Dana Dorris

BY DANA DORRIS

Promises are a powerful thing. They give us hope. From a business perspective, promises are more important than ever because a broken promise represents a breach of trust and can lead to unhappy customers, a damaged reputation, reduced revenue and negative reviews.

As an insurance agent, my business revolves around the power of a promise. Consumers count on their home, auto and life insurance companies to help them when things go wrong, and me, as their agent, to assist them along the way. My promise is a commitment to action that is meaningful and valuable to my clients. As businesses consider the promises and commitments they are making to their clients, they must think about the standard of behavior for their organization and how to create a customer experience that will set them apart from competitors.

A brand promise is defined as a value or experience a company’s customer can expect to receive every single time he or she interacts with that company. The more a company can deliver on that promise, the stronger the brand value will be in the mind of customers and employees. This takes careful consideration, courage and creativity. The bolder and clearer, the better. For example, BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine” is a bold statement. Not only does it aim to produce an efficient and elegant vehicle, its brand promise states this with confidence. The best brand promises are simple and consistent and focus on a compelling, differentiating element of the customer experience.

Trust is at the heart of every good customer experience, but how do you create trust and deliver on the promise of your brand? The simple answer is you must align with who you really are and define how you want to be perceived. The customer expectation should be codified in a one- or two-line sentence and should communicate what the client can expect when he or she does business with you.

Once you have identified your brand promise, you must organize your business based on this promise. Take time to think about your customer touch points. For my business, we collaborate as a team and give thought to what information our clients need and what will help them do business with us. Then we think about how the process will make the client feel. It is important to our team that our clients feel special and valued – because they are.

Consistency in messaging, process and actions are the keys to successful branding. The way your organization delivers messages that line up with its core values, followed by its actions, will determine whether your client is confident you will keep your promises. When a brand follows through on its promises, the result is a loyal and happy customer base that will be ready to advocate for the business and help it grow. A brand and a promise go hand in hand, and a logo is just a graphic unless and until there is a meaningful promise behind it — a brand promise.

Dana Dorris is the first two-time female president of the Kennesaw Business Association. She is an independent insurance agent and senior partner with Risk & Insurance Consultants of North Georgia.

*Valid on Purchases & Refinances