The Good Brand Checklist No.3

No. 3 We have a written brand promise.

‘An American can have a Ford in any color so long as it’s black.’ — Henry Ford

This is where you convert your brand mission into a brand promise that you can communicate and that your customers will value.

• What does your brand promise to customers above and beyond the products/services you provide.
• Why do/will customers do business with you? Remember brands are never about the product or service but always about the promise.

Don’t use generic words or obvious things like; saving money, good quality or excellent service. Those things are baseline requirements and they don’t resonate with customers.

An Example:

Fedex Logo

“FEDEX™ — When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.”

When Federal Express (FEDEX) burst on the scene in the US in the early eighties. What was it that made Fred Smith’s new company such a sensation?

The answer: It promised delivery of packages by 10:30 a.m. the next day, no ifs, buts or maybe’s. It was a brave but definitive promise in a world that previously knew only the Post Office. It was FedEx’s measurable brand promise.

Remember

A promise is good only if it’s kept.

Your brand is the essence of who you are, but it means nothing without corresponding action. Once you know your promise to customers, you need to deliver on that promise. That’s what branding is all about.

Every time you keep the promise, you strengthen your brand. When you break the promise, you diminish the brand.

Check ?

If you can check this item off, pat yourself on the back. You’re on your way to a good strong brand.

If not, then your brand needs work.

Consider getting your team together, preferably away from your place of work to discuss and arrive at some conclusions. You need to be crystal clear and concise. Use simple, easy to understand language with no ambiguity.

Note: This is ideally an internal process.

Happy branding 😀

Thanks for reading, I’m David Vaassen, and I love and work with great brands everyday as a brand strategist and founder of brand management systems company e-see® and Brandkit®.

This article is no.3 in The Good Brand Checklist series.