Watch out for this marketing gimmick!
I've been in the Human Resources world for over seven years and today's buzz phrase is, Total Rewards. It is a marketing term that describes the effort at explaining to employees the "big picture" view of all they are receiving for being an employee of their company.
The funny thing is, businesses are using the same marketing strategy for their customers as well. I call it a gimmick because it does not add any real value to the product or service you are receiving, instead, it adds "perceived" value. Intrinsically, you probably aren't getting anything of significant value, but you think you are.
John Hayes, chief marketing officer for American Express said in a recent article that, "We want our cardmembers to feel rewarded with membership, and we want prospects to say, 'Boy, I should get one of those' " (American Banker). You can read the article here.
I get solicitations from American Express pretty regularly and one of my favorites, which was the impetus for what I write today, included the phrase, "Consolidate Balances With a Company You Can Trust." In the very same advertisement that contained this phrase, words used included, "wisely," "smart," "savings," "confidence," "reduce," "simplify," "rely," "trusted," and "advantage."
These are not words and phrases I would ever use to describe a credit card company but this language sure does create some perceived value. Shoot, I want to get one!
Watch out for this. Whatever perk, reward or incentive a credit card company is trying to sell you on, keep this in mind: they have but one objective - to get you in debt so that you will pay them interest over a long period of time. Period.
Do not give in to this gimmick and you will be debt free and richer as a result.
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The funny thing is, businesses are using the same marketing strategy for their customers as well. I call it a gimmick because it does not add any real value to the product or service you are receiving, instead, it adds "perceived" value. Intrinsically, you probably aren't getting anything of significant value, but you think you are.
John Hayes, chief marketing officer for American Express said in a recent article that, "We want our cardmembers to feel rewarded with membership, and we want prospects to say, 'Boy, I should get one of those' " (American Banker). You can read the article here.
I get solicitations from American Express pretty regularly and one of my favorites, which was the impetus for what I write today, included the phrase, "Consolidate Balances With a Company You Can Trust." In the very same advertisement that contained this phrase, words used included, "wisely," "smart," "savings," "confidence," "reduce," "simplify," "rely," "trusted," and "advantage."
These are not words and phrases I would ever use to describe a credit card company but this language sure does create some perceived value. Shoot, I want to get one!
Watch out for this. Whatever perk, reward or incentive a credit card company is trying to sell you on, keep this in mind: they have but one objective - to get you in debt so that you will pay them interest over a long period of time. Period.
Do not give in to this gimmick and you will be debt free and richer as a result.
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Labels: Busted-Myths, Consolidation, Marketing, Tips
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