The Power of the Promise
Published by Nick Hall on 11 November 2009.This morning we wrapped up a well-attended breakfast club presentation on behalf of the Tech Alliance in London. All in all it went well, I'm told.
The focus of the presentation was on the importance of having a brand promise, and the reason I felt compelled to present this concept was, in large part, because at Hall Associates we know first hand the power that lies in having one. I would go so far as to call it revolutionary, certainly for our firm.
The primary reason I am such an advocate of this tool (if you can call it that) is that it puts the needs of a company's customers first. Makes sense, if you think about it. Want happy customers? Understand what makes them happy, and act accordingly.
There are of course other dimensions that must be considered (otherwise it would be too easy). You have to look closely at your best customers, and by that I mean the ones that reward your particular efforts with loyalty. Find out what they're really buying from you (the answer might surprise you) and work towards doing more of that. Don't know? Ask them.
You must also realize what it is your company is best at and what you love to do. After all, no point in embracing a direction that does nothing but make everyone miserable.
The power of a brand promise lies not in the development (though that's good stuff in it's own right), but in the delivery of it. Simply put, make a promise and keep it. Use the promise to redesign the experiences your customer has with your brand. Trust me, there are opportunities that exist for you that you can scarcely imagine from where you are now. And if they are centric to your brand promise, you can only win, because they will be uniquely yours.
Here at Hall, we have used the inspiration and context that our brand promise fuels to completely rethink what we do, how we do it and who we do it for. It shapes our conversations, presentations, and - perhaps more importantly - everyone in our company has a renewed understanding of what it is they do and how important their contribution to the delivery of the promise is.
To date, we have used our brand promise as the catalyst for new service development (ie. Ripple, for starters - stay tuned), as a benchmark for assessing the potential of new client relationships, and as a way of completely reinvigorating our passion for what it is we do. I've been in this business for close to 30 years now, so you can imagine how crucial this renewed passion is.
I urge you to consider developing and committing to a brand promise. It is not easy, but nothing worth anything ever is.
The rewards? Increased customer loyalty, more referrals, a sustainable market position and a stronger brand presence.