ARTICLE:

Your product or service could be compelling, your price amazing, and your sales letter "hypnotic" ... but if your satisfaction guarantee looks shady, your prospects are out the door.

The wording, the structure, and the terms of your guarantee can make or break the sale, and are a direct reflection on you and your company.

What is your money back guarantee saying about YOU?

Let's take a look at three sales-repelling no-no's from the consumer's perspective, before we get into the legalities:

NO-NO #1: Putting important clauses in parentheses, or burying them in the copy.

Watch what terms you put in parentheses. Even innocent clauses referred to in this way can give your prospect a feeling of underlying "shadiness."

For instance, you might say:

"If you're not overjoyed with XYZ Hair Care Product, simply return it within 90 days (with all of the stay fresh seals in tact, all jars unopened, with original packaging, and in resalable condition), and we'll refund 100% of your money with no hassle!"

No hassle, eh? Could've fooled me.

This guarantee sounds like the merchant is trying to pull a fast one on the consumer. It gives off that "Oh yeah, by the way, this isn't really that important, but I just thought I should mention it, I hope you don't mind..." vibe that screams "scam alert!"

Be up-front about the terms of your guarantee, and you'll reduce refund and return disputes later on down the line.

NO-NO #2: Offering an industry minimum guarantee term.

30 days appears to be our industry standard for the minimum term of a guarantee, although I've seen a 10 day money-back guarantee before (on a VERY shoddy product, mind you).

Offering such a short-term guarantee can make prospects feel that you're afraid they'll realize your product is worthless, if given sufficient time to try it out.

For instance, the 10-day guarantee above made ME think that merchant was hoping customers would only realize the crappy quality of the product AFTER their guarantee ran out, and/or would forget to ask for a refund in time.

Also -- especially with information products -- some people may buy immediately, and not USE (or read) the product until AFTER the covered 30-day period. Why? They may not have the time, and are simply trying to purchase before a possible price increase.

I've put off purchasing products with 30-day guarantees quite a few times, as I wouldn't have been able to read them within that first month. And later, I forgot to go back and order the product (or decided I didn't really need it after all), and the merchant LOST THAT SALE.

The moral?

REWARD impulse shoppers!

If you're like most Internet merchants, you already have a hard enough time convincing a good percentage of your prospects to buy. Don't have your guarantee, of all things, give them a reason not to buy your product right away.

NO-NO #3: Putting ambiguous clauses in your guarantee.

I ran across a website that assured me that my success was "almost guaranteed!" with their service.

Hunh?! Seem a little off to you??

I know there's a high "duh" factor in this one, but it must not have been as obvious to this clueless merchant.

We as business owners can get so caught up in trying to protect ourselves in our guarantees that we forget to take a step back and actually LOOK at what we're saying.

My advice?

This merchant should focus on what they CAN guarantee, and toss that iffy, credibility-killing clause out the window.

NO-NO #4: Breaking the LAW!

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) *requires* all U.S. businesses selling consumer products to have a guarantee (referred to as a "warranty" below) on goods over $15. (Commercial products seem to be exempt from this law.)

Warranties are your promise, as a merchant, to stand behind your product. The law recognizes two types of warranties: implied and express. There are also two types of implied warranties.

(1) The implied warranty of "merchantability" is a merchant's promise that the goods sold will do what they're supposed to do, and that there's nothing significantly wrong with them.

(2) The implied warranty of "fitness for a particular purpose" is a promise you make *automatically* -- just by selling your product -- when your customer relies on your advice that a product can be used for some specific purpose.

(3) Express warranties, on the other hand, are promises you make (voluntarily) about your product, or your commitment to remedy the defects and malfunctions that some customers may experience. In other words, a satisfaction guarantee of sorts.

For more detailed info and examples of these terms, see the "Understanding Warranties" section of the FTC's article, "A Businessperson's Guide to Federal Warranty Law".

IN CONCLUSION...

As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when you're constructing your money-back guarantee -- I'll bet even more than you bargained for. Just remember the importance of offering an ethical, easy to understand, law-abiding guarantee, and you'll surely be rewarded with increased sales.