Crying wolf: why false marketing never pays off
I will never forget the medieval story of the shepherd-boy who watched over a flock of sheep for the villagers and falsely shouted, “Wolf! Wolf!” and then laughed at those who came to help him protect the sheep against this evil. Not once, but three times he alarmed them, just to laugh in their faces when they pitched up armed with primitive weapons. The fourth time, however, his cries for help were real, for the wolf did come but this time around no-one believed him and the wolf made a meal of the flock.
The story ends with the boy blaming the villagers for not coming to his aid in time. An old man took him aside and explained with words of wisdom:
There is no believing a liar, even when he speaks the truth.
For me, the essence of the story and how it relates to marketing can be explained by means of the following arguments:
Losing their trust is losing their business
The shepherd boy saw it as a game of fun but did not consider the harm it would cause to his reputation. If only he knew that he would lose their trust.
With so many brands competing for the same market share, it is fundamental to protect the reputation of your business. False, misleading or deceptive marketing messages is the easiest way to damage that reputation. It takes years to build up a good reputation but only one misleading campaign to hurt it. Make sure the message you send out is in line with your values as a brand and that you’re able to live up to the subconscious promises or assumptions hidden within.
You need them as much as they need you
The shepherd-boy forgot that he had a job because there were sheep-owning villagers in need of a shepherd. His job (or business) therefore had a mandate for existence because others existed before him and needed his services. By sending false messages to his target market, he actually put his business on the line and I can’t help but wonder if he still had a job the next day?
As business owners, marketers and sellers, we need to understand that without those buying from us, we have no business. Instead of manipulating and indoctrinating our target market to achieve sales, we should respect them and serve them with enough information to make informed decisions.
Appreciate their complaints: by addressing it with sincerity, you might gain a villager for life and you will always remain their preferred shepherd.
Lies pay no dividends
The false alarms may have given the shepherd-boy much to laugh about in the short run, however, we all know the story did not end well for him.
Some may call false marketing clever marketing and it may gain your business or service some market share now but once the ‘truth’ comes out about your intentions for selfish gain, that is where the ‘buck’ stops, my friend.
Just ask those some of the companies that had to patch up their reputations and budgets after scandals went viral.
The truth and nothing but the truth
I believe that the combination of creativity and truth, when it comes to creating marketing messages, can be more profitable to your business than clever wordplay, based on a lie (or even a half-truth). I further believe false marketing never pays off and that:
• the truth equals authenticity; and
• authenticity equals a good reputation; and
• a good reputation equals trust; and
• trust equals, amongst others, sustainable business.
Happy shepherding,
Beau de Klerk
The MESSAGE Company
About the Author
Beau de Klerk is a marketing coach that focusses on target market messaging through authentic story marketing workshops.
My next Storytelling Public Workshop takes place in the northern suburbs of Cape Town on Friday, 20 April 2018. Click here to learn more.