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What's Wrong With the Truth?
-- by Lisa Ann Schreier
This writer has been getting MORE than a little flak from readers and co-workers alike
about her beliefs concerning timeshare advertising. As regular readers will know, I have been talking about a change
that I feel is long overdue in timeshare advertising---the concept of telling the truth and advertising our message
to people who are interested in and can afford our product. This is the way that most other products and services
are advertised, at least the successful ones.
However, I have been told both in person and via e-mail that timeshare is different. Timeshares need the "hook"
or the "prize" or some other incentive for people to view the product. Why is this? Why are timeshares
different? Think about your own consumer behavior for a moment. If someone offered you a bribe (and if we are all
honest with ourselves, we would admit that the discounted hotel rooms, the free tickets and the continental breakfasts
are all bribes) to go look at a car would you go look at the car? Well, if you are like me, you may very well look
at the car.
But take this one step deeper. I would think that there was something inherently wrong with the car, the dealer
or the entire system for them to bribe me with gifts. We keep trying to tell the public and ourselves that timeshare
has come a long way in the past 25 years, that the industry is respectable and that we are all professionals. My
gut feeling is that we really don't believe any of this. If we did believe it, then we would merely advertise and
get the word out to the public. But we don't…we keep up the bribery, and thereby continue to diminish our profession.
It is often said that actions speak louder than words and this is one surefire example of that.
The biggest mistake advertisers can make is isolating themselves from their audience. If we really think as consumers,
instead of ensconcing ourselves in our timeshare ivory towers we would ask ourselves "what are we so afraid
of?" One of my recent purchasers told me that the best thing we could do to improve our product was to increase
the price of the promotional package. She said that the discounted price and the hooks made it sound "too
good to be true" and "that we were hiding something". It took a lot of hard work and persistence
to overcome that feeling that she had, and in the end, she was more than happy with her timeshare purchase and
complimented me on my job of overcoming her well-founded fears.
It is high time to stop being afraid of the truth. It is high time we as an industry face up to our biggest fears
and trust enough in ourselves and in our industry. If you truly believe in your product, you'll have the confidence
to strip away all of the bribes, the hoaxes and the double talk. Who is going to be first?
As usual, your comments and feedback are appreciated.
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Lisa Ann Schreier
is a dynamic, outspoken, devout believer in the power of advertising done correctly. Lisa brings a wealth of advertising,
marketing and promotional knowledge to her many business interests. She is the director of her own marketing/advertising
agency, a full-time timeshare salesperson, a contributing writer and a part time Cast Member of the Walt Disney
World Resort. After one too many long cold winters in Chicago, she now happily lives in the Orlando area where
she is known for her consumer insights and "back to basics" style of business. When she is not working,
sharing insights with the best bartender on Disney property (you'll be famous soon!) or learning the hard way that
the sun really is much stronger in Orlando than it ever was up north, she occasionally runs back to Chicago to
catch up on the best radio station in the world and see some incredible concerts. Lisa can be reached at GRQ1@aol.com. Check out her business ad here.
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