Deception in Advertising Can Cause Low Trust and Lost Business

I just saw a television advertisement touting automaker Ford’s powertrain warranty as the best from a full-line automaker. It is now five years and 60,000 miles. Something bothered me. I remember seeing advertisements from Hyundai offering a ten-year and 100,000-mile warranty.

Turns out I was right. Ford’s warranty isn’t better than Hyundai’s. Then I read an article in USA Today that had an explanation of Ford’s claim. Ford claims that their warranty is the best from a “full-line automaker.” Ford’s position is that Hyundai is not a full-line automaker because they don’t sell pickup trucks.

Is there some fine print that I need to read here? Ford’s claim is almost misleading.

This is simple. People like to do business with people and companies they know, like and trust. Mislead me with a false or almost false claim, and you will start to lose my trust, which may cost you my business – forever.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.