WHAT IS YOUR BRAND PROMISE?
5 Tips On Creating A Strong Brand Promise.
By Tanya Pinto
Consultant
Shakti Consulting
Consultant
Shakti Consulting
A promise must never be broken.”
– Alexander Hamilton
What promises has your brand made?
When was the last time you reflected on your brand’s vision, mission, positioning and values?
If you have made intentional promises, how well are you keeping them?
The truth is that crafting a strong brand promise is definitely an art and a science. You have to be able to capture the inspiring and compelling reasons for people to believe in your brand, and you have to understand who your customers are, what they affiliate with and their values. But you also need to know the pathways that drive sales, your business processes and how every single brand touchpoint can either reinforce or erode your brand promise.
If you feel your organization could do review or even a redo of your brand promise, then here are some tips on how to approach a developing a strong brand promise.
When was the last time you reflected on your brand’s vision, mission, positioning and values?
If you have made intentional promises, how well are you keeping them?
The truth is that crafting a strong brand promise is definitely an art and a science. You have to be able to capture the inspiring and compelling reasons for people to believe in your brand, and you have to understand who your customers are, what they affiliate with and their values. But you also need to know the pathways that drive sales, your business processes and how every single brand touchpoint can either reinforce or erode your brand promise.
If you feel your organization could do review or even a redo of your brand promise, then here are some tips on how to approach a developing a strong brand promise.
5 Tips On Creating A Strong Brand Promise.
1. Break it down.
From experience, when creating a strong brand promise, you need to break it down into different elements such as vision, positioning etc. Break down the master brand promise into sections, and then break each section further into sub-sections before you start to brainstorm or fill in the blanks. This helps you choose each word in each statement very intentionally.
2. Words matter.
Though it may seem daunting at first, it is critical to remember that words do matter. Every single word in a brand promise – even adverbs, conjunctions etc. must be very intentionally chosen as even a slight shift can create a different nuanced meaning. E.g. “We focus on quality in all we produce.” vs. “We focus on the highest quality in all we produce.” You can see how simple addition of the words “the highest” has massive implications for production, materials selection and decision making.
3. Involve ALL decision makers.
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Very rarely will crafting a strong brand promise work if you don’t have the right players in the room at the time of development and decision making. Try not to create the promise in a “vacuum” and involve all the key decision makers so you can gauge their opinions and comfort level on each word chosen. Brand promises often can have massive strategic or operational implications, so having the right players in the process is critical for buy-in.
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For years I have facilitated highly collaborative processes to produce powerful and enduring brand promises. The process I use activates a range of inputs and insights and brings teams together in an engaging and emotional journey.
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4. Don’t Tweak!
It is important that once the brand promise statements are in place that you avoid constant tweaking or redoing. Brands need time to live into their promises and tweaking or redoing statements can erode the strength of this as a powerful tool for brand development and marketing as well as create internal confusion and a lack of commitment as employees will say, “What’s the point of sticking to this, it is going to change anyway.” The strongest brands are often the ones where they have stayed true to their brand promise – which when crafted expertly should stand the test of time.
5. Consistency is critical.
Have you noticed how when you go to a Starbucks in New York or Los Angeles or Dubai, you have a remarkably similar brand experience? The feel of the paper stock used in the cups, the furnishings and décor, the smell and taste of the coffee. This is wonderful example of how their brand promise is consistently, every single time and in every single store. It is not easy to manage, but as many great brands have proven, it can be done. Be consistent.
And...
The brand promise can be used at every point of contact. A great exercise to go through is to map out every single point of contact your brand has. This can include everything from the architecture and public signage, to the receptionist and voicemail answering system and on hold messaging, to how your CEO communicates. Once you can map out all your brand touch points you can better manage how to make your brand as strong and consistent as possible and thus keep your promises!
And when I promise something, I never break that promise. Never.”
― Rapunzel
I have led brands on helping to craft powerful and enduring brand promises, and I would love to help you assess if it is time for your organization to look at your brand’s promise so you can have greater impact and results.
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Find out what happened when I helped an organization that had over 35 stakeholders all trying to craft a brand promise – and none of them had any background in marketing.
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