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Beware of Copycat Credibility
I saw something today that disturbed me a bit (see pic). What you see is a free icon set I found with the standard 30, 60 and 90-Day Money Back Guarantee emblazoned in gold. I’ve been seeing similar graphics on websites more and more lately. We’re partly at fault because FutureNow helps businesses of all sizes by recommending design elements like these be put on their “to-do list.”
The disturbing thought is that if this style of “starburst” guarantee seal has become so popular that there are free, downloadable icon sets out there, isn’t that beginning to hurt their credibility? If everyone’s assurances are copycats, can a devastating loss of credibility be far behind? When something becomes a commodity, it loses value.
I don’t fault the designer, who was simply satisfying a perceived demand and trying to promote themselves and make a living. But, I think we’re hurting ourselves as digital marketers when we settle for the same old generic approach.
When it comes to security, consumers do want to see the same badges across the Net; think Verisign, McAfee, and Digicert. But, when it comes to business guarantees, I believe seeing the same badges across the Net will hurt credibility over time; it almost has to work that way.
So how do we fix this and make sure consumers find us credible over the long haul?
- Demand more of your design/er – Let your creative resources be creative. Ask for custom assurance graphics that reflect your overall site design, brand, and voice. Better yet, ask them to be creative over and over again, and test your way to the winner.
- Substantiate the claim – Make whatever visual element you come up with link to more information. One of our clients has a guarantee linked to a popup window with simple (yet specific) content written in plain language explaining what they guarantee, how to get your money back, and how they are willing to bank on your satisfaction. In other words, put some skin in the game.
- Avoid the “Set it and forget it” mentality – Last year’s assurances are this year’s BS, and will likely be even less effective next year. The competitive landscape is always changing, and consumers get savvier and more skeptical every day. Just another reason to Always Be Testing.
Aside from my example, I’ve not seen much creativity in this area of web design. Does anyone have examples they’d like to share of great, custom guarantee graphics? We promise not to copycat you 
About the author
Brendan Regan is a Senior Persuasion Analyst. Prior to joining FutureNow, he worked in B2C online travel and B2B marketing. He likes to grok web design, user experience, and persuasive copywriting.
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October 5th, 2009
7:36 pm
I think what has become commoditized is the guarantees themselves – not simply the icons. But you’re right, if everyone has the same guarantee, its effectiveness as a signal of credibility is diluted. The same can be said for testimonials, customers reviews, etc. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t have those things on your site. One must think like Shoeline.com and figure out how to up the ante. Recall, Shoeline.com revealed the return rates of their products, which increased sales by 26%. The company stood out and gained credibility because it revealed what no competitor was willing to reveal.
October 5th, 2009
8:57 pm
Great point, Tom. You grok it!
October 6th, 2009
8:46 am
Got a URL for the 60 Day guarantee image somewhere on the web? I want to go look at it.
thanks.
October 6th, 2009
3:19 pm
copycatting is my biggest fear atm
October 6th, 2009
3:27 pm
That is pretty bad . Being a web develop myself it hurts me to see such icon set being found on the internet for free . Internet is just becoming more and more filled with such pirated products .. music , movies , games and so on . Each and Every industry is loosing billions of dollars each year because this . I have written a similar article on my blog http://carpendium.com – check it out if you want ( might have to search for it though ) .
October 6th, 2009
10:15 pm
great article, copycat was my biggest fear ever
October 7th, 2009
12:19 am
Suneedth, just because its free doesn’t always mean there’s been a copyright infringement. The net’s a massive resource and in many cases what you had to pay for a couple of years ago is being given away today. Open source code and design elements are everywhere. The trick as a user is to not cheapen your offering by overuse of generic design elements. Now back to work on my new restaurant project, McDougalls.com…anyone know where I can get a golden arch logo from?
October 7th, 2009
4:35 am
Being a web develop myself it hurts me to see such icon set being found on the internet for free . Internet is just becoming more and more filled with such pirated products .. music , movies , games and so on. Thanks for a good stuff.
October 7th, 2009
9:59 am
Yeah, I agree that once it’s everywhere it looses value. And if it’s cheap or free in will be everywhere.
October 7th, 2009
2:01 pm
agree, I would rather not use that,
It makes me feel theres something wrong when I see it on a site
October 8th, 2009
5:11 am
“The trick as a user is to not cheapen your offering by overuse of generic design elements” very well said
October 8th, 2009
2:17 pm
Online fraud is definitely on the rise lately. Anyone can create a website, newsletter or emails by lifting logos and graphics of a legit business. These counterfeit sites can do serious brand and reputation damage. Most customers do not care it is not your site, they are angry your logos were used and lifted.
October 8th, 2009
4:16 pm
very interesting, I agree. I hate it when I get copied or my content is scraped after all the hard work ive put in to create it.
October 8th, 2009
10:05 pm
Thanks for all the great informtion.
October 8th, 2009
11:01 pm
The symbol itself says cheesy and cheap. I hope everyone starts using them.
October 9th, 2009
3:20 am
The leaders have to differentiate themselves – eg like Tom’s example.
One client is now spelling out exactly what her guarantee means for the customer.
She does CVs and each one is customised for her client (obviously) and also for job the client wants.
Many of her rivals mention a guarantee but when you look closely it’s vague or useless.
She is majoring on her guarantee being a real benefit for her clients.
October 9th, 2009
10:41 am
It does kind of assume that the buttons have credibility in the first place, but certainly any attempt to affirm positive consumer protections have to be welcome, even if generic logos are used.
Perhaps if there was a company that would vet the use of such icons?
October 12th, 2009
8:18 am
You are 100% correct, especially that many make the mistake of the “set if and forget it”. Things have to change. No matter how wonderful something looks today, it can’t remain that way forever. Change is inevitable, so that people don’t get bored. Thanks again, for another insightful piece!
October 13th, 2009
5:16 am
Interesting and very useful information! Thx for sharing.
October 13th, 2009
7:18 am
Thanks for pointing this out. I’m sure there are quite a few people out there that would not be able to spot the difference.
October 13th, 2009
8:50 am
you can even make your own “guaranteed” logos so I never trust pictures like that
October 13th, 2009
9:22 pm
With the question being posed of people to share customized guarantee graphics, doesn’t that just open up the can of worms again and start a cycle all over again? 3rd party verifications are the only really secure option for consumers who know what they are looking for.
October 14th, 2009
1:28 pm
I think copying is sometimes a necessary survival strategy in Marketing in order to maintain market share, at least on the short run, giving you enough time to come up with your own innovations.
October 16th, 2009
8:10 am
I am scared of the copycating also and am wondering something here i onw a site also it there in my comment so u can check what am talking about.Mainly what i am affraid of is that there is alot of articles for example on security so if i wrote something that is simmilar to someones text without even knowing that his article exist is that concidered copycating since we were writeing on simmilar articles on same subject?
October 16th, 2009
10:21 am
@Ado: the issues of copying content (as opposed to design elements), or of similar content, is much trickier.
With the amount of web content being written every day, it’s highly possible you’d write something similar without being aware of the original. That’s bound to happen.
Credibility is determined by how you respond if you discover that you’ve accidentally copied, or are notified by the earlier author.
I think if you acknowledge the earlier content with a link, or a note, or work something out with the earlier author, you’re fine.
October 17th, 2009
5:29 am
copycatting is my biggest fear atm
October 17th, 2009
10:34 am
Well that is not a problem.If original author contact me or i discover myself i would check if he wrote it and posted before me and if he is i would remodify mine or remove it fully if its to simmilar that cannot be remoded
October 18th, 2009
3:12 pm
This is a dangerous trend as well as the trend of companies making up fake awards and fake “consumer protection” seals. They basically are making themselves seem legit when they are not. I also just recently read about a company that had FDA approved seals on their website when they were not approved at all. You would think there would be a better way to have universal verifications.
October 22nd, 2009
5:44 am
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October 25th, 2009
9:00 pm
Great article, as a designer I’ve been fighting the balance of speed vs. originality, which often leads to speed winning and therefore me needing to use pre-made resources. I’ve long battled against this with my superiors, I hope the day will come when originality wins.
October 30th, 2009
4:58 pm
Five on Friday, Issue #13…
Another issue of Five on Friday — issue number 13, in fact, on the eve of Halloween! Now there’s a coincidence.
Not to worry though… no tricks here, only treats. Enjoy!
Website Redesign Pulls in More Sales? – by Michel Fortin
I…
November 1st, 2009
4:50 pm
Thanks for the post very useful