Valuable marketing tip: never overstate the value (2 great photos to illustrate)

I never miss an opportunity to take a picture of funny things I see when I'm out and about. One common misstep in marketing involves overstating the value of something beyond what your company can deliver. When marketing practitioners overstate the value of something, it causes anger and distrust from their customers. The photo below is from a menu at a Mexican restaurant we stumbled upon in Hilton Head recently.

Cheap Swill Wine....Probably out of the box....(aged on the truck)

Is that not brilliant? It's crappy wine, but they've chosen to not overstate its value buy calling it the house "special," or something along those lines. They are telling it like it is and making customers smile. With that description, it's doubtful anyone has ever bothered to complain or send it back. Customers were told what they were getting. If I ordered it and it was truly awful, I'd probably just shrug my shoulders and laugh, knowing that I had been warned.

I'm not quite sure what to say about this next photo.

NICEPKG

At first, I assumed it was a young 20-something-year-old driver with an inflated ego. This is the kind of thing my own 16-year-old would find funny to do, so I immediately assumed it was a misguided youth. I had the opportunity to pull up next to the driver at a light and was slightly horrified to discover that he looked to be my father's age. He might have been driving his son's car somewhere for the day. He might have owned a reputable UPS packaging franchise and the vanity plate was simply a form of marketing (I know, it's a stretch). Whatever the case, it's a clear example of over-promising something you might not be able to deliver on...and something with a rather subjective value (I would imagine...the light turned, thankfully).

While a lot of marketing is all about choosing words to attract customers or buyers, one must be careful about not overstating the value of what you are selling. Often it can backfire and then you've lost the trust of your audience completely. This is especially true in real estate. My mother, sister and brother were all realtors, so I've heard a lot of the euphemisms out there! Cozy = too small for a flat screen television; retro décor = vinyl floors and avocado green appliances; mechanic's dream = the house is dump, but the garage is huge; unique design = flawed floor plan where you might have to walk through the pantry to access the bathroom.

Marketing is about finding that perfect balance between promoting the benefits, yet keeping it real enough that you won't lose trust by overstating the value of that NICEPKG you might be selling.