September 2009
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What’s in a promise? |
Sep 21, 2009 4:58 PM
Chris Ward |
When you get right down to it, branding is a piece of cake. All you have to do is make a promise and live up to it. Simple, right? Then how come so many business organizations have so much trouble with it?
The fact is, promises are easy to make and much harder to keep. How many times has someone you know promised to lose a few pounds, get in shape or take a course? How many times have you heard a business organization promise better service or a more environmentally friendly approach? Whether the promise maker is an individual or an organization, keeping a promise is always easier said than done.
It might seem self evident, but promises are only helpful under two circumstances:
- Those on the receiving end care about it; and
- The promisor can deliver.
When it comes to charities, value is in the mind of the promisee.
Some people donate to a particular charity because of the experience of a relative or close friend. Others because the charity provides them with an opportunity to give back to a community from which they themselves benefited…or because that charity is also doing good work on a second front, the environment for example. The fact is, in selecting a cause to support, we all ask and answer one basic question: “What’s in it for me?” In choosing one worthy cause over others, we can't help but consider the actual or implied promise from a personal perspective. We evaluate a number of promises and we choose the charity that is promising something that really matters to us.
What’s this mean from a brand-building point of view?
The only way you can be sure that you’re hitting the mark and making a promise that donors and others will value is to know what they value. If you’re pretty sure you’ve got the answer, great! Go ahead and build a program around it. If you’re not, invest a little time and money in finding out. It will pay dividends and you’ll be very glad you did. |
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Brand Promise,
Charities
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1 Comment
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Lessons I learned at the Sony Store. |
Sep 14, 2009 1:42 PM
Chris Ward |
Over 40 years Sony has grown from Japanese upstart to an undisputed leader in innovation and quality. Ask people what company makes the best TVs, and it's likely a majority will say “Sony.” So why has Sony had less-than-stellar results in recent years?
I don’t pretend to have the answer. But a personal experience might provide a clue. A few years ago we bought a Sony 42” LCD projection TV. It was our first flat screen, and we were delighted with the picture and the sound. Until one day, five or six months later, the screen went black. Fortunately, we had purchased the set from our local Sony Store so we assumed the problem would be handled quickly. Nope!
You might expect that a large, successful organization like Sony would have a buttoned-down system for storing and retrieving customer records. Nope again! First, Sony had a hard time verifying that we were qualified to receive in-home warranty service. Then, when a repairman finally did make it out, we were advised that a $200 bulb with an expected life of 3,000 hours had gone after a few hundred. To add insult to injury, we had to pay for the bulb and claim our money back from Sony, a process that took several weeks and many frustrating phone calls.
We had expected better treatment from a firm we considered a market leader. And we were so disappointed by our treatment that we’ve been in no rush to purchase another Sony product. Not that our experience is going to have a big impact on Sony’s earnings. But then again, an organization’s long-term success is directly related to how well it manages its customer’s expectations and its own performance.
So what can we learn from our Sony experience?
- Customers have reasons for buying, joining or donating. Failure to understand and satisfy those reasons leads to disappointment, alienation and, ultimately, rejection.
- When an organization creates high expectations, and doesn't live up to them, many stakeholders will make a beeline for the door.
- It’s essential to understand what’s important to your stakeholders and how to make them happy. After all, your competition is just waiting for the chance.
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Brand Promise,
Customer Expectations
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1 Comment
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Lessons I learned at the Sony Store. |
Every organization deals wth customers, clients, members or donors. Each of these has a reason for buying, using, joining or donating. A failure to recognize and live up to their expectations can cause real problems, as a recent experience at my local Sony Store pointed up. |
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