Trust is built in small moments: the answer to a complaint, the accuracy of an offer, and whether your website does what it promises. Avoid these ten habits.
- Publishing AI copy without checking it. Verify facts, prices, sources and promises. Add your own experience and remove claims you cannot support.
- Arguing with customers in public. Acknowledge the issue calmly, offer a next step and move account-specific details to a private channel.
- Inventing proof. Do not manufacture testimonials, customer photographs or project results. Label illustrative mockups so they cannot be mistaken for completed work.
- Buying or rewarding reviews. Ask for honest feedback without incentives or pressure. Follow the review platform’s rules.
- Using images without checking rights. Keep licences and permissions with the files. Finding an image online does not establish permission to use it.
- Sending unwanted promotions. Build a permission-based list, identify the sender and make unsubscribing straightforward. Check the CRTC’s CASL requirements.
- Oversharing customer information. Remove personal details from screenshots and get permission before publishing identifiable customer stories.
- Making vague promises. Explain pricing conditions, delivery limits and the evidence behind environmental or performance claims.
- Ignoring account access. Give people individual accounts and appropriate permissions. Remove access when their role ends and protect important accounts with multi-factor authentication.
- Leaving broken journeys online. Test forms, payment routes, booking links and mobile menus. A polished page still fails if a customer cannot finish the task.
Your next move: Review your latest five posts and your main contact page. Correct one unsupported claim, one confusing instruction and one broken or outdated detail.
About the Author
Tina Kempling, the Lean Green Team Leader at Imagine That with over 35 years of experience in the print industry, newspaper and magazine advertising.
As an industry-certified designer since 1991, Tina knows her stuff when it comes to marketing vision. But what sets her apart is her understanding of advertising and marketing in today’s digital and print market. She can help companies tap into the incredible marketing power in new and creative ways. Ready to take your marketing game to the next level? Give Tina a shout!