Brand Promise: Part of Your Strategic Business Plan

This is my third post on Successful Business Planning. In the first post I encouraged you to start planning now for 2014. In the second I talked about making your plan usable. Today I want to encourage you to build a brand promise.

This year I’ve spent about 80 nights in Marriott Hotels (plus a few others). In fact, I’m in one right now! This one happens to be a Fairfield – as I am in a remote area. As I was working on a few things this afternoon, a small card left by Christy, my Guest Room Attendant, caught my eye…

It’s the Marriott Brand Promise.

It reads:

We Promise to Always…

Make you feel welcome
Give you a room that’s clean, fresh and reflects the highest quality standards
Respond promptly to any need that you might have
Give you the service that will make you want to return

And, Sure enough, that has been my experience this year. It’s Marriott’s brand promise. And when I have had an issue, Marriott has been responsive…

As someone who travels weekly, I can tell you that lowest price, free cookies, and remote control curtains, all come way down the list for me – but when I need something, like my room cleaned at a certain time, a last minute room, or something taken care of right away, I really want my hotel of choice to act quickly.

I also want friendly people working behind the desk, answering questions, making recommendations on food and transportation, and going out of their way to make sure I get what I need, and make it to bed on time.

At Ingles last week, I noticed a sign that said – 200% Guarantee. Actually it was one of my kids that brought it to my attention. Part of our homeschool curriculum is watching out for good marketing. It went on to say – if the produce isn’t fresh, not only will be refund your money…we’ll replace the item. This too is a brand promise – built to appeal to the people who shop for the family.

What is your brand promise?

And does it actually mean something to your target buyer? The people I refer to as Your People Group.

Make it a part of your business plan. Put some thought into it…what would actually matter to the people group your message is targeting? This just might be the big differentiator you are looking for.

2 thoughts on “Brand Promise: Part of Your Strategic Business Plan”

Great article! Branding a promise can be tricky. At 2tasks.com I want to ensure my customers can manage their projects in the most simplistic manner at an affordable price. I offer 60 days free just to get customers to come try the product. The problems I face are commonly what one person finds easy another finds cumbersome or worse yet, annoying. I have found that as a business owner you have to take into account what needs improved based on the volume of concern. Trying to satisfy every customer is impossible, but you can often give everyone a win with minor modification or setting the expectations in user videos or blog posts. I love your blog by the way, keep up the good work!