1. Telling your boss that that award you just paid for with your last marketing dollars was a vanity hoax?
2. Having nearly one-half of the recipients of your "Constant Contact" message about your "Best of (Insert Town/City) in the category of (Insert Business Category) Award" respond to tell you that you are an idiot.
3. The fact that you just stopped reading so that you can delete all traces of "that" email and smash the trophy case you just had installed to little bits.
I thought it was funny when I recieved this message at work becuase it was awarded for Garden Valley, Idaho where there is no other business like ours. There are no stop lights in our county, let alone people willing to sit around to vote on stuff like this.
I know, some companies get so many awards, they just can't keep up with them all, but they seem to find a way to send press releases about them all.
They call these types of scams Vanity Scams. They aren't necessarily illegal because you get everything you pay for. The only problem is that you are paying to advertise that you are gulible, which most of us don't want to advertise. There are a bunch of other types of Vanity Scams including paying to be included in a book with other whos.
I like to be recognized. I like awards. I would like this blog to win an award. I especially like awards of cash, baked goods, or free golf. And for some of these awards, I will allow the giver to take advantage of me, but I still get something. My hope, as a reasonable person who desires awards and gifts, is that I rarely if ever allow my vanity to make me pay to embarrass myself.
Here is my plan, if Ihave to pay for an award, it probably isn't really a reward. A quick Internet check will most likely show you two things. First, the company doesn't seem to make too much sense. In this case, once you start looking at their "Press Room", you discover they are ad hoc and have no tie to USLBA. Also, do you really want an award from a company that says, "Supporting Local Business is Good Business". For who and why?
My favorite line on their website is, "We know what you want; education, training and professional development in local business marketing." You do get all those things, and an award (for the small price of...).
Let me know your thoughts on the following.
1. What makes this sort of things so embarrasing to fall for.?
2. What other examples have you (or your friend) fallen for?
3. Would you like to form a business to help other people gain an excelent education, training and professional develop in local business markeing?
2. Having nearly one-half of the recipients of your "Constant Contact" message about your "Best of (Insert Town/City) in the category of (Insert Business Category) Award" respond to tell you that you are an idiot.
3. The fact that you just stopped reading so that you can delete all traces of "that" email and smash the trophy case you just had installed to little bits.
I thought it was funny when I recieved this message at work becuase it was awarded for Garden Valley, Idaho where there is no other business like ours. There are no stop lights in our county, let alone people willing to sit around to vote on stuff like this.
Read this article for more details about the U.S. Local Business Association.
It became even funnier when I googled "USLBA Award" and saw the number of companies that sent out press releases. I quit after about 300 entries all saying, "The 2009 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USLBA... There were over 60,000 matches to the query which really makes this list helpful when deciding who you don't want to do business with.
I know, some companies get so many awards, they just can't keep up with them all, but they seem to find a way to send press releases about them all.
They call these types of scams Vanity Scams. They aren't necessarily illegal because you get everything you pay for. The only problem is that you are paying to advertise that you are gulible, which most of us don't want to advertise. There are a bunch of other types of Vanity Scams including paying to be included in a book with other whos.
I like to be recognized. I like awards. I would like this blog to win an award. I especially like awards of cash, baked goods, or free golf. And for some of these awards, I will allow the giver to take advantage of me, but I still get something. My hope, as a reasonable person who desires awards and gifts, is that I rarely if ever allow my vanity to make me pay to embarrass myself.
Here is my plan, if Ihave to pay for an award, it probably isn't really a reward. A quick Internet check will most likely show you two things. First, the company doesn't seem to make too much sense. In this case, once you start looking at their "Press Room", you discover they are ad hoc and have no tie to USLBA. Also, do you really want an award from a company that says, "Supporting Local Business is Good Business". For who and why?
My favorite line on their website is, "We know what you want; education, training and professional development in local business marketing." You do get all those things, and an award (for the small price of...).
Let me know your thoughts on the following.
1. What makes this sort of things so embarrasing to fall for.?
2. What other examples have you (or your friend) fallen for?
3. Would you like to form a business to help other people gain an excelent education, training and professional develop in local business markeing?
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