In his "The Attention Age Doctrine, Part 2", which was released today (you can get it for free), Rich Schefren states that: "The Web is emerging as the world's biggest lie detector and truth-finder", meaning businesses can't fool customers anymore because customers can post their reviews, experiences and opinions online for all to see.

Not to contradict the point he's making, but I think the web has equal potential to be a lie spreader and truth-confuser. No matter how good a product is, no matter how good your customer support is, no matter how clear and honest your sales materials are, there's always going to be someone out there who buys your product, doesn't understand how to use it, thinks it's worthless and that all of your marketing materials are hype and lies, and spreads their opinion all over every forum they can find.

People are going to read that, and many will give it more weight than the opinions they read from people who report good experiences with the product. Why? Because they distrust businesses. Because they suspect that people who're lauding your product are lying in order to make affiliate sales. Because they fear that even if your product works well for most people, they might be one of the unlucky ones for whom it doesn't work.

The point Rich is making is of course correct. Download the document to read it in full context.

If only the customer really were always right...