So what happens when your brand promise (the promise you make to your clients and customers to encourage them to work with you) doesn't match up to what you actually do?

• Does it really matter?
• Do customers really expect you to live up to what you say each and every time?
• Can it really affect your reputation if you don't live up to your promise?

Yes! Your promise is more than just words to make you sound good - If you say you will, then we expect you to.

Case in point

A certain national retailer has been advertising their new "brand promise" - that customers can expect better prices, better service, better range, better experience when shopping at their stores.

It seems they've done some market research which suggests that customers haven't been happy with their performance in these areas, and when reflecting back on previous experiences shopping there, I would have to agree. The stock has often been poorly merchandised, there are never enough checkouts open and the customer "service"? ... Well let's just say there was definitely room for improvement.

Not long after the new brand promise campaign was launched, we received a catalogue advertising a special on a particular mobile phone that we had been looking at purchasing, on special in 2 day's time.

On the first day of the sale we went in specifically to purchase the mobile phone, only to find there weren't any. None on show, just a price ticket in an empty display case. After looking around, we asked a staff member to see if they had any in stock. The response was:

"I don't know, but if there aren't any on the shelf then I guess we don't have any. You could try other stores - they might have some. Sorry!". Then the staff member walked off.

No offer to check the computer to see if there were any out the back. No offer to ring a couple of other stores to see if they had one that could be put aside till we got there. No real "customer service" at all.

But didn't you promise we could expect more?

We left the store pretty annoyed (as you can imagine), but not so much about the fact there weren't any of the phones there. It was more that the promise of helpful staff who go out of their way to assist was, in our newest experience, a lie.

It's a strong word - "lie". But in our minds, that's what the company had done. And to consumers, this is a big deal.

What you say you will do is what your customers and clients expect. When you don't deliver on that promise, it's a lie plain and simple. And honestly, who likes to be lied to?

In business, your word - your promise - is everything!

In small business particularly, you reputation is staked on it. The promises you live up to are what gets you repeat business, and those priceless referrals from your existing clients.

Your "brand promise" is the thing that your clients can relate to, part of the trust they instill in your ability to do what you say you will.

So it's very important that you ensure that your processes, products, services and materials live up to that promise - every single time. When you deliver your brand promise consistently, your reputation becomes legendary. Your brand becomes more visible, and it's easier to attract and keep your clients.

If you say "expect more from us" then you need to make sure you do in fact deliver more than your competitors in some way. If you promise us to expect more from you and then you don't give us more, it becomes harder for us to believe anything else that you say, anything else that you do. 

To put it simply: if you don't deliver on your promise, how can we trust you?

Use the comments section to share your experiences with brand promises - both good and bad (just don't name any names!). Do you expect businesses to live to their promises, or do you assume it's just "marketing/sales speak" and not to be believed?