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Trina Sonnenberg

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Using God As A Marketing Ploy
12/11/2007 11:15:07 AM
Using God As A Marketing Ploy
Trina L.C. Sonnenberg


GBG - The Nutritional Drink/Business Opportunity Guided By God .

Today I received a sales pitch in my inbox for a program/product called 10 in 1, a nutritional drink. That is no surprise, since nutritional drinks are all the rage these days, but what did surprise me is the name of the company that manufactures and markets as an MLM: GBG, which according to the sales letter, stands for Guided By God. That name may suggest to some that the product is all natural, but I tend to think that it is just a ploy to instill trust in the company, more so than the product. A Google search clearly indicates that it is being promoted as a Christian business opportunity.

The first thing I noticed while perusing the web site I was given a link to, was that there is no corporate information anywhere; no About Us page. The only contact information listed are a few phone numbers to conference calls and the order line. Even the privacy policy contains no corporate contact information; no address... nothing. And, the email us link at the very bottom of the page links to a gmail account. How very professional.

I guess the Guided By God name is supposed to instill the ultimate in trust, removing the need to contact anyone? What is the deal... are you supposed to just pray about it?

The site has a very nice video sales pitch, that plays automatically, claiming that the product is the best thing for maintaining your health, and that if you were to try to find equal nutritional value anywhere else, you'd have to buy multiple products, spending $130.00 more, on average.

There is a standard FDA disclaimer at the bottom of the page, recommending that you consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. That's a good thing.

They tell you, in the fine print, that you should consult with your doctor, but they don't suggest that you print out the information and share it with your physician before buying and trying the stuff. The page pushes for a sign up. What are you supposed to do, buy a bottle and take it to your doctor? How many people do that?

One other thing the site does not tell you is that there is no one-size-fits-all product when it comes to health maintenance. That is the downfall of most nutritional products, not just this one. The truth is that many all natural nutritional products contain ingredients that have the potential to react negatively with prescription medications, and the dosage of a substance that works well for one, may not be good for another. For example; someone who takes thyroid medication, or certain anti-depressants, should not consume products that contain grapefruit extracts.

They do take a great deal of space to sell you on all kinds of marketing bonuses, if you sign up, and any other information you want on the product itself is contained in a few PDF files for download. Wow, is there a lot of stuff in there (the product).

While looking at the ingredients, I noticed that of the typical vitamins included in multi-vitamin supplements, some in this product are listed at 1000% of the USDA recommended amount, and with the exception of calcium, magnesium, copper, manganese and potassium, all the others are at or above 100%.

Some people may not know this, but you can overdose on vitamins. If the USDA recommends a certain amount, why would anyone want to take 10 times more of it each day? The only vitamins that can't be over dosed on are water soluble vitamins, and taking excessive amounts of those only serves to put them in the toilet. Your body gets rid of the excess naturally. Fat soluble vitamins are stored by the body, by the liver, and excessive amounts of those can land you in the hospital.

This particular product contains, according to the label, 200% of the USRDA of vitamin A (fat soluble), 150% of the USRDA of vitamin D (fat soluble), 250%of the USRDA of vitamin E (fat soluble). That is not good for you. Never mind the fact that in eating daily, you take in these vitamins. Are you supposed to stop eating food, and just drink this stuff instead?

So, do you think that this product is really guided by God, or rather businessmen out to make a fast buck on the ignorance and paranoia of the public, touting it as a Christian business opportunity?

From everything I can see, this product may be harmful, not helpful. When it comes to nutritional supplements, more is not necessarily better. I wonder what a independent product testing lab would have to say about this.

Copyright © 2007
The Trii-Zine Ezine
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About the Author:
Trina L.C. Sonnenberg
Publisher - The Trii-Zine Ezine - Your Trusted Source for Internet Business and Marketing Information. Serving online professionals since 2001. ISSN# 1555-2276
http://www.ezines1.com/triizine
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Author of: My Journey A Lifetime of Verse http://stores.lulu.com/triizine
Internet Marketing Mavens
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Keywords: GBG, Christian business opportunity, guided by God


Trina L.C. Sonnenberg Freelance Commercial Writer TLC Promotions & The Trii-Zine Ezine ISSN 1555-2276 http://www.tlcpromotions.net http://trii-zine.com http://FAA.tlcpromotions.net
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Re: Using God As A Marketing Ploy
12/11/2007 12:12:19 PM

Well done, Trina.  I've become so leery of the "God-based" marketing ply that I now just delete such ads without opening them.  The last one I did open had a virus in it.  Luckily, my anti-virus software caught and quarantined it before it could affect my computer.

Midge Baker

Midge Baker Stufrsumpn Company http://adtrack.trafficwave.net/t.pl/19732/109135 Join the reviewers at Sime~Gen! http://www.simegen.com/agreements/revagr.html
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Re: Using God As A Marketing Ploy
12/11/2007 1:34:32 PM
Trina,

I absolutely agree that using God as a marketing ploy is reprehensible and usually makes me steer the other way.  I wonder if the manufacturer really feels that their product or company was guided by God?  I had actually never heard that claim regarding that product.

The same red flag rises for me when someone has to point out that they are honest.  An truly honest person presumes you think that of them.  I think one's faith should be so much a part of daily life, that it doesn't need to be highlighted.

Deb
10 years with this essential oil company: http://www.seabeadessentialoils.com Discounts = Earnings: http://www.epx180.com/debramv
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Re: Using God As A Marketing Ploy
12/11/2007 8:13:33 PM

Trina,

Very good posting and I have to agree with you!

When you looked at their compensation plan, did you find that it was lacking?

When I first received information on GBG, I had to search for the comp plan and when I did find it I was shocked on how little they pay their distributors.

I don't know which God or god they claim to be serving, but my God says that a worker is worthy of their hire.  Maybe they never read that scripture when they were designing their compensation plan.

James Kinney The Cardioman Cardio Cocktail www.drinkcardiococktail.com/30724 Joint Cocktail:www.formor.com/30724 Check My Home Page http://www.viradyne.com/moneypartners
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Larry Blethen

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Re: Using God As A Marketing Ploy
12/11/2007 10:31:15 PM
hello Trina...thank you for this inforamtion and the research that you have gone with this one....Larry
Larry Blethen http://www.bluelight-marketing.com larry.blethen@bluelight-marketing.com, 304-369-5603
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