A Lying, Liar Bites the Dust. Here’s The Story…

From atop a cliff on the Amalfi Coast in Italy…

A few days ago, I visited the island of Capri.

That’s a hunk of volcanic rock filled with fancy villas, overpriced bistros and shops, and tourists — lots and lots of tourists.

It’s a beautiful place — the kind that attracts movie stars and other celebrities whom you might spot sipping an espresso at an outdoor cafe.

On the day I visited, I didn’t see any stars. But I saw plenty of tourists (I know. I’m one of them). Four cruise ships docked in nearby Naples, and many of the passengers hopped the ferry to Capri.

A few blocks from the island’s largest town square, I strolled past a clothing boutique and saw a rack with a sign that said, “Last Day Today 30 Euros.”

Call my cynical, but I don’t think this was the “last day” of the “sale.” If I ferried over to Capri the next day, I’d see the same rack with some of the same clothes, at the same price, with the same sign.

This is called “false scarcity,” and I don’t like it.

Marketers use scarcity (“time is running out” or “limited number available”) to encourage action.

FOMO (fear of missing out) is a powerful emotion. When a human thinks they may miss out on the deal, they’re more likely to buy.

If you can honestly say, “today is the last day,” or “only 5 seats remain,” go for it.

But don’t lie about it.

Back in January, I ripped a company for lying about it on their web site.

The company, Clixlo, offered a $400 discount on a lifetime license for its marketing automation software — $97, instead of $497.

If you visited Clixlo’s website on January 3, you saw this (display images in your email software if you don’t see it):

I visited the site the next day and saw a new message:

On Friday, 1/5 I visited the site. Guess what I saw?

Come on, you can do it. Guess. This is easy.

You’re right! It said, “Lifetime Deal Ends Today! Friday 1/5!

Since January, I’ve visited Clixlo’s site occasionally. And every time, the company pitched the lifetime deal and screamed “Ends Today!”

(Sigh!)

It’s the Never-Ending “Ends Today” Offer

But here’s the funny thing (and I mean REALLY funny — except for the poor souls who fell for Clixlo’s siren song)…

The offer has finally ended.

Clixlo is shutting down. Apparently, the company couldn’t make ends meet selling $97/lifetime packages.

So, 10 months after promising a “lifetime,” the company notified all its customers to scram. Customers will have to transfer their accounts (on which many operate their entire marketing operations).

Clixlo encouraged its customers to transfer to GoHighLevel (GHL). Clixlo white-labeled the GHL platform to create its $97/lifetime offer.

Guess how much Clixlo’s customers will pay for GHL?

Give up?

They’ll pay $97…

…per month!

Lots of months in a lifetime.

So you can imagine, there are lots and lots of lots of Clixlo customers who aren’t very happy right now.

I don’t blame them…

…except I kind of do.

You have to be on guard for those “too good to be true” deals — especially when scarcity is concerned.

I’m not knocking scarcity. I’ve used this tactic myself…

…when I can HONESTLY claim time is running out or supplies are limited.

But I’m also sick of the lying liars and the marketing lies they tell.

And when one of them goes out of business, as Clixlo is about to, I say — as my friends in Capri might — “Arrivederci!” (and good riddance).

Speaking of GoHighLevel, I run a company called Implementum that offers a highly customized, AI-enhanced version of GHL for businesspeople who want to automate operations (marketing, sales, and more) without the tech headaches.

If you’d like to know more about Implementum, reply to this email with “Ciao bella.” I’ll circle back next week with more about Implementum…

…after I return from the Amalfi coast.