In today’s fast-moving, competitive, and digitally driven world, a strong brand is not just a marketing tool – it’s a business necessity.
A strong brand can differentiate your business in a crowded global market, translating into pricing power, recruitment power, and trust among clients and employees whose values align with the brand. At the core of this alignment is your brand promise – the emotional and psychological relationship your stakeholders have with your business.
What is a brand promise?
A brand promise is the commitment you make to your clients, employees or other stakeholders, reflecting the experience they can consistently expect when interacting with your organisation. Beyond brand slogans and tag lines, which some businesses use to succinctly explain their service offering and which sometimes change over time (e.g. for specific campaigns), a brand promise is more of an “enduring covenant” with your market and should be deeply ingrained in your business culture. Ideally it creates an emotional connection with clients and employees beyond the product, service or contractual agreements.
It’s helpful to distinguish the brand promise from other branding elements:
- A brand position is the space your brand occupies in the minds of consumers compared to competitors.
- A value proposition outlines the specific benefits your product or service offers, explaining why clients should choose your business over others.
While these elements are interrelated, the brand promise is the overarching commitment that unites them, informing everything from slogans to customer experiences.
An unrealistic or overly ambitious promise can backfire ... If the business fails to meet expectations, trust erodes.
Why a strong brand promise matters
A well-defined brand promise, which your business honours in its delivery, builds trust, loyalty and differentiation in the marketplace. When clients and employees know what to expect and your business consistently delivers, it strengthens brand identity.
The benefits of a strong brand promise include:
- Trust: Consistently delivering on your promise fosters trust with both clients and employees.
- Differentiation: In crowded global markets, a clear brand promise can be a deciding factor for clients.
- Price and recruitment power: A brand that consistently delivers can command higher prices and attract top talent.
- Loyalty and advocacy: When a brand lives up to its promise, it earns repeat business from clients and a willingness to advocate.
- Internal alignment: A credible brand promise guides internal culture and decision-making, helping with talent retention and advocacy and overall business cohesion.
However, an unrealistic or overly ambitious promise can backfire. Beaton Benchmarks data reveals that sometimes the attributes clients associate with a brand do not reflect the actual client experience during services delivery. If a business fails to meet expectations, trust erodes. This hurts key outcomes like future use and a client’s propensity to recommend the business. That’s why relevance, credibility, and realism are essential.
Are you over-emphasising the wrong attributes?
While some firms may emphasise buzzwords like “innovative” or “disruptive,” clients often respond best to brands that focus on trustworthiness, reliability and expertise, particularly in industries like professional services.
Innovation is obviously important for any business’s sustainability, but for the brand promise, ensure alignment with core attributes that your clients value most. Beaton’s insights into consulting firms in the built and natural environment suggests that a firm whose brand differentiated on attributes of reliability, responsiveness and relevant expertise was more likely to be considered for opportunities than a competitor who emphasised alternative attributes such as innovation or cost consciousness. The first firm had a consideration rate of 50 per cent whereas the second firm was considered by just 19 per cent of the market.
Chart showing the top drivers of consideration for clients when deciding between brands of professional services firms.
Crafting a brand promise that works
Your brand promise is a powerful tool in defining your brand identity and differentiating your business. It should be clear, credible and realistic, resonating with clients, employees and other key stakeholders. Delivering on the core performance attributes your clients care about (eg reliability and expertise) can lead to stronger brand loyalty.
When developing or refining your brand promise, consider the following:
- Understand your audience: Conduct research to understand the priorities of your current clients and employees along with other relevant stakeholders such as desired clients, potential recruits, investors etc.
- Benchmark against competitors: Analyse your competitors’ brand promises to find gaps or opportunities for differentiation.
- Align with your values and capabilities: Ensure your promise aligns with what your team can realistically deliver.
- Test and validate: Test your brand promise with sample stakeholders to ensure it resonates and reflects your strengths.
Maintaining a relevant brand promise
As markets evolve and client expectations shift, your brand promise must remain relevant while staying true to your organisational capabilities. Regular evaluation can ensure your promise continues to resonate with key stakeholders.
Effective branding isn’t about making the boldest claims – it’s about making promises you can keep consistently. Trust in your brand can take time to build through repeated positive experiences but can erode quickly through a single failed promise. So develop a brand identity that reflects your genuine strengths and values. An authentic approach to branding will serve you better than chasing buzzwords or making unsustainable promises.
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