Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Deceptive advertising practices may pull the unwary customer into a store or office the first time or two, but over time many will become wise to the ploys. A business that is bustling at first when naive consumers come to their siren's call of Bigger! Better! Cheaper! may eventually be straining their ears for even one footstep of a customer as the hype is replaced with dawning truth and buyers look elsewhere for more sterling value.

If a company is unable to provide what's promised, word will spread. News articles abound with alerts for any and every scam that occurs as well as for less than stellar products and services as they arrive on the markerplace. With television, internet and cel phones abounding, consumers can quite literally be kept up to date within seconds. Booming business can be brought to a halt as these swiftly-informed customers turn away and look elsewhere.

In order to thrive, a business must not only attract commerce, it must be able to maintain it. And in order to last, companies must either back up what they promise or truly improve on what they already have to offer. Improve or perish is a very old standard but is just as true now as it ever has been. Boosting an ad campaign without having quality product can be and has been a death knell for any number of ventures. Customers are loyal to brands that serve them well. Deluded customers will not continue to return.

So the bottom line is that a smart owner will avoid tricking buyers into partaking of his or her commodities. Unhappy customers will not only tell their friends and neighbors but now via the news media and the world wide web they can tell the whole world. Offering quality product and advertising honestly about it is the only smart way to increase business and maintain customer base.

Learn more about this author, Kirsten Locke.
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