You’ve heard the phrase before, “A brand promise”. But what does it actually mean? A brand promise is essentially a commitment you make to your customers about the value and quality of your product or service. It is a statement that communicates what customers can expect from you and how you will serve them. In short, it is the foundation for building trust with your customer base.

What makes up a brand promise?

A brand promise should be clear, concise, and easy to remember. It should also represent the values of your company, be applicable across all products or services you offer, and be believable (i.e., something that you can actually deliver on). It should also differentiate you from your competitors by making sure that your brand promise is unique to you and not just another generic statement.

Here are some examples of strong brand promises:

• Amazon: “We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and the utmost convenience.”

• Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.”(*If you have a body, you are an athlete.)

• Southwest Airlines: “Low fares done right.”

These statements capture their respective brands perfectly; succinctly communicating their commitment to their consumers in an inspiring way.my design network on Linkedin, through word of mouth and through Google website searches.

The benefits of a brand promise

Having an effective brand promise can help create an emotional connection with customers, build loyalty, increase sales (as customers will be more likely to purchase if they know what they are getting), reduce customer churn rate (as customers will be more likely to stay with a company if they feel they are being taken care of), create trust between companies and customers, differentiate yourself from competitors, guide decision making within organisations (as everyone knows how they need to act in order to uphold their brand promise), generate word-of-mouth advertising (as people will want to share positive experiences with others) etc.

A great brand promise should accurately reflect who your company is at its core and communicate this in an inspiring way that resonates with people – ultimately helping build trustworthiness between businesses and consumers. Crafting a strong message takes time but it’s worth investing the effort from the outset.