There is a really boring Serbian saying that parents love to tell their kids:

"If others jumped into a well, would you do it too ?"

It's used as a counter argument for kids who are saying "but everyone else is doing it!"

Although it is really boring to me -- and thousands of other people who grew up with it -- this is a great principle that can be used in your marketing.

"Stubborn Serbian kids and a great marketing principle in the same sentence? Prove it, Filip!"

Alright alright, everything will make sense in a minute.

What I am saying is: If you see 'everyone else' using a tactic in their marketing, it doesn't mean you should do it too.

A great example of this are fake reviews.

For example, you open up a Shopify store and write dozens of fake reviews for your products. But hey, it's fine because everyone else is doing it anyway.

First of all, that's not true -- not everyone is doing it.

And second, just because a lot of people are doing this, it doesn't mean it's okay to do it.

Okay, let's take a step back. Some people would argue that writing fake reviews is basically the 'fake it till you make it' tactic/mentality, and you just have to do it until you 'make it'.

My response to that? What a load of crap!

Fake it till you make it is okay when you're talking to yourself. It can be good for your confidence and give you motivation.

But with fake reviews you're intentionally misleading (aka lying to) potential customers just to get them to buy your stuff. While we're at it, why don't we simply steal their credit cards to pay for a 2-week vacation in southern France?

Legally speaking, fake reviews are a grey area because they're so hard to prove. But morally speaking? It's just plain fu#*!ng wrong.

"Oh give me a break, like you've never written fake reviews yourself."

I am not proud to say that I have written a couple dozen of them back in the day. (Although not for myself.)

The reason I did it is because I had little savings, was living off my parents' allowance and really needed the money.

So when a client or a boss needs me to do something like that, I am not going to quit over a handful of fake reviews.

But when I'm in good shape financially, I never accept any excuse for lying to customers. Because I believe in David Ogilvy's famous quote:

"The customer is not a moron. She is your wife."

In fact, whichever client I work with, I give my best to force them to be completely transparent with their customers.

Not because I am a divine human being that does everything correctly (far from it). But because I believe it's the right thing to do.

What other things is 'everyone else' doing or believing that you don't agree with? Hit the 'reply' button and let me know!

See you around,

Filip

P. S. Asking a friend for a review or a testimonial is completely okay, as long as they're being honest. Because this is like asking any other customer to write a review.