The fine print filter

It is my privilege to learn from all kinds of experts on consumer behavior, from all over North America. But there is one consumer expert from whom I have learned the most: My wife. Julie is the procurement director of the Anderson household, as well as our chief financial officer. (Okay, truth be told, she’s the CEO.)

She brought a piece of direct mail advertising down to my office the other day, and I was glad to indulge her protest of the campaign’s strategy. The piece was from a health and fitness club. The offer on the front page invited new members to join for just a $19 enrollment fee, and added—in very small print—the phrase, “Details inside.” On the pamphlet’s interior, in even smaller print, the offer was amended to say, “…plus a one-time administrative fee of $75.”

Like my wife, you might be interested in knowing the difference between an enrollment fee ($19) and an administrative fee ($75). She called the number in the brochure, and was basically told that the administrative fee was designed to cover the cost of administering the enrollment. (What!?) Asking for a more specific explanation, the club’s (frustrated) representative finally said, “That helps us cover the costs involved in soliciting new members.”

My wife’s response? “Why should I fund your new membership drive!? And anyway, why wouldn’t you just say… Enrollment fee: $94? It’s not like people wouldn’t figure it out, eventually, anyway!”

Implications: The consumer is living in a world where things—even long-held assumptions about well-known companies—are not always what they seem (e.g., the stock market, the investment bank, real estate appreciation). They’re more likely to consider the downside of a purchase, and they’re more careful to read the fine print.

Are your products, services, and campaign materials designed to survive… in a world of increasingly suspicious consumers? Does your company make an offer to the consumer (in entirety or in part) that it is not proud of? Is it possible that as soon as your consumers see fine print, they might think you’re trying to hide something?

What would happen if you took the small print on the back of the package… and put it in bold on the front? Would your consumer take you off their consideration list? Or might they appreciate your candor?

Mike Anderson