What New Brands Can Learn From Internet Scams [10.13.09]

An experience this weekend reminded me just how important trust is when it comes to a new brand without a track record. As one who is about to launch a new non-research oriented brand - you’ll have to call me to hear more about that - I’ve been reflecting on what I can learn from this ordeal. Indulge me for a moment while I tell my story.

 

I buy and sell mechanical wrist watches as a hobby and usually do so on several watch-oriented web sites.  As with many hobbies, serious watch collecting is a small world.  It is very easy to get a reputation - good or bad.   For this reason, the trading sites operate on a honor system - send the money and get sent the watch.  One still must be careful, but with a little common sense, it is easy to avoid scams.  In years of countless transactions, I’ve never had a problem.

Usually a good watch will sell quickly on a ‘for sale’ board, but in times like these, one must advertise it with a bit more frequency.  On Friday and on a lark, I decided to expand the universe of potential buyers and post the watch on Craig’s List.  I’ve never actually bought anything off of Craig’s List but I did sell a bike locally using the site. The transaction went off without a hitch.

Within an hour of posting the watch, I received 2 emails from out-of-state buyers expressing interest.  The emails looked legitimate and contained questions that a serious buyer might ask (What is the diameter of the face?  Is the clasp in good condition?  Does it have the warranty card?).  I responded and then the charades began.

One of the “buyers” ran a small “wholesale business” and already had a buyer lined up so the transaction would commence immediately.  Another was buying the watch for his “step brother” in North Las Vegas.  Each agreed to cover all shipping costs (something a serious buyer never agrees to do!).  The emails were dripping with awkward expressions and convoluted explanations of additional “interested parties” who resided in pastoral sounding mid-Western towns.

The lunacy culminated Monday morning with a very authentic, but fake looking email from PayPal saying that one of the buyers had transferred money to my account and the funds were being held until I provided a shipping tracking #.  And, the watch should now be sent to a “trusted third party” in Malaysia.

For kicks I checked my PayPal account (although I did not link to it from the email for fear of phishing) and just as I suspected, there was not a trace of activity.   All sorts of related emails kept coming until I racheted down the spam filter score in order to catch them.

What does this extreme experience have to do with a new brand?  Lots.  A new brand - whether a product or a service -  must do everything in its power to convince the customer of its legitimacy.   Here are some ways to do it:

• Make a great product.  Create a great service.  Take your time and do things right.  Do not cut corners.

• Price things fairly.  Today’s frugal consumer will still pay a premium for an irrational reason, but they do not want to be ripped off.

• Fulfill in a timely manner.  If you sell a product, ship FedEx or some form of expedited UPS.  No one wants to wait for anything anymore.  And no one should have to.

• If applicable, offer a reasonable money back guarantee.  60 to 90 days seems like a fair amount of time for someone to make up their minds about a purchase.  The customer you want is not the one who will take advantage of the return policy anyway.

• Offer more than 1 way to get in contact with the office.  Phone, fax, email, live chat, Twitter, Facebook, in-person visits, smoke signals...The more the better.  Let the consumer choose when and where she wants to engage the brand.

• Forget about PO Boxes.  They wreak of mail scams and businesses that pretend to be big.  Unless you are in the heavy industrial or consumer durables world, where your office is located is probably irrelevant.

• Post the office address on a clearly visible page on the site.  Too often the corporate address is buried.  Even more often, it’s not present at all.

• When things work, strive for consistency that suggests someone is minding the details of the store.  Don’t wrap something in pink tissue paper one day and then use a plastic bag the next.

• Tell a story about the people behind the business...Let the customer know that real human beings are on the other side of the transaction.

• Suprise them.  Do something above and beyond to prove how much you value the business.  Use your imagination.

Any other ideas?  I’m listening.