It's where to begin your branding journey
When a business builds its brand, a logo, tagline, and mission statement are typically top of mind. But all too often, an essential ingredient is left out of the mix: A brand promise.
While it’s often forgotten, it’s one of the most critical parts of your marketing. It raises awareness of and reinforces how people should feel when they use your products or services. To help you strategically integrate your brand promise into your marketing, Werkbot explains precisely what a brand promise is and isn’t, why it’s vital to have one, and how to make one.
What is a Brand Promise?
A brand promise is a marketing message that forges a strong connection between people and a brand. It does so by associating positive emotions with a brand’s products and services, inspiring people to take action, setting expectations, and solidifying brand trust.
The voice, tone, and intent of this message collectively become a throughline for all of your other marketing initiatives, whether it’s filming a commercial, publishing blog posts, or sending newsletters. However, a brand promise isn’t an advertisement for your products and services.
It’s a message that gives people something intangible—an experience synonymous with your brand. Some businesses create exclusive mission statements; others merge them with their mission statements and slogans.
Why is a Brand Promise Essential?
From color schemes and font choices to content creation and web presence, so much goes into marketing a company. But we’d recommend solidifying your brand promise sooner rather than later for several reasons:
- It Differentiates Your Brand: What sets your brand apart from your competitors? Maybe it’s your quality and exclusivity, or perhaps it’s your sustainable manufacturing practices and your philanthropic missions. Or maybe it’s simply your can-do attitude and bold style. Whatever it is, your brand promise should imply what makes you different.
- It Helps You Find a Niche: It’s rare that a business makes products and provides services that everyone needs or wants. Lean into your niche to help people see you for who you are. If you’re a high-end retailer, promise confidence and poise. If you’re a cutting-edge manufacturer, promise unparalleled prototyping services and part quality. If you’re a real estate firm specializing in seven-figure listings, promise an alluring lifestyle.
- It Motivates Employees: The right brand promise can help you attract top-tier talent. It adds meaning to your team’s work and lets them know that the whole of the brand is greater than the sum of its parts.
- Customers Want Purpose: Many people appreciate brands that have values and serve a greater purpose than simply making money. In fact, 89 percent of American consumers feel companies should demonstrate purpose through social responsibility. Put simply: you need to communicate and make good on your brand promise to attract and retain loyal customers.
How to Develop a Brand Promise
There are no hard and fast rules for developing a brand promise, but there are certainly some best practices. To create a memorable and meaningful brand message, we suggest:
- Make sure it’s a promise or directive
- Employing emotive language
- Keeping it short and simple
- Implementing literary devices (e.g., assonance, repetition, alliteration)
- Including what makes your company unique
- Not mentioning your precise products and services
- Placing your why front and center
There is a reason Simon Sinek famously titled his book Start With Why. Yes, the who, what, where, and how can all be a part of your brand promise. But there is nothing more foundational than why.
Once you understand your why, consider your customers’ why. Why do you think they’re attracted to your brand? Or why do you want them to be attracted to your brand?
Like a lot of marketing, there is an art to crafting the perfect brand message. Don’t be afraid to mix in a little loftiness and ethereal language. Remember, this isn’t a product or service description; it’s a brand promise. It should be vision-focused, not feature-focused. Meaning, you’re not listing off all the bells and whistles of your products or highlighting your credentials—you should be shining a light out into the future of your brand.
Example from Coca-Cola
Consider Coca-Cola’s purpose/brand promise: To refresh the world and make a difference. The company goes on to mention:
It’s why we exist, and it’s needed now, more than ever… It’s about how we refresh people in both body and spirit. It’s about how we refresh the planet and limit the footprint we leave behind. It’s about how our business system refreshes the communities we serve. It’s about how we and our bottlers refresh, inspire, and develop the people who work with us.
Example from Nike
Take some inspiration from Nike’s Mission Statement: Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. Nike’s About page goes on to say, “*If you have a body, you are an athlete,” and the backs up the statement further by stating:
We champion continual progress for athletes and sport by taking action to help athletes reach their potential. Every job at NIKE, Inc. is grounded in a team-first mindset, cultivating a culture of innovation and a shared purpose to leave an enduring impact.
Example from Planet Fitness
Another great example is Planet Fitness: Whether you’re a first-time gym user or a veteran member, we’re here to provide a workout environment in which anyone - and everyone - can be comfortable. They go on to state their goal and use one of their taglines:
It’s our goal to provide a clean, safe, welcoming environment for anyone who walks through our door, and all the equipment, amenities and support you need once you’re here.
Welcome to Planet Fitness. The Judgement Free Zone®
Following Through with Your Promise
After you develop a brand promise, you need to ensure you deliver. For instance, Coca-Cola can keep data on their year-over-year reduction of plastic waste. Nike can find ways to sponsor and support events that cater to those with special needs. Planet Fitness makes affordability and inclusivity a key part of its brand position.
Ensure your values, mission, and vision for the future align with your promise. If it’s just talk, customers and employees will see through it and eventually lose trust in the brand.
Let Us Help You Help Others
To follow through with your brand promise, you need to make sure your business is thriving. With the right team by your side, you can ensure your business meets and exceeds your key performance indicators (KPIs) while you build customer loyalty and trust by keeping your promises. If you want to learn more about how Werkbot can help you build your brand and grow your business, reach out today.