Misrepresentation – beware

Misrepresentation is front of mind today following a hilarious evening-in with a friend. The long story short? Well, an old flame of mine has been found by said friend on an internet dating site they went on. So what do two friends with an IPad and glass of Voignier in their hand do? Yes, we had a good gander at his profile.

What my friend had held back, for comedy value, was the fact that the words I had said to him 2 years ago, to explain why we weren’t going to trip down the aisle one day, were there in black and white – but twisted so the very things I said he lacked, he said he had! He had rebranded himself as the exact brand I had kindly pointed out he wasn’t.

Clever heh? Well only for a short while. Like any brand positioning and design – you’ve got to be honest about your strengths and challenges from the start. The consumer is not a fool … so don’t treat them like one; be honest and they’ll respect you for it. After close inspection the veneer can very quickly start to peel and the resentment the consumer will feel when they discover your hidden challenges will triple, compared to if you had been honest from the start.

So essentially, come on ‘X’, don’t try and be someone else; be yourself, warts and all and just let the consumer (?) know you’re working on any slight foibles you have and I promise you, the loyalty you’ll get will last a lot longer than if you had covered them up.