Brand promises not made to be broken
Are you under-delivering on your pledges? Well, you’re also basically disengaging your customers VIEWPOINT
Are you under-delivering on your pledges? Well, you’re also basically disengaging your customers.
In a world saturated with corporate competition, true brand authenticity grows scarcer with every passing day. Firms today are becoming less valueoriented and more capitaldriven; they are deviating from their mission and vision in response to a changing market landscape, and all too often, they are neglecting their brand promise and we are seeing that it is becoming increasingly acceptable for them to do so.
A company’s brand promise is its foundation. It is the link between the purpose, the position, the product, the strategy and the consumer. It is defining the customer experience of today and holds a company accountable for doing or providing what it says it will do or provide. Most importantly, a company’s brand promise plays a vital role in building strong relationships with its consumers and ensuring sustainable, long-term performance because promises matter to people.
However, despite the importance of an effective and well-defined brand promise in a company’s lengthy success, we are seeing that companies often under deliver or neglect their brand promise entirely in favour of convenience and short-term gains. But while many companies do not deliver on their brand promises, the strongest and most prosperous ones do, and the advantages of doing so are tangible. Overall, a brand’s authenticity really distinguishes itself from the competitors, and helps generate a positive perception, which is translating to a stronger consumer base on every level. So what do broken promises mean for the market and the brands themselves?
According to a 2015 Gallup survey, only half of consumers strongly believe that the companies they do business with always deliver on their brand promises. When we look at homegrown brands from the region, Emirates definitely comes to mind; it is a prime example of a brand that has delivered on its promise to be innovative, modern and a customer orientated provider of high-quality air travel, which it has conveyed since day one, and as a result it is known as a world-class airline.
Further, looking at the Meaningful Brands study published by Havas Media Group, it has found that only 32 per cent of consumers feel that brands communicate honestly about their promises and commitments, and just over half do not trust brands in general. These figures indicate the main consequences of neglecting a brand promise on the consumer side. When brand promises are unfulfiled this leads to broken trust, disengagement, and low retention — all of which are reflected in a company’s bottom line. For example, Domino’s had a troublesome promise when it came to their deliveries, which they realised later on. But as a result, it has dropped in most countries. Delivering on a brand promise is a direct reflection of a company’s transparency, which in turn generates trust and confidence in its consumers. As such, when consumers believe that a company will provide what it has promised — both in terms of products and services as well as actions and experiences — they are definitely more engaged in the company’s operations. Therefore, engaged consumers are more interactive with a brand and have a greater degree of emotional investment, which together foster strength and organic growth for a company. When consumers are trusting and engaged, they are ultimately more loyal; and as any businessperson is aware, consumer loyalty is the essence of greater sustainability.
However, companies that do not deliver on their brand promises are giving up all of their positive outcomes, which produce tangible business advantages across the board. Consider: the highest-performing companies in Gallups’ database deliver on their brand promises 75 per cent of the time, according to their customers. These are the companies with a larger share of wallet, greater profitability, higher revenues and stronger relationship growth than their counterparts. They are the companies whose brand promises align with their vision and values, so achieving these promises occurs effortlessly.
For example, let’s look at the main technology brands of today who are living out their promises and providing converged technologies to customers. There is great trust in these brands and we are seeing consumers regularly coming back for more, and companies should be mirroring this strategy. Nevertheless, a company’s ability to fulfill its brand promise, is only possible with a variety of factors. Brand promises that fail are usually unclear, not distinct, or are inconsistent with a company’s greater purpose and culture.
If a company’s brand promise seems vague or too broad, consumers are less likely to know what they should expect from it — and in turn, they are more likely to think their expectations are not being met. Moreover, if a company’s brand promise does not set it apart from others, consumers have a harder time identifying where and how it adds value to their lives. Therefore, if a brand promise is not aligning with the company’s mission, vision, and values, it comes across as inauthentic, and we are seeing that this is detrimental to customer loyalty.
In order for a company to set itself up for success in delivering on its brand promise in the region, it must invest in consistent evaluation and improvement. A great tool is for companies to seek feedback from their consumers about brand perception and reception: do their customers truly believe in the brand’s dedication to its promise and how its promise seeks to benefit them? Companies should also monitor their performance in accordance with the changes they make. Most importantly, though, companies should approach the fulfillment of their brand promise from the inside out, training and engaging their employees to understand and execute it effectively. For instance, when we look at the telecom sector in the region, it must focus on its customer service and on delivering its brand promise to be a success.
The reality of the matter is that consumers don’t just buy products anymore; they also buy the purpose and vision behind these products. They are investing in companies and brands whose values align with their own, and they are prioritising the experience and communication associated with their purchases more than ever before. Therefore, an effective brand promise of today must extend beyond an outward-facing statement meant to look nice on paper. Rather, it must be a commitment to transparency and authenticity and a pledge to deliver the experiences and services that drive customer engagement in the long term. The writer is executive vice-president of brand and corporate communications at du. Views expressed are his own and do not reflect the newspaper’s policy.