Internet marketing is a term gaining popularity with each passing day. People now believe that marketing their products or services is the best way to increase sales and to reach out to a large number of customers. The cost of marketing on the internet is far less when compared to traditional means, proving favorable to these internet marketers.
But the question that arises is: Are these internet marketers authentic? Do they practice what they preach or is it just another marketing strategy? In this case study, we will interpret the strategies used by the well-known businessman, Robert Kiyosaki.
Who is Robert Kiyosaki?
Having a net worth of around 80 million dollars, Robert Toru Kiyosaki, a well-known American businessman who founded the Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company. He is also the author of the bestseller book Rich Dad Poor Dad. Rich Dad Company was started as a private brand to provide financial education through videos and books.
Robert Kiyosaki gained popularity with his quick, simple tips on personal finance and business investments. His bestseller book gives readers insight into cash flow, start-ups, real estate investments, and much more – simply and easily. His seminars, most with no entry fee, are also a hit.
How Genuine are Robert’s Financial Tips?
The man sure has gained a lot of popularity with his practical ideas that he claims to have acquired from his very own experiences in life. Robert Kiyosaki has greatly influenced people throughout the years and is now considered a financial guru by his followers.
However, does the man practice what he preaches? Kiyosaki claims that his life lessons paved a way for him to do wonders in the real estate business and other financial ventures, which helped him earn a lot of wealth. But a renowned magazine has claimed that there is no evidence of the wealth he’d amassed before the release of his book Rich Dad Poor Dad in 1997. This hints at the possibility that all his earnings might have come from the sale of the book and other educational videos and seminars, not the investments he boasts about.
How Does Robert Kiyosaki Influence His Followers?
The Rich Dad Poor Dad series and his educational seminars have proved to be an entry point for many interested in business investments. While his books and videos are a good source of financial knowledge for beginners in the financial world, his strategies for getting people to believe all he says are a problem.
Here are a few tactics internet marketers like Kiyosaki use to prey on the followers:
Gathering the Audience
This is a rather simple thing to accomplish for such marketers. Most of the seminars are free, essentially giving away some great financial advice from a learned man. People easily fall for the “free” events. Who would not want to learn things for free that claims to make them richer? The room is filled with people, which means there is enough social proof. There is a man on the stage, ready to deliver information, and one easily falls prey to the authority fallacy.
Presentation of Content
The presentation usually starts with an impressive introduction of the speaker. These internet marketers tell the crowd about how much money they have earned and how they have learned from experiences similar to ours. They present a story of their financial success in such a way that hypes up the entire crowd and people easily start believing all they say. One technique that people like Robert Kiyosaki use is the discussion of some deals they personally made that fetched them some quick money. They immediately tell you that even you can achieve what they have achieved if you follow their ways. All the content is primarily focused on how much money can be made, which is the reason why people attend such events. They also relate their former situations with ours, which is great bait for trapping people.
In most of these seminars, speakers are seen interacting with the audience, hyping them up in such a way that they become deeply interested in knowing about his financial success. This is a technique that makes you weak and vulnerable when thinking of your financial situation, and this is the point where they get you.
Publicity of Services and Products
The ultimate aim of internet marketers is to promote and sell their products. Once they have the audience on their side, hyped up and vulnerable, it becomes easy to sell their services. The hired salesmen will tell you how they benefitted from the services offered by the educational videos and books offered by companies like the Rich Dad Company. The speakers on stage are well versed this art, and the crowd easily buys into whatever they are selling. Soon you find yourself signing up for paid seminars and giving up a few hundred or a few thousand dollars.
Upsell to Earn Money
The seminar you sign up for gives you as much content as you pay for. They will never give you complete information that lets you go out and invest in real estate. So, they upsell you for mastermind programs or expert programs that cost a lot. This brings in an easy income to all those involved.
The Genuine Benefits of Robert Kiyosaki’s Products
There are some genuine services that the Rich Dad Poor Dad series has provided to its readers. Here are a few highlights of Robert Kiyosaki’s books and videos:
- The book is a reservoir of knowledge for those seeking guidance towards real estate investment.
- Robert Kiyosaki promotes the value of providing the right type of education for young minds.
- His work talks about the concept of managing money and the value of investing.
- The videos and books encourage people to start their businesses and explains the benefits.
- Through ebooks and YouTube videos, he has made financial education affordable and accessible to a wide range of people.
- Real estate investors benefit from the lectures on understanding debt and avoiding high taxes.
- Kiyosaki, through his lectures, builds the right mindset for owning a business. He teaches how to find and raise capital for start-ups.
Problems With Kiyosaki’s Teachings
- All the content is a macro-level view of personal finance, economics, and running a business. It leaves learners feeling unfulfilled, therefore pushing them to look out for more of his books and videos.
- His videos focus on developing an idea of the rich class and poor class. He preaches how not be like the poor class and how everyone should be able to join the rich class.
- Using his rich versus poor philosophy, he makes listeners feel like he’s giving up a secret that only the rich class is aware of.
- He talks about how 100% financing is an option for everyone when purchasing large properties. This is misleading information because studies reveal that the maximum financing possible is 70 to 80%.
- In almost every video, he talks about the earnings from his Rich Dad Poor Dad In the past decade, he has hardly spoken about his financial ventures.
- The examples he gives about his investments are always vague and lack details.
- The seminars are a total waste of money. This is simply a tactic to earn money and upsell his other products.
- All his content sounds like a pitch. Most of his income is a result of these pitches and the seminars he conducts. He did not have such high earning before the release of his Rich Dad Poor Dad
Is Kiyosaki a Fraud?
There is abundant proof to conclude that Robert Kiyosaki is not a charlatan. He has proved the existence of his Rich Dad Poor Dad, which was thought to be a fictitious character. The level of transparency in his content is pretty good. He openly talks about his failures as an entrepreneur before the release of his book. Also, he has preached his content for the past decade without altering the base beliefs. Unlike other financial teachers, Robert Kiyosaki makes these sessions easy and simple to understand, while keeping his sessions interesting and fun.