All year long we shake our heads in wonder as we observe the "interesting" sales tactics employed by certain less-than-reputable characters who share the hair loss treatment category with us and market their competing hair loss treatment products. From a purely self-interested vantage point, we are absolutely delighted that such a high percentage of our competitors seem to act like used car salesmen from hell. It makes everything we do look saintly and golden by comparison.
On the other hand, we also comprehend that good honest people are investing their trust, their dollars and their "hair" in the products these people sell. So at the risk of coming across as "holier than thou" please allow us to suggest a few New Year's Resolutions that we hope will fall into their hands. And in case you guys actually happen to read this, you KNOW who you are. ;)
RESOLUTION #1: STOP LYING!
Okay. We get it. You're good at twisting the truth. Whether you guys have come out of the used car sales field or the sidewalk shell game business or whatever swamp you previously paddled around in, your natural inclination is to concoct fairy tales. But stop it! Because by lying to your customers you're harming them. When a person is suffering pattern hair loss they're vulnerable and in their panic and desperation they will reach for anything that sounds like it might possibly have a tiny chance of working, data be damned. So you promise them the moon but deliver the equivalent of toad urine. Nice, very nice. <shaking head in disgust> Instead of exploiting this weakness, perhaps you should consider how you would feel if it was your brother or your mother suffering from pattern hair loss. Or how about if it was you losing your hair? Would you appreciate being scammed and lied to? No, of course not. So stop doing it to everyone else!
RESOLUTION #2: STOP PUBLISHING FAKE CONSUMER REVIEW WEBSITES
This one goes way past simply being irritating and all the way to reprehensible and disgusting. You guys put up a bunch of fake consumer review websites and make it look like it has been published by some actual consumer advocate group. Then you populate the page with a bunch of nonsense that makes it look like your brand came out on top in some amorphous set of assessments. How do we know these websites are fake? Well, for starters, they're appearing on sponsor link ads, so who is paying for them, Mother Theresa? Also, there is absolutely no valid contact information for whomever is really behind the website. If these sites were legit, why would they hide their identity so thoroughly? Fact is, this is a SCAM. You're STEALING from people. So Stop it!
RESOLUTION #3: PUT THE CUSTOMER FIRST
What does this mean? It means genuine customer service. It means a fair return's policy. It means not playing shell games with your customer's trust. It means treating your customers as you would like to be treated yourself if you were suffering from a problem like pattern hair loss and needed 'actual factual truth'. Do unto others ain't just good advice for religious people. It works for the rest of us walking around in this world too.
RESOLUTION #4: INVEST IN ACTUAL GENUINE REAL TRUE VALID RESEARCH
Here's one that drives us crazy. Surely, you guys are making money 'hand over fist'. Would it kill you to hire some legit science folks and undertake some basic safety and efficacy work? Don't you owe this to your customers? Just think of it as a sensible investment in your longterm commercial success.
RESOLUTION #5: ATTEND SOME OF THE SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS IN THE FIELD
We've been regular participants at numerous meetings in the hair loss research environment for more than two decades. We do this for lots of reasons, but first and foremost because we understand that we have a genuine responsibility to our customers to stay abreast of what's happening in the research field. Personally, I can count on one fingerless hand the number of times we've seen our competitors in attendance. Yes, that's a joke. I actually have fingers on my hands. But even if I didn't, the point would still be true. So for this resolution, we implore you guys to stop with the pseudo-science and join the rest of us who are trying to develop demonstrably valid R&D improvements.
RESOLUTION #6: MAKE YOUR WORDS CONSISTENT WITH YOUR ACTIONS
Stop with the fake photos, stop the pseudo-science mumbo jumbo, the marketing shell games, the fake consumer review websites, the damnable, perpetual, endless stream of LYING!
Just.
Tell.
The.
Truth.
Why is this a hard thing? It shouldn't be... Should it?
