Marketers vs. Con Artists

It seems everywhere you turn, people think marketers are con artists. When it comes to marketing, there are lots of do’s and don’ts when one uses psychological tactics. When it comes to scamming, the line is often blurred.

The key difference between marketing and scamming lies in motive. Marketing aims to educate and convince consumers that a product or service aligns with their needs, while scamming schemes manipulate people to gain something unfair.

Recently, my supervisor at work asked me about a confusing letter he received from Domain Listings LLC requesting $288 for domain listings. He wasn't sure if it was a legitimate bill, a fake invoice, or just an advertisement.

These types of letters often target businesses that use web management services, including domain management and hosting. Why do they do this? The solicitation is designed to look like an official invoice, making it appear urgent or necessary.

Here's my breakdown:

• It's a Solicitation, Not a Bill: This offer isn't for renewing your domain. It's for adding your domain name to their online directory, similar to a listing on Yelp or Yellow Pages.

• Not Technically a Scam: They aren't stealing information, but the invoice-like format is misleading.

According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), “Domain Listings LLC solicits businesses for online directory listings by mail. Numerous complaints filed with BBB express concern that solicitations appear to be bills.” Currently, the BBB has received 273 complaints regarding Doman Listings LLC.

Value for Money? You Decide: Paid directory listings can be a marketing strategy, but the effectiveness for $288 is highly questionable.

In short, this specific mailing is not a scam, but its misleading format sure raises several red flags.

The Gospel and Digital Marketing 105

I recently had the opportunity to teach Digital Marketing 105 with Ensign College. I thought it would be fun to share some of my weekly course topic announcements here, flavored with a gospel perspective. Let me know what you think!

The Importance of Market Research

Before developing any advertising campaign, a company must know how people perceive its products or services, how they view the competition, what brand or company image they believe would be most credible, and what advertisements offer the greatest appeal (or best return on investment).

To get this information, companies and other organizations must follow tested marketing research methods. Marketing research provides the information necessary to make critical marketing decisions. Additionally, advertising research uncovers the information needed for making advertising decisions.

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that some businesses and organizations disregard marketing research. They often rush into things before taking the time to find out what their customers, and prospective customers, want. I call this the “Ready, Fire, Aim!” approach.

This is manifested in ineffective advertisements and other related messages and gives marketing a sullied reputation. Consumers typically ignore bad advertising, or simply avoid it, thus wasting valuable marketing dollars. This creates unnecessary profit loss for a business and stress to those assigned to handle marketing duties. With the above in mind, can you recall a marketing effort where it was painfully apparent the company didn't do their research before unveiling their advertising campaign?

The Lord said, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30). He also taught how we can prepare to share – or defend – our beliefs. He said, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men” (D&C 11:21). Being prepared to share the gospel means you know the gospel. The Lord doesn’t ask you to become a scholar, but He does want you to be prepared to teach and defend His gospel.

What is a SWOT Analysis, and Why is it So Important?

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is a framework for identifying and analyzing an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The goal of using a SWOT analysis is to increase awareness of the factors that go into making a business marketing strategy. To do this, a SWOT effort analyzes the internal and external environment, and the factors that can impact the viability of your decisions.

The prophet Moroni offers valuable insights into turning weaknesses into strengths:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

Why Should you try a Digital Marketing Campaign?

Traditional marketing is often restricted by geography and expensive, as well as labor-intensive.

Some of the benefits of a digital marketing campaign may include:

• Lower overall costs

• Effective targeting

• Multiple strategies available

• Multiple content types available

• Increased engagement in most instances

More than one million missionaries have been called since the organization of the Church, but Dan Jones, who served in Wales in the mid-1800’s, was more than just one in a million. In terms of the number of converts, Dan Jones was one of the most productive missionaries in the history of the Church.

While in Wales, Jones published Latter-day Saint periodicals, tracts, and books in Welsh. Under his direction, missionaries in Wales established 29 branches and baptized nearly 1,000 people each year of his mission. He was called on a second mission to Wales in 1852, and despite growing persecution of the Church, some 2,000 people were baptized in four years.

Brother Jones used traditional marketing methods in his day with much success. Today we can help the Church and its ongoing gospel marketing efforts by consistently sharing our testimony, or a spiritual message, thanks to the blessing and convenience of digital marketing.

The Right Kind of Logo

 

Developing the right logo for a business or organization seems like such a small or meaningless task to some, but with a minimum of costs it can create a lasting, positive impression. A well thought-out logo can convey authority for the company and contribute to its share in the image, brand formation, and brand promotion in the market.

Potential clients can even evaluate a company’s values, products, or services that it sells simply by viewing its logo. Therefore, most businesses want to make their logo unique, wonderful, and attractive to the target audience.

Four years ago the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unveiled a new logo. Church Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson announced the update and explained its significance during the Saturday evening session of the April 2020 general conference. President Nelson said this new symbol is a continuation of the effort he felt inspired to initiate in August 2018 to focus on the Church’s divinely revealed name.

The Church’s logo emphasizes the name of Jesus Christ and His central role in all the Church does. The name of the Church is contained within a rectangular shape that represents a cornerstone.

The design has biblical roots. The Apostle Paul, using a construction metaphor in a letter to the Saints in Ephesus, wrote that the Church is built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.

The center of the symbol is a representation of Thorvaldsen’s marble statue, the Christus. Jesus stands under an arch as a reminder of His emergence from the tomb three days after His death.

Marketing legend and author Al Ries said, “A logotype should … fit both eyes. If you want ultimate visibility, the logotype should be horizontal. The perfect proportions of a logotype are about one unit high and two and a quarter units wide; that's about the perfect proportions.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ0W-_9gTH8

The Church currently employs two versions of its 2018 logo, the design featuring the Christus, and a condensed, type-only version. Which one better catches your eye, or delivers "ultimate visibility"?

The Best Kind of Marketing

The type of marketing every business or organization desires the most is

Word of Mouth Marketing.

You typically see restaurants succeed (or suffer), thanks to word of mouth marketing or referrals. Some of the most successful eating establishments do little, if any, traditional advertising, thanks to their strong brand reputation.

I recently stopped to pick up lunch at a local Chick-fil-A restaurant. The drive-through line was two-cars wide and long, even though I was taking a lunch break in the late afternoon. This isn’t unusual for Chick-fil-A. Their loyal customers, including me, are willing to wait a little longer for one of their delicious chicken sandwiches.

Their friendly customer service makes the wait less painful. Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A, Inc. once said, “Our restaurant team members are great ambassadors for the brand. They love to be out there with our customers, in the dining room, at the drive-thru, delivering food, or serving at events. Operators do a great job of choosing the employees who work with them.”

Indeed, I’ve yet to have a negative customer service experience while ordering food from Chick-fil-A. “We like to say we recruit smiles,” said S. Truett Cathy, developer of the chicken sandwich and founder of Chick-Fil-A, in his autobiography, “How Did You Do It, Truett?”

“We can’t teach a sour person to be joyful,” wrote Cathy. “Smiles are there because the heart is behind the smile. What we can do is suggest actions that put smiles on the faces of others. Nothing brings a smile quicker than service that goes beyond the expected.”

New customers typically try a new product or service because of the brand’s positive reputation or recommendations from others. This is of course a win for the corporate marketing department. Is this type of marketing with courtesy possible for most businesses? Unfortunately, no. I’ve had my fair share of not-so-positive service experiences at businesses with indifferent or rude employees. This is a drain on the company bottom line and wastes precious marketing dollars.

When building a successful business, everything screams for attention: product, tech, design, distribution, marketing, sales, sometimes manufacturing, etc. Why prioritize customer service? In short, happy customers lead to more money, growth, and sustainability.

Customer service is one of the most under-valued assets in business, yet most important. If you can prove its worth, and get your team on board to harness its power, its success can impact every level of your organization.

Don't Press the Great Reset Button!

 

A radical movement called the Great Reset -- embraced by some government and business leaders in America -- poses a significant threat to liberty and free markets in the U.S. and around the world. President Joe Biden hasn’t officially endorsed the movement, but his ties to it are growing as he changes his long-held policy views to appease the far-left.

While it hasn’t yet gained widespread attention, the Great Reset is perhaps the biggest danger to capitalism and individual rights since the Soviet Union. The Great Reset is a global movement among some of the most powerful leaders all over the world to push the reset button on the entire global economy and replace it with something that they call stakeholder capitalism -- which is essentially socialism.

Many young people love socialism. They don’t like capitalism. Socialism appeals because it promises fairness and equality. Unfortunately, many from the rising generation don’t notice or appreciate what capitalism gives them. They protest in expensive Nikes, and tweet about it from the latest model iPhone.

 

The Great Reset is the blueprint for an unnecessary and complete transformation of the world economy. There will be no money, no private property, no democracy. Instead, every key decision (what you do for a living, how much you consume, whether you can take a vacation) will be decided for you by an unaccountable group of self-annointed experts.

 

Regarding the abolishment of private property: Amendment V of The Constitution says you cannot have your private property taken from you for public use without just compensation. Good luck slipping that one past the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Build Back Better is the slogan of the Great Reset.  The man who invented it, Klaus Schwab is a German engineer and economist best known as the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF holds an annual summit at Davos in Switzerland.

 

At its most recent event, the WEF released its plans for a global reset that includes a change in capitalism with a focus to “shift from short term and profit only to longer term, incorporating value creation for people and the planet.” The group intends to make this happen by dismantling capitalism by the year 2030.

 

It strikes me as ironic that some of the individuals pushing hardest for a socialist economy already have their own personal wealth -- protected either in family trusts or tax-free foundations. Leaders like Al Gore, who had multiple presentations at the 2020 WEF, are for every socialist program that will increase your taxes and limit your freedom. Yet, elites like Gore pay very little, if anything, in taxes, despite their vast wealth.

 

Joe Biden used the Build Back Better phrase as his presidential campaign slogan. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also inserts the phrase into some of his speeches.

 

The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports recently conducted a poll of 1,000 voters on December 6-7, 2020. The results proved the vast majority of Americans do not support the radical, globalist Great Reset movement, a movement that ultimately would upend market economies around the world. The movement particularly has the United States in its crosshairs.

Despite the fact that it appears the Biden administration is on board with the Great Reset, including Biden’s climate czar John Kerry, most Americans strongly oppose a move that would undermine U.S. sovereignty while increasing global governance.

 

Sources Cited

 

Justin Haskins: Biden Is Echoing Davos Agenda of ‘Great Reset’ of Capitalism

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2020/07/26/justin-haskins-biden-is-echoing-davos-agenda-of-great-reset-of-capitalism/

 

Delingpole: The Great Reset Is Trending. Here’s Why…

 

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/11/18/the-great-reset-is-trending-heres-why/

 

National Poll Reveals What Americans Think About the Radical ‘Great Reset’

https://stoppingsocialism.com/2020/12/poll-the-great-reset-rasmussen-heartland-institute/

Why Does Capitalism Have a Negative Reputation?

 

“Capitalism was the only system in history where wealth was not acquired by looting, but by production – not by force, but by trade – the only system that stood for man’s right to his own mind, to his work, to his life, to his happiness, to himself.” – Ayn Rand

 

The Mises Institute recently unveiled a series of short, animated videos that highlight the role capitalism has played in empowering the public, undermining tyranny, and promoting peace and prosperity. The Mises Institute is a nonprofit organization that encourages teaching and research in economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace. The institute gets its name form Ludwig von Mises, one of the most notable economists and social philosophers of the twentieth century.

These videos are ideal for parents looking to supplement their child's economics education at home, or adults looking to broaden their understanding of economics. Ludwig von Mises strongly believed that the fate of civilization rested upon the ideas that motivate the masses -- ideas including socialism -- currently receiving praise from academia and the rising generation.

“Today it seems evident that we are rearing a generation of Americans who do not understand the productive base of our society and how we came by such prosperity,” said Ezra Taft Benson in his 1977 book, This Nation Shall Endure. Benson was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and as the 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Benson continued, “Evidence of this fact is found in surveys taken among some of our high school and college students, the majority of whom, it is reported, believe private enterprise is a failure, although they don’t have a clear understanding of what private enterprise is. With them, as with many adults, there is a vague notion that it is some unfair system that tends to give special advantage to big corporations and wealthy individuals.”

Conservative leaders and economists warn that if we fail to win the battle of ideas, we will see the horrors of socialism and communism repeated. According to the Mises Institute, “Capitalism was revolutionary by recognizing property rights for all, regardless of background and social standing. Under capitalism, even the most vulnerable in society had an absolute claim to their own labor and property. It did not guarantee equality of property, but capitalism eliminated any right by anyone else to infringe upon it.”

Capitalism has empowered consumers -- rather than government -- to influence what is produced in the economy. This happens, thanks to profit. If enough people demand a good or service and it’s sold for more than it costs to produce, that means the production of that good or service is profitable.

Is it not our responsibility to warn the rising generation of the dangers of state control over individual liberty and the means of production? The collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing control will not lead to a utopia, but eventually to the horrors of the former Soviet Union, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.

Sources Cited

https://mises.org/

Economics for Beginners Series

https://mises.org/economics-beginners?utm_source=Mises+Institute+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=9dfef06608-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_15_02_03_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8b52b2e1c0-9dfef06608-228897856

This Nation Shall Endure

By Ezra Taft Benson, 1977, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah

Why We Need More Entrepreneurs

“Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create.” – Calvin Coolidge

 

 

Some economists will tell you that the wealth and living standards we enjoy today (and take for granted) happened because of a shift in social attitudes. There was actually a time in history when most people regarded merchants, inventors, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs with distrust and contempt. Thankfully, most rational people view this group with dignity and prestige. However, entrepreneurs today are increasingly viewed as less than heroes.

 

Entrepreneurs are, in fact, heroic figures. Their hard work and accomplishments are actually worth celebrating. In fact, most of the world is better off today because entrepreneurs were willing to attempt what others thought they knew couldn’t be done.

 

Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Benjamin Franklin, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison all dreamed, worked and persisted in the face of adversity. Their entrepreneurial visions extend beyond their existing horizons. One could argue their ideas, inventions, products transformed their generation’s dreams into the next generation’s necessities. Before January 9, 2007, when Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, we didn’t know we needed a touchscreen mobile phone with an iPod, camera and web-browsing capabilities, among other features.

 

According to the authors and scholars at the Foundation for Economic Freedom, “Societies are shaped by the ideals they embrace. A society that embraces entrepreneurship creates more jobs, produces more wealth, and allows individuals to exercise their creative talents. Cultures that value ambition, honesty, integrity, courage, productivity, long-term planning, and individual responsibility tend to create more economic growth and individual well-being than those who do not.”

 

In a fascinating YouTube video titled, Prosperity Paradox, Clayton Christensen and Efosa Ojomo, BYU Strategy Professional Conference 2018, Christensen and Ojomo reveal the limits of common economic development models, that tend to be top-down efforts, and offer a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation.

 

Christensen is the late Harvard Business School professor who coined the phrase, Disruptive Innovation. This describes a process by which a product or service initially takes root in simple applications at the bottom of a market—typically by being less expensive and more accessible—and then moves upmarket, eventually displacing established competitors. Ojomo leads the Global Prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a think tank based in Boston and Silicon Valley.

 

A couple of years ago Christensen and Ojomo published the book, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. In a Wall Street Journal review of The Prosperity Paradox, Rupert Darwall said: "The authors return the entrepreneur and innovation to the center stage of economic development and prosperity."

Their YouTube video presentation reveals how two brothers, entrepreneurs in Nigeria, created a noodle factory that made cheap meals available (about 20 cents each) and helped lift thousands in their community out of poverty, poor health, crime and a meager education.

 

Small business, already the most important source of innovative activity and new job opportunities in the world, can play an even more important role when the government eases restrictions on entrepreneurial incentives. Some may criticize my romanticizing entrepreneurs. However, societies are shaped by the ideals entrepreneurs embrace. If one of my children or grandchildren desired to emulate an entrepreneur who heroically struggled in uncharted territory and helped change the world for the better, I would be proud.

 

 

Sources Cited

 

https://courses.fee.org/courses/take/economics-in-one-day/texts/215691-culture-and-values

 

https://fee.org/articles/the-entrepreneur-on-the-heroic-journey/

 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/steve-jobs-debuts-the-iphone

 

https://fee.org/articles/small-business-and-entrepreneurship/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGQBccrVKoQ

 

https://efosaojomo.com/

Socialism Sucks

 

A recent Fox News article reports that Millennials and Gen Z-ers are becoming increasingly comfortable with socialism. This is according to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC), an organization that conducts a poll gauging Americans' attitudes toward socialism. The article revealed, “More young Americans are unaware that some 100 million people have been killed by communist parties in power over the last century, and many are unaware that the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for more deaths than Nazi Germany, according to the VOC.” The article mentions how Venezuela has turned from a market economy -- and a very prosperous economy at that -- into a humanitarian disaster through democratic socialism.

In their new book “Socialism Sucks, Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World” authors Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell detail their recent visit to Venezuela. They also toured Cuba, Sweden (not socialism), China, and ventured close to the border of North Korea.

Lawson is an economics professor at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Powell is a professor of economics at Texas Tech University. These two friends contend that “Most people seem somehow to have missed Economics 101 and don’t understand that socialism isn't a nice, cuddly government that takes care of everything for you so that you can remain an adolescent forever. No, we’ve seen it tried over and over again with catastrophic consequences.”

To prove their point, Lawson and Powell decided to visit countries that practice socialism and write a “truthful accounting of our travels, and [include] our excessive drinking.” They also wrote the book because “too many people seem to be dangerously ignorant of what socialism is, how it functions, and its historical track record.”

One common experience the authors share is how hard it is to find good beer—or sometimes any beer at all—in socialist countries. One of their most vivid trips was to socialist Venezuela. They do an admirable job of explaining how the country went from being the toast of liberals everywhere to being just toast. Sadly, their visit to this once-prosperous country introduced them to desperate Venezuela women who sell their hair for about $20, enough to provide food on the table for a month.

They also witnessed middle-class and upper-class Venezuelans toting suitcases stuffed full of cash into Columbia, only to return home with scant supplies including car tires, diapers and sugar. Inflation is so bad in Venezuela that the authors exchanged a $20 bill (US) for a foot-high stack of large denomination Venezuelan currency.

Lawson and Powell say the collapse of the economy in Venezuela is largely due to attempts at price control, seizure of private property by the government, and strict controls on imports and exports. They also report that beer is mostly unavailable in Venezuela because the government won’t let brewers import essential ingredients.

The authors then tour Cuba, where there are some restaurants, but menus are essentially identical and bland (no spices, seasonings, thanks to government embargos). The government-run hotels are worse than most low-budget motels in the US. They say the beer is bland and of very low quality. And, automobiles are expensive, even for moderately functional units from the 1950’s.

This is an excellent read, though some of the language is PG-13. Socialism Sucks is a brilliant approach to get some people, especially American socialists who have no idea what socialism really is, to understand why socialism really isn’t a good thing for anyone except those at the center of power.

Sources Cited

Millennials, Gen Z increasingly comfortable with socialism, Marxism, activists say

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/millenials-gen-z-socialism-marxism

Socialism Sucks, Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World

by Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell, Regnery Publishing, Washington, CD, 2019

Socialism Takes, Capitalism Creates

 “Socialism is on the way, get set for Sweden on steroids.” -- (Bill O’Reilly on the upcoming presidential election.)

There’s no doubt about it, socialism is on the rise in the United States of America. Its popularity is growing the most among younger generations. According to a Harris poll, unbelievably half of American Millennials and those belonging to Generation Z say they would prefer to live in a socialist country. Even more concerning, the growing general support around socialism is fueling policy proposals—including healthcare for all and the Green New Deal.

Conversely, the free-market system has been the biggest creator of wealth and prosperity the world has ever known. According to the Job Creators Network, capitalism has lifted billions of people out of poverty and is far more superior than any government program ever could be.

This new small business advocacy organization has launched a campaign to teach the truth about socialism. According to the Job Creators Network website, “Too many people don’t understand that the American dream cannot exist in a socialist country. While some may say socialism is well intentioned, the fact is it robs people of their independence, their dignity and their finances. Socialism leads to government dependence, suppression of ideas, and lower standards of living for those under its thumb.”

Troy Vincent, energy economics consultant and writer maintains,  “There is no more recent example of the many theoretically apparent pitfalls of socialism coming to life than in Venezuela.” Vincent says the South American nation is the latest example on the long list of countries to have fallen victim to the false promises of a socialist utopia.

Vincent explains that while journalists and activists like Michael Moore, politicians such as Bernie Sanders and various liberal economists have praised the socialist economic miracle in Venezuela -- with hyperinflation now leading to starvation and millions fleeing the country -- “it is inarguable that these praises were premature and wholly unwarranted.”

Enrique Padron grew up in Cuba under Fidel Castro’s regime. He later escaped to the United States. Padron risked his life to live in a free society with a free market. In a Job Creators Network video, Padron warned, "The problem in socialist Cuba is we didn't have freedom. You cannot pick against the government. You cannot even go to church. In 1994 I jumped in a boat with 20 other Cubans looking for freedom. We made it to the United States. ... I have had so many opportunities like being an owner of two restaurants, international sales manager for a company traveling the world and ... working for a United States congressman. ... Any of these opportunities wouldn't be possible in Cuba."

Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek once warned, “Socialism, while presented as a means of assuring equality, does so through ‘restraint and servitude’, while ‘democracy seeks equality in liberty’."

Now more than ever, it’s vital for families,  educators, business and civic leaders to instruct the rising generation about what socialism really is and why it has no place in our country. Future leaders must learn why short-term gains like free education, free healthcare, free stuff, etc. eventually disappears. The road to socialism eventually leads to long-term damaging consequences such as loss of freedoms, freedom of religion, speech and loss of economic opportunity.

Sources Cited

Donald J. Trump, RIP?

https://www.billoreilly.com/b/Donald-J.-Trump-RIP/984097000955302797.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=staff_column

Socialism Takes, Capitalism Creates Website

https://capitalismcreates.com/

Venezuela: Poster Child for Socialism, by Troy Vincent

https://mises.org/wire/venezuela-poster-child-socialism

Socialism Takes: Enrique Padron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMO6nyL-U50&feature=emb_title

The Road to Serfdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_to_Serfdom#cite_note-17