“You wouldn’t worry so much about what people think of you — if you realized how seldom they do.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

Now a PR firm has agreed to settle charges it had its employees pretend to be unbiased videogame buyers and post gushing, rave reviews at Apple’s online iTunes store.

When I read that, I felt like the French police inspector who was “shocked, shocked!” to discover gambling at Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca.

The same thing is happening elsewhere, of course, including Amazon and other high-profile online merchants.

My suggestion: take all reviews with a degree of skepticism. Look for more than a handful of reviews, Be especially wary if all of them were all posted within a few days or weeks of each other. You want to see 50+ reviews, spaced over the course of many months.

Two habits that will help clean up deceptive online marketing:

1. To keep the practice of phony reviews from spreading, simply never do business with a company that would engage in such underhanded practices.
2. Ditto for spam: Never do business with a company that sends out unsolicited spam. Period.

Zero tolerance. If we all followed those two simple rules, both practices would simply fade away.

Agree? Disagree? Maybe you’ve got an even better idea? Let’s hear it.

• “One-shot customer acquisition promotions are going the way of the dinosaurs.
• “Bombastic ‘big promise’ or USP headlines don’t work as well.
• “High-octane sales copy is losing its power.”

Does this mean the outrageous promises, hard sell and hype are finally ending? We can only hope.

It’s good to hear a giant in old-time, hard-sell copywriting finally say what consumers already know. Today’s shoppers — of any age — are more savvy and more cynical than ever. They don’t fall for that old BS anymore. The credibility of media, marketers, corporations and small biz stands near zero when a prospect first catches your scent. That is especially true in email marketing and your website.

Bottom line: They don’t believe what you say. That’s why a good copywriter is so important. It’s up to the copy, the content, your message, to lift your credibility above zero. It’s all about what you say, and how you say it. That’s why, online or off, a good copywriter is worth his weight in gold.

There’s a better way.

Instead of promising the moon, take it slow. Let prospects get to know you first. You don’t propose on the first date, right? So don’t try to close the deal immediately either. In fact, don’t “sell” at all. Not at first. Instead, offer them your help — no strings attached. Give before you ask for anything in return.

Swallow hard and start giving away your secrets. Your best stuff. (Not all of it, of course.) Free information is only appreciated if it’s new and valuable, not more of the same old stuff they’ve heard a hundred times before. Offer them free samples of your product. A free trial period of your service.

Build a new marketing strategy around this concept: stop selling, start giving. Call it “Golden Rule” Marketing. When it’s well executed, it overcomes cynicism, reduces skepticism and raises credibility.

People don’t like to buy from strangers. Unless it’s some kind of emergency, they prefer to get to know, like and trust you first. Guess what? That’s actually better for you, too. Why?

Once you let prospects get familiar with you and your offerings, it is much easier to gently move them along to the next step (touchpoint) in the sales cycle. The more you share, they more they’ll care. That strengthens your relationship, and over the long term it’s much more likely to lead to a long-term relationship, enthusiastic referrals and a booming business.

Need help planning and executing your “Golden Rule” marketing plan? Let’s talk. Want to get to know me better first? Smart move! Sign up for my free newsletter (see form above), follow me on Twitter and/or let’s connect on LinkedIn.

It’s understandable for business owners and marketers to dread nasty feedback from unhappy customers. It’s even worse when they vent their spleens online, posting negative reviews on the company’s own or resellers’ websites, in independent customer forums, Amazon reviews, etc.

Some companies even go so far as to try and squelch or remove them if they can. Which isn’t exactly the spirit of openness and honesty the interwebs are famous for.

But surprise! Negative reviews are not necessarily the kiss of death. As CNN/Money (via Consumerist) reported, sales can still increase. One company discovered that sales on a particular sweater increased 23%, even though its ratings were less than stellar  (e.g., three stars out of five).

“People are really researching their purchases,” said AlpacaDirect.com co-founder Jim Hobart. ‘We knew our customers liked our products, and we wanted them to tell one another.’

Here’s my take on negative reviews:

• All reviews, even mediocre ones, tend to reduce the “fear of the unknown” factor which can stop sales in their tracks.
• Something that might be a dealbreaker for one customer might not matter that much to another.
• The seller appears stronger, more confident, even fearless, by allowing both negative and positive reviews.
• And of course, negative reviews can be a form of market research. They can help you decide where you need to improve.

And be honest. Haven’t you ever read a negative review of a product or service you’re perfectly happy with? Haven’t you sometimes wondered, ‘What is this guy’s problem?’ A review that’s dripping with hatred and bile sometimes says more about the reviewer than the product.

photo credit: B Rosen

“Zero-percent financing! Drive it away for just $189 a month! We’ll give you $4000 for your old car, even if you have to tow it in! And (my personal favorite) below-invoice prices!”

Can dealers really afford to make such extravagant promises? Of course not. None of those come-ons are quite what they pretend to be. “Below-invoice” prices, for example, are “not necessarily what the dealer paid for it. He may be getting a rebate, and he is definitely getting a dealer holdback fee from the manufacturer,” explains Bank Rate Monitor.

Zero-percent financing? Check the fine print for something like ‘With approved credit,” meaning a FICO credit score of 700 or above.

We’ll pay off your old car no matter how much you owe: “Let’s say you owe $8,000 on your present car and it’s worth only $3,000. When the dealer boasts it will pay off your old car, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get $8,000 deducted for your trade: it means the dealer is just going to add the $8,000 to the cost of your new car. It gets even worse: Because the new lender is fully aware that the amount being financed exceeds the value of the new car, your loan will be treated as an unsecured loan and will carry a significantly higher interest rate.” Ouch!

For a fascinating “translation” of what those hype-filled promises really mean, check out the Bankrate article here.