Day 65 - Building Relationships - Building Trust - Building a Business

Photographer: jscreationzs

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

Mark Twain

Why does this title seem like an oxymoron to me? 

I hear the same thing in every lesson, from every direction.  The key to developing a successful business, online or off is developing an atmosphere of trust. 

Yet, if the key marketing technique promoted is focused on building trust in order to gain future customers, how sincere is that relationship?

When is the last time you heard someone say their product was not perfect?  

It just isn't done.

Or is it?

Is it wrong to focus on the strengths of a product and down play or ignore the weaknesses?  U.S. laws require we "disclose." We get a high speed, small print disclaimer at the end of every drug ad telling us of "possible" side effects.  We must be warned of the risks involved.  Some states hold sellers and Realtors responsible for informing the buyer or hazards related to a piece of property whether they be natural or imagined.

As an affiliate we are also required to disclose that association somewhere in our presentations.  Hence you will usually see a non-conspicuous paragraph at the bottom of my posts.

So do we need to make the same disclosure in developing online relationships?

Somewhere on this page should you see the disclaimer reading:

"I am hoping that you will find my articles entertaining and informative and that by reading them you eventually decide that I am someone who's opinions you can trust.  Once you have come to know me better and trust me, it is my hope that you will "click through" some link on my site and buy something."

That puts a lot of weight on my words.  Now if I say I like 100 Day Challenge or ComF5, I am putting my credibility on the line so I feel the need to qualify those recommendations with honest misgivings like I think the exercises in the challenge are great but so far the focus is too much on self, our wants, our dreams, etc.  

I would also need to say that even though I think ComF5 is an excellent communication suite for a very reasonable price, I have noted that it is a work in progress and there is still room for improvement. From what I have seen so far, I personally think many of those improvements will be on the table in the near future but I can not guaranty that.

Another product that I have been very active in promoting is ContestBurner.  

I have personally found competing for prizes a bit addictive and have even taken the pseudonym of "ContestManic" in some cases.  Obviously, there are a lot of others like me who get caught up in the competition and by "playing" the contest generate a lot of traffic to the site promoted in the contest.  This is itself is a selling factor for ContestBurner.  The cost is another.  After all the hoo ra ra, I was genuinely surprised to see the low selling price.  I really don't know how Bill McIntosh  can afford to include a two day event at  that cost.  It can only be that he believes most buyers will upgrade to the premium level and continue to pay the monthly membership.

Since I'm talking about honesty, I feel compelled to say that I was a bit put off by the latest contest (even though I won one of the drawings).   I found the navigation back to the link page awkward.  I had to resubmit my email address every time I wanted to review the prize list or get to the youtube links.  I was unable to bookmark that page and go directly to it without resubmitting my email.  I have no idea if this was a glitch in the program, was intentional on their part or was caused by my browser's retention of cookies.  I just know it was irksome.

Yet in-spite of this flaw, I still feel comfortable encouraging people to buy the ContestBurner software to create a contest of their own and thus bring viral traffic to their site.  I would caution contest players though that the validity of the contest is contingent on the trustworthiness of the people who are conducting the contest and there are no guaranties implied for any individual contest.

So that's my true confession for the day folks.

In case you missed it I restate it once more.  

I blog because I like to "hear myself talk" but also because I sincerely hope to encourage my readers to buy from my links when they decide they need something I talk about.

The underlying motivation in this and most of my blogs is to put myself out there in hope you will find me someone you can like and trust and that trust will encourage you to buy from me when you decide to buy.

 

 

 

 

As usual, I have provided affiliate links in this article and I will receive compensation if you choose to buy a product through one of my links. However you are cautioned to research the products yourself to be sure they will fit your needs. If someone else has directed you to the product or you have a friend that you want to get credit for your purchase be sure to clear your cookies and access the product again through their affiliate link when you purchase.  Most affiliate programs will flag the first affiliate that directs a buyer to their site.