as well as your existing customers. Even your most loyal customers might feel deceived if they find out that you have been spreading wrong claims regarding your products with false advertisement.
In the long run, your brand will have to endure a negative reputation, which will harm your business prospects in the future.
As marketing students, you will be taking a huge responsibility regarding the reputation of your company. Even if you are not working directly in the field, understanding your role and its implications can help you devise a strategy that serves the best interest of both your company, as well as your consumers.
