14 Unethical Sales Practices Often Used by Companies to Increase Sales

In this challenging market trend, almost every business uses some kind of business software to help them be more successful. Business software helps an organization to run critical components of business and automates the processes involved in inventory management, accounting, billing, reporting, cost control, etc. As a customer, you understand your organizational needs. Thus, it becomes essential to purchase the right software solution for your business. It not only gives you a presence in the market but also gives you a digital platform to grow.

Why are sales practices needed to increase sales, and later why businesses turn to unethical sales practices?

Without sales, no business can survive. This is the reason businesspersons work hard to secure sales and use various sales practices to enhance sales. The ultimate goal is to attract customers and achieve high customer retention.

There are many techniques used for sales enhancement. But when businesses choose unethical methods, hide the real business landscape, or give users a bigger picture to buy their product, it damages relationships with customers and long-term profits.

In this article, you will learn about unethical business practices that are often used by companies to increase sales.

1. Go beyond market ethics
2. Misleading by introducing non-existent features
3. Hide extra service charges
4. Hide free software demo service
5. Unable to provide a factual comparison
6. Unconcerned about software upgrade
7. Sell data without permission
8. Introducing Unknown Client
9. Negative Marketing for Competitors
10. Unauthentic info about Self Company
11. Client Business Privacy Issue
12. Wrong/Hidden Software Technology info
13. Hiding Software Issues
14. Unethical Promotion Activity
15. Frequently Asked Questions

Many technology professionals are present in the market, who are experienced and have a big name in the field of software product development. They have everything for your business, but sometimes they only focus on their own profits and maximum sales. Professionally, they are not much concerned about customer satisfaction. They just use unethical methods to sell their software and keep the customer in the dark by fake promises.

In such situations, you must pay attention to the significant points while integrating your business with a software system. You are associated with such a system and development company that provides quality service in the market. Who wants customer satisfaction more than his profit and brand value. Along with this, it ensures a positive impact on long term organizational development.

1. Go beyond market ethics

According to a market survey, 92% of Millennial consumers are more likely to buy products from ethical companies. And at the same time, 82% of those consumers believe ethical brands perform better than similar companies that lack a commitment to ethical principles.

Generally, ethical marketing is a process where companies not only market their products and services by selling their product but also measure how their products benefit customers. But sometimes business owners adopt an unethical way to sell their products. They do not feel a sense of professional responsibility and do not even bother about environmental causes and their reactions. They just focus on selling products. To achieve this business agenda, companies make fake promises and commitments to customers, which are not in the ethics of marketing trends. It ruins the reputation of the brand in the market.

2. Misleading by introducing non-existent features

When you are trying to invest in a software solution to enhance your products and services, it is your right to get real information about the software features. In the same way, it is the responsibility of the development company to display a clear picture. It is necessary for developers to proudly share the features of a software product. And, it is also required to tell your customers how software can help them and how to generate feasible business results.

But sometimes, the development companies mislead their valuable customers by introducing non-existing or incorrect features in the software specification. They do this only to sell their software and do not think about the long-term happiness of the customer. It leads the customer to disappointment and reduces interest in the software when customers decide to buy from you. Also, it can create a possibility that customers will never recommend your software to others.

Thus, keeping accurate information about features as per your business need is your business necessity.

3. Hide extra service charges

As a business owner, when you decide to buy software for your organization, it is not just software for you. It includes many things, such as your future planning, your dream of leading a competitive world, and most importantly your budget.

But sometimes, product development companies become unethical. To gain short-term business benefits, they keep the customer in the dark about the extra fees. These extra charges may include extra services, such as customization or promotion. The knowledge of this price change at the time of the final software deal or after the software purchase brings dissatisfaction among customers towards the development company. Thus, this type of unethical behavior done by a development company breaks the trust of the customer and causes a loss in customer relations.

Thus keeping the right information of all the hidden software prices is today’s necessity.

4. Hide free software demo service

As a business owner, it is your right to get an in-depth knowledge base about the software product. It is because this will ensure that the software you’re going to purchase matches your business requirement. Or it can customize as per business needs. For this purpose, product-based companies provide the demo service or free-trial for the customer. It makes customers understand whether the software matches their current or future requirements.

But, when the company learns that you are in a hurry to buy the software or that you have not demanded any kind of demo or free trial, they do not bother to tell this demo feature on their own. They cheat you and keep you in the dark for quick product sales. In this way, customers do not receive live testing and do not get the right idea about software compatibility. This later leads to your dissatisfaction with your purchased software.

5. Unable to provide a factual comparison

It is certain that you go through many software options with similar capabilities when you choose software for your business. But you choose the best one because your need matches the facts provided by the respective development company. And the software is able to manage your business according to you.

But sometimes your information goes wrong for the software you choose. Because the company takes an unethical way to get you interested in their software and keeps you ignorant of the real features. They provide information about features that are not part of the software. Unknowingly, you connect the software to your business, which further leads to dissatisfaction and stress in your business management.

6. Unconcerned about software upgrade

Timely software upgrades are an essential part of any software life cycle. Software updates are important because they often include critical patches to security holes. It is significant for any software because it matches the business with the current market trend.

Sometimes, development companies do not provide correct information about license up-gradation and version up-gradation. It is an unethical way of selling software to business owners. In this way, owners may not get the right idea when a version of the software or license upgrade is required. Also, many development companies do not tell customers about a software upgrade clause. Later it creates chaos while managing the business or during any future updates to the software. It causes mistrust in establishing relationships with customers.

7. Sell data without permission

Data is an integral part of any business. It helps anyone understand business processes. Thus, business owners are always concerned about data security and seek data security when choosing software. When choosing a software product for your business, you certainly share some credentials or company information with the development company. It is a part of software installation and business operations. That is why maintaining the data secrecy is the responsibility of a development company.

But most of the time, some companies sell customer data without permission to get their profit. It is an unethical, unprofessional, and shameful act that breaks customer trust from the company. It can cause you some major business losses. And also, there is a possibility that your competitors will know your business management processes.

8. Introducing Unknown Client

Sometimes software development companies give a fake example of happy customers to customers who want to buy software from a development company. They provide inaccurate information about the satisfied customer and create a false aura to attract new customers. It is an unethical way to sell software. When the customer comes to know about the reality, it can ruin the trust between the company and the customer. Also, the customer obtains the wrong software solution for his business.

9. Negative Marketing for Competitors

In the market, you may encounter some development companies that indulge in negative marketing to reduce competitive brand value. To meet their sales targets, they provide negative or inaccurate comments on their competitors. To make customers turn in their favor and buy only their own software from them, they make some fake facts and tell any fake facts.

It is an unethical and unprofessional way to install the software in the market. In this way, a development company can succeed only if they have sufficient resources and expertise to meet the demand of customers.

10. Unauthentic info about Self Company

Sometimes you must have seen such fake companies in the market who create their fake identity in the market to get good profits. They present themselves in such a way that they have many happy customers all over the world to whom they are providing high-quality services. But in reality, it is all a play for sale. They have fewer customers who are not happy with them. It is a way of selling software that deceives those companies that need a software solution. It can cause major business losses and reduce the brand value of customers.

11. Client Business Privacy Issue

Almost all product-based software development companies in the market provide continuous customer support to their valued customers. For this, they know the information about the client’s important business model, which is crucial and is more likely to be stolen. As such, it is the responsibility of the concerned executive who maintains business confidentiality. But most companies work to the contrary. They go beyond professional boundaries. Also, share clients’ business data with similar business clients. It gives rise to customer dissatisfaction with the purchased software.

12. Wrong/Hidden Software Technology info

Nowadays, you may find that around 50% of the customers are aware of the basic knowledge of software technology and its specifications. While software purchases, the customer wants to know more about the software specifications like its platform, language base, database, system requirements, etc. In such a scenario, the software development companies sometimes share wrong information with them. They hide actual software technology information to match their system specification with customer requirements. It is wrong and professionally unethical.

This incorrect delivery of correct information becomes very important for customers who have zero technology base. This way, the customer does not get high-performance results and starts thinking of your software as their big mistake.

13. Hiding Software Issues

It is the right of every customer who is going to buy it to know all the features and flaws related to the software. It is because business operations are attached and are responsible for getting the right results for the business. But often, the development company reveals its merits but does not reveal unsolved issues (such as data corruption etc.) related to the software. It is also the wrong way to sell software, which takes away customers from getting the right business results.

14. Unethical Promotion Activity

Unethical promotion activity is another task performed by software development companies to gain more profits and leads. For this, they use unethical methods such as: –

• Spreading false information about promotions or pricing.
• Some follow misleading statements, which can put a business in legal trouble.
• Bottom Lines
  The sale of software is essential, but it is valuable only when it is done ethically and professionally.
  Over the years, many businesses have been increasingly interested in the ethical conduct of businesses. They pay heavy attention to the establishment of morality because they know that you cannot attract the consumer just by selling their desired goods. You must also provide them with some personal or moral touch for a long-term connection. This business approach provides you a deep insight into sales practices that generates short-term gains and enhance brands’ value.
  Why one should avoid unethical selling practices and go for ethics
  Having a dissatisfied customer only hurts the customer. But this does not mean that the company adopts unethical sales practices and gives false information to customers. Hence, going in for ethical sales practices should be in the best interest of the company. An ethical business practice-
  • Makes honest claims
  • Helps to meet customer needs
  • Helps to earn the trust and loyalty of its customers
  • Brings significant benefits to your business
  • Develops brand loyalty

If you are looking for such a development company that gives you transparency and an ethical way to purchase the best software solution, you can contact the SWIL INDIA. It is a leading software product development company that stays in the market since 1994 due to its ethical view and professional approach.

Frequently Asked Questions