“When you meet somebody for the first time, you’re not meeting them, you\’re meeting their representative.” – Chris Rock
Jack’s car needs an oil change so he goes online to look for a mechanic. He conducts a search and he comes across an Ad from a business called Speedy Oil Changers that says “Come in to get your speedy 10-minute oil change at our friendly establishment”. He likes the brand and decides to get his oil change there. Jack arrives and asks for an oil change. The mechanic does the oil change but finishes in an hour. Jack is furious.
Why is Jack furious?
He was furious because he was promised a 10 minute oil change and ended up being there for an hour. Jack wasted his time, energy, and money which makes it’s a great possibility that he will never get an oil change from there again.
Your brand is everything you have. It’s what makes you different from the rest of the market. It sets customer expectations on how it will be when interacting with your company. When a customer likes your brand and makes a step to interact with you it’s because your brand showed something that they would love to experience. When you fail to deliver that experience you will disappoint your customer and set yourself up for failure.
Marketing could drive customers to your business but a great experience is what keeps customers coming back.
A great customer experience means great reviews and a better chance that you will be recommended by your customers to their family or friends. Good reviews push prospects looking for your type of service or product in your direction. Customers love to see that what you are selling works for other people. It’s a great trust builder.
A bad customer review can be devastating. Imagine if you own a car dealership and you promise that your cars run great. But someone leaves a review saying that you sold them a bad car. Everytime a customer goes to search your business on Google they are going to see that bad review that totally contradicts your brand message. How could they trust your brand?
So you can see that is all about being who you say you are.
Companies like Chick-fil-A do a phenomenal job being who they say they are. Chick-fil-A was founded by a Christian man named Samuel Truett Cathy. It’s family owned and their Christian values and beliefs align with those of their business.
This restaurant isn’t open on Sunday because they believe that this day is for rest and worship. They also pride themselves on having excellent customer service. This shows because they are known for being the number one fast food chain in customer service.
Does this mean that your brand should use religion as it’s backbone? It doesn’t have to. Your company has to have a strong purpose though. What does you business hope to accomplish? Why are you trying to solve this problem? If you have a strong enough why everything else follows through.
Your brand is an embodiment of who you are, what you do, and how you do it. Be who you say you are.
If your brand stands for a speed and quality service make sure that your work its quick and efficient. If you promise excellent customer service you should make your customers feel at home.
If you don’t deliver on what you promise don’t promise it or get better at what you promise.
How to prevent?
Review your Brand and your Mission
You should review your mission and see if it still aligns with what your current goal of your company is. Make sure your marketing message is parallel with what you can actually deliver.
Don’t be catchy be real.
What does your company believe in? Marketing is saying what the customers want to hear but it doesn’t mean anything if what they hear is a lie. Back up everything you say with your actions.
Personify your brand.
Your brand is a living, breathing person. Think as your brand not as an entity but as a person. A person that is responsible for satisfying their mission.
Constantly Improve you Customer Experience.
Go the extra mile for your customers. Under promise and over deliver!@ I hope this was helpful. If you take anything away from this read, let it be to not be the business that doesn’t keeps its promise!
