Ginger Zumaeta, CEO of Motive3, helps companies build messaging playbooks for communications that resonate and motivate. A recent Qualtrics survey showed that 80% of customers lose faith in a company after a single bad experience that conflicts with its promises. Despite this, many businesses still treat a brand promise as mere marketing fluff, missing out on a critical opportunity to establish trust and loyalty with their audience.
A brand promise goes beyond a tagline, embodying the fundamental concept guiding a company’s mission, products, services, customer interactions, and even its recruitment process. When crafted effectively, it sets a clear expectation in the minds of everyone who interacts with the company, acting as an internal compass for decision-making at every level. An example of a well-executed brand promise is Patagonia’s commitment to saving the planet, which influences their material choices, supply chain decisions, employee volunteer programs, and more.
Patagonia’s brand promise shapes every element of their business, from material innovation to the worn-wear philosophy and activism as a brand identity. By consistently aligning their actions with their promise, Patagonia enjoys fierce customer loyalty, enabling them to command premium prices in a competitive market. This unflinching commitment resonates deeply with their target audience, who are buying into a set of values rather than just a product.
Crafting a powerful brand promise involves understanding what drives belief, including logic, emotion, and credibility. Rooting the promise in real customer pain points, delivering value in a unique way, and ensuring actions support the promise are essential building blocks of belief. Developing and acting on a powerful brand promise requires deep introspection, stakeholder involvement, message testing, internalization, and operationalization throughout the organization.
A well-defined brand promise not only differentiates a company in the market but also attracts top talent that is aligned with its values. In a world filled with broken promises and confusing brand messages, a clear brand promise becomes a guiding force for the entire business. It builds trust, differentiates the company, and attracts passionate employees who care deeply about its mission. Crafting a powerful brand promise starts with understanding customer pain points, conducting competitive analysis, facilitating a promise workshop, drafting and testing the promise, and internalizing and operationalizing it across the organization.
