A promise is a commitment or an assurance that something will or will not be done, a declaration that binds it to a particular course of action or inaction.  A promise is always future oriented, with the person making it feeling obligated to follow through on what he/she committed to, while the promise recipient expects the person to be reliable and act in accordance with what they stated.  When someone makes a promise to another person, a relationship is created between the two, since, if the pledge is fulfilled, it builds trust, establishes credibility, therefore resulting in a valuable connection.

A Brand Promise is a statement that communicates the unique value and benefits that a company or product offers to its customers.  It sets clear expectations for what customers can expect from the brand and serves as a guiding principle for all its business activities.  Most of the times, customer promises are short statements that either appeal to emotion or they are tied to a specific action.  Brand promises that are direct and verifiable are considered to be more impactful than those that are not.  For example, the US insurance giant Geico, promised to their clientele that “Fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more over your current car insurance", a catchphrase that created a connection and once it was verified built trust.

A recent study published in Harvard Business Review have examined the data for more than two thousand marketing campaigns from 2018 to 2022, classified according to whether they had made a direct and verifiable promise to customers. About 60% included no such promise, while the remainder did, and these two groups were then compared on a variety of metrics.  Customer Promise campaigns showed bigger improvement on brand perception, preference and on purchase intent, while their market penetration and market share outperformed those without. 

The kinds of promises that were made in the above campaigns fell mainly into three types i.e. emotional, functional and enjoyable to buy.  Moreover, the study looked at what made these promises attractive to customers and it turned out that successful campaigns shared distinct features such as, they were easy to remember and consistently met or even exceeded the expectations that they set.  Nevertheless, to craft an effective Customer Promise, apart from considering all the above, primarily we need to understand our customers, their needs and what creates or adds value for them, while at the same time we must identify what is our unique selling point. 

Apart from enhancing customer loyalty and playing a key role in the differentiation of a brand in the market, a Customer Promise can serve as a guiding principle for a company. By adopting the Brand Promise as a central objective, organisations can unify various departments under a common goal, fostering collaboration in efforts to deliver what they have committed to.  Moreover, companies can measure success based on how well they deliver their promise, therefore providing a tangible objective for assessing their performance.  Additionally, employees who understand and believe in the Customer Promise are more likely to be engaged and motivated.

From the above, it is evident that a well-crafted Brand Promise functions as a strategic pillar and a unifying objective that can strengthen the marketing position of a company, drive loyalty and promote a robust internal culture which is aimed at customer satisfaction.  Whether if we are talking about a small business or large organisations, leveraging this power can make a significant difference in growth and profitability.  So, what do you promise then?