We all know that customer promises are a dime a dozen:
A. Buy this product and your hair is guaranteed to grow
B. Use this pill and you’re sure to lose weight
C. Our hamburgers use the highest quality meat
D. Our shoes help you run faster
Today’s educated consumer is growing more and more weary of these empty promises as many of us have tried these products and haven’t experienced what the brand promised. Don’t fall into this trap with your business. I’m not implying that you should not make quantifiable/bold brand promises. What I am saying is that if you do, make sure you can back them up!
One of the services I provide to clients is something I call a key messaging hierarchy. Following a comprehensive competitive analysis of my client and its key competitors’ positioning/messaging statements, I develop a set of bullet-proof messages that include statements that can be validated and also help the company differentiate itself from its competition. This key messaging hierarchy includes: a positioning statement, key messages, proof points and customer value propositions.
It is sometimes said that branding is all about two things: your product or service and your marketing. In my world, I too believe it comes down to two things:
Yes, your product/service, but the other is more than your marketing, it is the proof behind your brand promise. I’m referring to the “proof points†you must have to back up every claim you make about your products and services.
I am not a salesperson by trade, nor do I profess to have all of the necessary skills. However, I do know how the sales process works from my many years supporting sales teams. What I do know is that they yearn for proof or validation of their claims. The last thing a salesperson wants is to make a bold claim and have no proof to back it up when the client/prospect inquires further.
Here are two examples of sales rhetoric:
1. What you should not do in your sales and marketing materials:
“Our widgets help companies boost productivity.â€
2. What you should do in your sales and marketing materials:
“Our widgets help companies boost productivity by decreasing manufacturing cycle time by an average of 14%.â€
If you were a salesperson or self-employed entrepreneur, which message would you want to have in your quiver when you’re standing in front of your target?
Hey Kevin – what if I want to be taller in addition to losing weight and having more hair? Come to think of it, better looking and richer wouldn’t hurt either!
You’re absolutely right about the messages we send. Mush doesn’t sell. Nor does outrageous hyperbole.
Give me something I can sink my teeth into not some slick, clever copy that sounds hip and zippy but says nothing at all. That just wastes my time!
Kevin,
Your point about validating your promises is straight on.
I have found that when developing a brand promise for a business, it’s always best to start with the owner’s values. Doing this ensures the business owner crafts a promise that he can deliver, rather than one he thinks the customer wants to hear.
You want to backup your claims with data. The more hard evidence of success you have, the stronger your case will be and the more customers you will have.
Kevin Stirtz: couldn’t have said it better myself! Glad to hear you’re in total agreement.
Jay,
So very well stated. I completely concur. I would add to that: one should also include the benefit his/her solutions provide. But you’re dead on that values is the first place to start!
Thanks for commenting!
Kevin
Dan, you’re right on. It’s all about quantifiable ROI. But as we both know many firms struggle with coming up with this data. But you are absolutely right that if a business can show quantifiable data that represents real business improvement for the customer they are golden!!
Thanks.
Kevin