WHAT IS THE PROMISE YOUR BUSINESS IS BUILT TO DELIVER

HOW WILL YOU CONSISTENTLY DELIVER ON YOUR PROMISE?

VISUALIZE YOUR UNIQUE "BRIDGE" FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS

Once you have your promise clearly defined, you need to determine how you can deliver on this consistently. There are many little things that your team will have to do to reinforce your brand and turn the promise of the brand into an actual experience that the customer can rely on. All successful businesses have thought about the interaction with you as a customer, have developed systems and then trained employees to follow the rules - all to reinforce the concepts the business was built on.

Think of your operation as a "bridge" – a special experience that only you can deliver to people. An experience that people can rely on to be the same every time they "cross". One that will fulfill special needs that your customers have. The bridge is a metaphor for the unique processes that your team will execute every time they help a customer.

Build a better bridge that serves a need and educate people that you are offering this solution to a problem they have, and people will pay to cross your bridge. If they have a good experience, they will tell friends about the great time they had and they’ll come back. If you offer an inconsistent experience, you will loose customers over time. Think about your favorite barber or hair stylist. One of the big reasons you might choose to go back time and time again, is the consistency. While you most certainly like the results, the fact that you are not taking a big chance each time with a new person is very important. We all like to know what to expect - when we choose to buy a specific product or service.

Many of the well known companies that deliver consistently on their promise are franchises. The reason for the high success rate is that they are designed and well thought in advance - so that someone else can simply walk in and start operating. There was a great deal of research done prior to the new franchise owner coming on board. Everything was thought about – the brand promise, the marketing, the systems, the training, and on and on. If you think of your business as a prototype for a roll out of many more just like it, you will be able to replicate the success of franchises. (The failure rate for franchise operations is much less than start-up businesses).

Even though you may never desire to truly franchise your operation, simply thinking like one helps you by making you focus on the operation from a unique perspective – delivering on the promise – over and over – without relying on your direct input.

Let's look at one company's bridge - Jiffy Lube. They offer a quick oil and filter change in your car. They have 100's of locations that are all expected to deliver the exact same service. If they left it up to each manager to come up with a process, the results would be scattered, unpredictable, and not likely to work. Instead, they developed a well thought out process. When you drive your car up to the store, you get the same experience each time. Can you picture the checklist and training that went into this process? The result is that the business can expect to hire people who do not know anything about doing an oil change and train them on exactly what they need to do and know.

By documenting how to deliver the promise, you are one step closer to creating a business that can deliver on it - repeatedly. While it may seem odd to document your process when there are only a few employees, the process helps you think about how you deliver and where you could improve. You also have the start of a training manual for new hires.

Whether you love or hate Walmart, you are likely familiar with their unique bridge. No matter which Walmart you enter, you can expect the same experience. There are shopping carts sitting near the front door. As you enter, there is a person to greet you – and mark any returned items you are bringing into the store. You want a clean store that has the items in stock. You don’t want to spend hours on a check out line and you know you will see your favorite brands as well as lower cost alternatives. You go back time and time again because you know what to expect. The marketing consistently reinforces this brand and the employees are surely focused on delivering the brand promise - every time you visit the store.

Of course many bridges offer something special that you are willing to pay a premium to experience. When you enter Nordstroms’, you also know what to expect. Excellent service, top quality products, and you don’t mind paying a little extra. The brand delivers a good feeling to you - one that you will pay for happily. In fact, the pricing is part of the brand image. If you create a bridge that is unique (think of the experience of Disney World), then money is less of an issue since everyone is looking for a special experience now and then.

DEFINE YOUR BRIDGE:

Describe the small details that add up to a wonderful experience each and every time your customers cross your bridge.
What can you do as part of your process that can reinforce your promise?
Why is your bridge unique?
What would cause people to stop using your bridge in the future?

Now that you can picture your "bridge", let's look at a framework to help you execute.