All businesses come with a set of built in or implied promises. Fair treatment of all customers, availability of advertised products and services and honest advertising are the three most important and are expected by your customers and by other business owners. Any commitments you make as a business owner, either to your clients or those you work with in your business field are promises that should be kept at all costs. These are also called brand promises.
But what of the promises that are broken? Do they undermine the believability of your business and cause your customers to lose trust in you? A good example of a broken promise is when a company strays from its original strategy and confuses its customers. This causes anger toward the business and also leads to lack of trust. The customers you lose because of this may never return.
Products that don’t match your brand or are aimed at a different market or age group, services that don’t offer what your customers need and seem to be very expensive for what the customer will receive, anything that causes your customers to lose trust will be seen as a broken promise by them.
To ensure your company keeps its promises, first, track your commitments and make sure they are worthwhile and as few as possible. Promises to others that take up little of your time and cost you the least are of the greatest value to your business. Ask for promises in return. Asking for something while giving something is a time honoured way of creating trust between two businesses.
Update your promises. A business promise made when first starting your business may hold no value for you or others years later. Products and services have changed, innovation has led to newer and more valuable ways to interact with your customers and improve your offers.
Your promises to your customers are the most important commitments you will ever make. Your customers are your bread and butter, your future and what keeps your business alive. Though some promises are inherent and expected of business owners, others, such as total reliability make your business stand out from others and help your customers to become loyal to you. Your loyalty and promises to your customers give them confidence in your ability to serve their needs.
Last and definitely not least are the promises you make to yourself. Holding yourself responsible for your business decisions, appreciating what your business does for you, dedicating yourself to providing excellent service, these are all promises that are not made to be broken. Your image of yourself depends on them and they must be acted upon.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015
image courtesy of jimbastion
