3 Steps to Creating a Brand Promise that Attracts Customers and Cements Loyalty
by Scaling Up Coach, Mark Fenner
Today Rackspace Technology, based in San Antonio, Texas, employs more than 6,000 Rackers, has customers in over 120 countries, and does more than $2 Billion in annual revenue. Not bad for a company started by three Trinity University roommates back in 1998.
Although most hosting companies focus on the technology end of hosting, Rackspace created its Brand Promise, “Fanatical Support”, to focus on customer service. The founders made this decision after determining their core customers were most frustrated by system outages, the inability to get someone on the phone, and the experience that when they did finally get someone on the phone this person often could not answer their questions and would ultimately transfer them to a more qualified service technician.
Rackspace scaled because their Brand Promise, Fanatical Support, connected with prospects and clients on both an emotional and rational level. Their Brand Promise can be measured in three ways:
The #1 measurement is uptime of a client’s site. Rackspace offers a money-back guarantee if there’s any downtime.
If there is a problem, and a customer must call in, that call will be answered in three rings. Rackspace installs red lights in its call centers that start to spin if a call is getting ready to go to a fourth ring.
To lower the number of calls that must be escalated, calls are answered by a level two tech. That’s what the customers want.
These three focus areas make it easy for the company’s leadership, employees, and customers to know what they can expect. Rackspace Technology has a compelling brand promise because they articulate it clearly and track measurable performance KPIs. These measurable KPI’s with a guarantee empower their clients to hold them accountable.
What is a Brand Promise?
I define a brand promise as:
“What the company commits to its clients. It’s not a description of what a company does. It’s an aspirational expectation of what a client will experience.
It’s a promise to deliver on the company’s unique value proposition.”
As a company leader, it’s your job to define your brand promise and make sure it resonates with your customers.
Focus on Your Clients
“Most entrepreneurs fall in love with the wrong thing. They fall in love with their products and their business when they should be falling in love with their clients and customers.”
-Jay Abraham
A great brand promise starts first with understanding your clients needs. Break the needs into three categories, 1) functional or basic, 2) psychological or relational, and 3) altruistic or self-actualizing needs. These needs align with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
You may have learned about Maslow in a psychology class, however, I believe Maslow should have been a marketer. His hierarchy of needs explains human motivation and is a brilliant analogy for motivating prospects to become clients.
The higher up on the hierarchy the client’s needs are met, the deeper the connection and the stronger the loyalty to your brand. Research has found that, on average, companies who score high on emotional elements tend to have a higher Net Promoter Score (NPS) than companies that spike only on functional elements.
The Hierarchical Effect Applies to Your Brand Promise
A key distinction Maslow uncovered is the hierarchical nature of the needs.
The lower the needs in the hierarchy, the more fundamental they are for people.
While the core of the hierarchy is based on human needs, it translates over to the customer experience and your brand promise as well.
The more effective you can be in developing your brand promise to focus your clients up the pyramid, the more you’re protected from feature comparisons and downward pricing pressure. Too many companies fail to understand and pursue meeting the psychological and self-fulfillment needs of their customers. As a result, the customer pushes to the lowest common denominator they can measure which is often feature and price comparatives. This seems logical. However, it is important to remember that we buy emotionally and justify logically.
Let me explain in more detail:
Functional / Basic Needs
Functional needs are the base needs that your product or service addresses. Your offering must meet these baseline requirements and deliver these functional benefits or the marketplace will not take your offering seriously.
These are not the things you build your brand promise on. These are characteristics that, if deficient, may grab unwanted attention or worse yet cause customers to defect.
For an automobile, this would be a base level of reliability, air conditioning, power door locks. Today things like navigation systems, climate control, and iPhone integration fall into this category.
Price also represents a functional need. You can avoid an unwanted focus on price negotiations if you can meet the self-fulfillment and psychological needs of your customers better than your competitors.
Watch out for shifting needs. When Rackspace started, reliability was not a functional need. Today it is. When FedEx promised delivery by 10am, it was not a functional need, but today it is.
Psychological / Relational Needs
Your clients are more psychological than they are logical. Real engagement and loyalty increases when you leverage the principles of human psychology.
Here are two examples of the power of emotions when it comes to addressing needs.
Rackspace addressed client frustrations and provided its customers with a sense of confidence. Research into customer loyalty has shown that anger, frustration, and disappointment are the emotions with the strongest pull against client loyalty. Rackspace eliminated the possibility of these emotions and instead replaced them with confidence and peace of mind.
With Harley Davidson, the core desire they addressed is community. Since relationships and esteem are strong human needs, the motorcycle company attracted a strong following by leveraging these emotions even though their prices are high.
How can you help your clients succeed? How can you help them achieve? How can you help your clients avoid fear, find love, and pursue achievement? How can you help them win and be heroes?
These are the questions that will help you connect on an emotional level and address their psychological and relational needs.
Altruistic / Self-Actualization Needs
At some level, human beings are most motivated by causes bigger than themselves. Chip Conley makes this argument in his book Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, “Purely creating customer satisfaction won’t necessarily tame your customer’s tendency to wander in an increasingly promiscuous marketplace.” Tapping into the altruistic / self-actualization needs and desires of your clients can lead to differentiation and happy customers who are so loyal they will recommend you, defend you, and even walk past a potentially better product at a potentially better price.
Frederick W. Smith, the chair and CEO of FedEx, sums it up like this: “We thought we were selling the transportation of goods, when in fact we were selling peace of mind.”
How can you focus on the top of the hierarchy with your clients?
OneSource Virtual, a payroll and human capital services firm in Dallas, Texas, strives to “empower their customers to reach their true potential”. This is so much more inspiring to the employees and clients than being a great payroll processor. While being great is important, inspiration happens when you focus on meeting the needs and desires at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy.
Focus on Your Strengths
What have been your inherent sources of success through time? What makes you unique and valuable? What do you do that your competitors don’t do? Which of these best address your ideal client’s needs from above?
Rackspace chose to answer the phone with a level two technician that could immediately address most client’s concerns, put them at ease, and resolve most problems.
Southwest Airlines chose to provide lots of fun in addition to low fares and lots of flights. The leaders of Southwest Airlines chose fun when they developed their brand promises because they saw their ideal client sitting in the back of their competitor’s planes and surmised they must be miserable.
Ideally one or more of your strengths can be in an area that will be difficult for your competitors to imitate.
Don’t Forget to Consider Your Purpose
“Don’t just ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it.
What the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman
What gives you and your team the most energy? Your Brand Promise comes together at the intersection of your strengths, your purpose, and your client’s most important needs. Purpose provides the inspiration to power through and do work that is truly special even if it is difficult.
Creating Your Brand Promises: Kept Promise Indicators
After listing your clients needs, your strengths, and your purpose, brainstorm your potential brand promises. Align the promises with the needs you most want to address.
“When you make a commitment, you build hope. When you keep it, you build trust.”
~ Stephen M. R. Covey
Improve the trust building capabilities of your brand promise by assigning Kept Promise Indicators next to each promise. Rackspace used the following Kept Promise Indicators
Rackspace offers a money-back guarantee if there’s any downtime.
Rackspace installs red lights in its call centers that start to spin if a call is getting ready to go to a fourth ring.
So that a customer doesn’t get transferred, calls will be answered by a level two tech.
What are your brand promises? Ideally you will have three, with one leading brand promise. Share these with existing clients to make sure they connect. Test them in your marketing and your messaging against the following checklist:
Do they inspire your core customer to action?
Do they differentiate?
Are they measurable?
Have you guaranteed at least one promise?
Do they leverage your core strengths and purpose?
Do they inspire your team?
Now that you understand the core of a brand promise, how does yours measure up? Is it time to revisit it or to create it from scratch?
Key Takeaways
An effective Brand Promise helps build your brand faster
Start with your customer and their highest level needs
Consider how your strengths can make you unique and valuable to your core customer
Don’t forget to consider your purpose
Test, refine then test again
Learn more about Coach Mark Fenner by clicking here.