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Beware of scams - Acai Berry Detox improper marketing tactics
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Acai Berry Detox
It still amazes me when I see or hear about unethical business and marketing practices that take place to sell a product. If you listen to XM/Sirius radio or go to news websites, you've probably seen the products that I'm about to unveil.
The company establishes credibility when they show the logos of credible news agencies like CNN, Today Show, and ABC among others, that have reported on their "remarkable product". The product is a combination of detox capsules to improve metabolism and energy levels while promoting the elimination of excess toxins stored in the colon and digestive track. The end result is losing that extra 5-20 pounds that seems to linger despite diet and exercise. The products I am referring to are Acai Berry Detox and Colotox.
The Acai Berry Detox program advertises a limited number of free trials with a caveat that the buyer must pay a shipping and handling fee. The person signs up for the shipping information and somewhere hidden in the form is the unadvertised catch. If that marketing tactic wasn't enough deceipt, there's more. The free trial is not for the entire jar as graphically depicted and as the copy suggests, rather it is for 15 days only, beginning with the date of the trial order.
The Colotox cleansing product also uses a similar tactic. Colotox offers $1 trial plus shipping and handling. Both products "bury" their "Terms & Conditions". Colotox's T&C states that the buyer must read theterms and agree PRIOR to the purchase of the trial. Interestingly enough, the terms and conditions link is at the bottom of the website with no indication anywhere on the page that the offer is subject to the terms and conditions.
I do not even attempt to address the efficacy of these products, but rather am examining the marketing tactics employed by both. In my internet searching, I discovered that there are many different sites out there addressing the "scam" quality of these and similar companies. Even the Chicago Tribune has written about this scam.
Bring it home: In your marketing activities and promotions, keep it ethical. People will buy your product or service because it fills a need and if it's a consumble product, your customers will continue to buy the product based on their experience. If you can't stand behind your product or service, then don't sell it.
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© 2009 Jennifer L. Taylor dba The Word Tailor
Brands & Integrity
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