Endorsements - What About Them?

To clarify, here is the Merriam-Webster definition of endorsement:

2 a : to approve openly - endorse an idea -; especially : to express support or approval of publicly and definitely - endorse a mayoral candidate - b : to recommend (as a product or service) usually for financial compensation - shoes endorsed by a pro basketball player -

Whether or not you are paid, endorsements should be taken seriously and not handed out lightly. It should also be considered who's endorsement is displayed about us and/or our products.

Some sellers use endorsements as a means to help potential customers feel more confident about buying from them. Legitimate endorsements can be quite effective in building buyer confidence.

Endorsements can also tear down that confidence when they are later found to come from someone of a tarnished reputation, if they are later found to be fraudulently left and so on. Sellers need to realize the full importance of endorsements. The endorsement mess for Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps and the long list of athletes who have fallen from grace also happens with ecommerce sales.

Some people believe in leaving endorsements simply because a seller was helpful, even though they bought nothing from the seller - some leave endorsements for their friends, simply because they like them - some people leave endorsements for you if you leave them one - many people leave endorsements, yet they have never purchased from or conducted any kind of business with the endorsee and the list goes on. We believe that leaving an endorsement for these reasons is not only wrong but it also dilutes the value of any true endorsements the seller has recieved.

In our opinion, leaving an endorsement should not be taken lightly. If you buy something from a seller and you are thrilled with the product and the service, you might likely want to leave an endorsement. This would be a proper reason to do so. You should pick your words carefully and be specific as to why you are leaving the endorsement.

Many people do not realize that the FTC has laws, rules and guidelines in place that govern endorsements anywhere they are used to sell products. Here is what they have to say.

In Part:

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Click here to read the full text of the revised Endorsement & Testimonial Guidelines.