Chris Cardell is a marketing consultant. Four years or so ago I paid a considerable sum to be part of a series of teleseminars aimed at helping improve my business’s profits largely through better marketing. I’m not a massive fan of his particular style which I find somewhat arrogant and a little too smooooth for my taste but I do think the training I received was worthwhile and useful.
I distinctly remember one phone call in which he said something like “who do you think decided that Paul McKenna was the UK’s ‘leading’ hypnotist? He did!” and much of what Cardell says has to be seen against that background. However, having said all that, when you strip it all down his training is useful and worthwhile.
I was less than surprised when I read on Duncan Bannatyne’s Twitter feed about action that had been taken by a third party regarding a mailing Cardell had sent out. You can see a full account on the SEOCreative blog.
This was certainly clever in that it succeeded in fooling a number of people into thinking it was a personal recommendation. So it satisfied the first requirement of good direct mail in that it got the “prospect’s” attention. However, the ultimate purpose of marketing is to secure sales and I can’t believe that many people would have gone through the entire process of buying whatever he was selling without realising that it was a fake letter. And as soon as they realise this, they’re going to have one of two reactions:
- He’s a fraud and I won’t trust him with my money
- That’s clever, I want to learn how to fool people too!
I can’t imagine that either of these responses is the desired one surely? The net result is that any faith I have in Cardell has now been destroyed: if his company is prepared to resort to such misleading tactics (indeed, the Advertising Standards Authority agree it was misleading) then I don’t feel I can trust him at all to be straight with me. I still get benefit out of the materials I purchased from him a few years back but nothing would persuade me to buy from him again. Another customer lost.
Related posts:
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I too received that mailshot and so did a number of other people I know and I think we all agreed it was clever but no one had either of the two alternative reactions you suggest. I even looked at his website to find out more and what put me off was the considerable sum to purchase his material, a point that you mention above. The video interviews on his website certainly show a lot of happy people taking his advice.