More and more we hear and read about corporations and their "brand
promise." The promise is made to the customer, is a guiding principle for
company employees and in theory is reflected in the company's approach to
everything it does. While a mission statement looks inward to what a company
stands for, a brand promise is external. It defines what the customer can expect
from the brand and the positive impact that brand will have on a customer's
life.
I believe the best brand promise any retailer can make is a
guaranteed memorable customer experience. Many retailers like to think they do
this but our own shopping experience tells us that isn't the case. It's not
easy to deliver that memorable experience and you won't do it unless you are
specifically trying to do so. The reason is that those who create these brand
promises fail to realize that the ultimately the promise is kept or broken by
the frontline employee. Much like a mission statement, it's just words until
the rubber meets the road.
For any retail brand promise to be kept, all frontline employees
must understand the promises and the actions they must take to fulfill them. If
a retailer promises friendly and helpful employees then the store staff must
engage the customer in an upbeat and friendly manner. Often the barrier to
keeping these promises is put up by the very same executives who've created the
promise. Many retailers have an "easy returns" brand promise for their
customers but at the same time penalize store managers for having too many
returns. When an internal policy, guideline, or metric is in conflict with a
brand promise the promise will inevitably be broken.
Some brand promises are assumed by the customer even if the
retailer doesn't state them. Customers assume that independent retailers give
better service but have higher prices. Either may or may not be true.
While any one of your brand promises can help you attract a new
customer, breaking any of your promises can lose them. Retailers probably lose
more customers to a broken promise than they know. Those Silent Majority
customers I wrote about recently will leave without telling you. This is why it
is so important to measure how well you are executing your brand promise. Many
retailers know the results of the promise (sales) or how well they are keeping
the various facets of the promise for a few customers (mystery shops), but
without data directly from the customer or feedback from the frontline it's
tough to measure exactly how your promise is holding up.
Try this brand promise exercise. Take a sheet of paper and draw
three columns. In the first column list the brand promises you've stated to
your customer and the ones they are likely to assume. In the middle column list
the accompanying frontline actions that you've communicated to your employees
and trained them to take. In the third column, list the measurement, metric, or
frontline feedback you use to measure how well you keep your promises
So let me ask, how's your brand promise?
- Doug
About the author:
Doug Fleener is a veteran retailer with over 25
years of hands-on retail experience with world-class retailers including Bose
Corporation and The Sharper Image. He has also owned and operated his own
specialty stores. In his ten years at Bose, Doug grew the Retail Direct Group
from four to 100 stores and was instrumental in developing Bose’s unique and
engaging retail methods.
Doug is now president and managing partner of
Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a Lexington, MA based retail and customer
experience consulting firm dedicated to helping retailers improve their customer
experiences that results in higher sales and profits.
Fleener is the author of the book The Profitable
Retailer: 56 surprisingly simple and effective lessons to boost your sales and
profits. He is a frequent speaker around the world on retail issues and his
insights has been covered in leading business media including The New York
Times, Entrepreneur, and Shopping Centers Today. Along with
partner Matt Norcia they write the popular retail blog Retail Contrarian.
Doug lives in Lexington, Massachusetts with his
wife and two daughters, where in his free time he barbecues while listening to
Jimmy Buffet music.
