A company’s branding has a significant role in both its public perception and marketing plan. You might compose a statement informing clients of what to expect from your business called a brand promise. Writing a strong brand promise is essential if you want to enhance a company’s branding.

A slogan is not the same as a brand promise. It’s a means of demonstrating to potential customers what makes your brand unique. Similar to other types of commitments, brand assurances may become intricate. They have an impact on relationships, make bold promises, and have high expectations.

What is a Brand Promise?

A brand promise is a statement that businesses write to describe the value they deliver to customers. The brand promise can cultivate trust between a business and its customers, as it guides customer interactions. Stakeholders can also use the brand promise to manage their expectations of the business. Writing this statement is often a component of a business’s branding strategy, which businesses use to create their public image and connect with their customers.

While it can be just as short as a tagline, a brand promise tells consumers, “Hey, this is what you’ll find every time you interact with our brand.”

So, why have one? Well, a brand promise:

• Helps internal and external stakeholders know what to expect from you.
• Gains consumer trust.
• Serves as the foundation from which you build out how your company operates from a consumer interaction perspective.

This one message can have a big impact on customer sentiment, brand reputation, and more.

Because a brand promise is like a pinky promise. For the uninitiated, a pinky promise is usually between two people. It holds more weight than a spit shake, legal contract, verbal agreement, and “I swear on my [insert family member]” statements combined. It’s part of our social contract – once it’s been agreed upon, it cannot be broken.

Your brand promise is the scaled, commercial version of a pinky promise, with your brand holding up one finger and your target audience holding up the other. Except, in this case, breaking it won’t just ruin your reputation, it can impact your revenue. This promise can affect your market valuation, employees, and stakeholders.

Making good on your brand promise can help you grow your brand, build trust with your target audiences, and boost your sales. But how can you pack all that power into a single message? Let’s talk about how to create your brand promise.

How to Write a Brand Promise

1. Focus on your audience.

Your brand promise outlines your commitment to your audience. So, to figure out what your promise should be, your first step is determining what your audience wants from you. It goes beyond a specific product or service, it’s more specific to the experience you’re providing.

For instance, Planet Fitness’s brand promise is based on people’s reluctance to join the gym for fear of judgment and embarrassment. The brand, in response, promises to create an environment that encourages people at all fitness levels to go to the gym and feel comfortable working out.

Another goal of your brand promise is to set you apart from your competitors. What makes you unique, is it your customer service, your product, your mission, your values? Use that to offer a promise that’s distinctive.

In Planet Fitness’ case, the brand did something no one else had done: Address the problem with the gym environment, not its users.

As you learn about what your audience wants, keep asking questions. Do you know what their knowledge level is about your industry? Do you have a clear idea of what they need to know to make a purchase?

It’s important to remember that your brand promise isn’t simply a slogan or commitment. It’s the first step in building a community with shared values. The better you understand your audience, the more likely you are to engage them.

If you haven’t already, develop buyer personas and workshop messages that could resonate with each persona.

2. Think about your customer touchpoints.

With your brand promise, you’re guaranteeing something to your customers. Whether your customer is in-store, on social media, or buying online, place yourself in their shoes and envision how you want those interactions to go. Is there a specific feeling involved? What do they have to gain?

For example, say a customer spends a lot of time on your website but hasn’t made a purchase. Do you have an idea about why they’re hesitating? If you were speaking to this customer in person, what would you say to help them move to the next step?

Once you put those feelings into words, you’ll be able to craft a brand promise that reflects the experience you want to promote.

Read Also: What is Brand Management?

You may also want to draft three or more secondary promises for each touchpoint at this stage. You may use these drafts to get to your main brand promise. This exercise can also help you narrow your focus to different touchpoints and how they can impact customer experience.

Your brand promise should be consistent across every touchpoint. So, the more time you spend looking at it from every angle, the more likely you are to create a powerful brand promise.

3. Keep it simple, unique, and inspiring.

Your brand promise should be clear and to the point, something you can say in one sentence. It won’t necessarily be as fun as a tagline, but it should definitely inspire trust and confidence. Try to organize your ideas before you start writing. Having a concise idea of what you want to communicate can make writing easier.

Then, be thoughtful about which words you choose. Does your brand promise need complicated words or industry-specific terms? Is your brand promise about selling an offer or explaining your product? Answering these questions can help you find the right vocabulary for your promise.

Next, introduce some play into your writing. Think about your company culture, awakening the senses, and details that can paint a picture for your audience. This process will probably create more text than you’ll need, but it can help you create a promise with an authentic and empathetic voice.

Then you can edit your brand promise into a single succinct statement that is useful, positive, and hopeful. If you can’t articulate your promise in this way, perhaps you haven’t fully fleshed out your brand’s purpose.

If that’s the case, start by asking yourself these questions:

• What should my customers expect from me?
• What does my company stand for?
• What makes us unique?

Brand Promise Examples

Here are several examples of brand promises with explanations:

1. Your dream haircut in less than an hour

A hair salon could use this brand promise to explain its value and what makes it different from other salons. This salon promises customers can get high-quality, beautiful haircuts during short appointments. This could be an effective brand promise for busy individuals who want great haircuts in less time.

2. All-day energy without the crash

This brand promise tells customers what they can expect from a business that produces healthy energy drinks. The statement promises that customers can enjoy long-lasting energy. It also compares the business to its competitors by mentioning that customers can avoid the energy “crash” that other energy drinks can cause.

3. Shoes you can work in, guaranteed

A company that creates work shoes could use this brand promise. It tells customers that the company’s shoes won’t tear or wear out while they’re working. Here, the main promise is the quality of the shoes.

4. Learn something new in 5 minutes

A learning app could use this brand promise to tell customers what they can gain from downloading the app. The app allows users to learn a new skill or piece of knowledge. It’s different from its competitors because it only takes five minutes, which is less time than other learning apps.

5. The perfect dress

This brand promise tells customers what to expect from a dress business. It simply promises customers they can expect to find the exact dress for their needs. This brand promise positions the company as the best place to find a dress.

6. Take care of yourself, take care of the planet

A sustainable outdoor clothing brand could write this promise. The statement highlights the company’s desire to provide comfortable, protective clothes while taking care of the environment. This simple statement can appeal to customers who value high-quality, sustainable clothing.

7. A magical event experience

An event planning service could use this brand promise. The word “magical” creates feelings of excitement, which can prompt people to become customers of this service. This statement is also simple and easy to read and understand, which makes it effective.

8. Better food, lower prices

A grocery store might use this brand promise to attract customers. This statement aims to differentiate the store from its competitors, claiming that the grocery store has better quality food at more affordable prices. This brand promise is simple and concise, but it tells the customer the most important information they can know about the brand.

9. A luxury hotel experience at an affordable price

This brand promise highlights the value of a hotel company, which is a luxury experience. It also differentiates the hotel from competitors by mentioning its affordable rates. This promises customers they can have a high-quality experience without spending sizable sums of money.

10. Learn a new skill without leaving your house

An online course website could use this brand promise. It tells customers they can expect to learn a new skill from the website. It also differentiates the website from other learning methods by stating that customers can learn from their homes.

11. Custom beauty solutions for your unique skin type

This brand promise, which a makeup brand might use, focuses on customization. It highlights that the brand is inclusive of a variety of skin types. This can cause people with sensitive skin and other skin types to form a positive opinion of the brand.

12. Dress beautifully and sustainably

This brand promise is simple. It tells customers exactly what they can expect from a sustainable clothing company—aesthetically appealing and sustainably sourced clothing options. Using the word “beautifully” can also make customers excited to purchase the apparel.

13. The best coffee you’ve ever made

This bold brand promise claims that a company’s organic coffee grounds can become the best coffee that customers have ever made at home. Using the word “best” positions the brand as the top choice among its competitors. It also highlights that customers can make this coffee themselves, making this an action-oriented brand promise.

14. Empowering athletes to express themselves

An athletic clothing brand could write this brand promise to highlight its unique clothing options. It also emphasizes athletes’ desires to find sportswear that reflects their personalities. Using the word “empowering” can make customers feel strong, making them excited to buy from the brand.

15. Optimize your work

This is another simple brand promise that a productivity application could use. This three-word promise is concise, and it tells customers exactly how they can use the application. The word “optimize” is also powerful, and it can make customers feel inspired to apply the application to their own work.

What Makes a Brand Promise Successful?

Unlike a promise between two friends, a brand promise is a public agreement with a vast audience. You don’t have to offer a brand promise, but if you choose to, it will set expectations for your community. That’s because saying you’ll do something is easy, but it can be difficult to follow through. And an inability to follow through on your brand promise can have a long-term effect on brand perception.

To get the most out of your brand promise, test it against the benchmarks below.

Your brand promise should be credible.

Your brand promise should be something that your business or product is qualified to offer. Brand promises that offer too much or don’t align with industry expectations can make customers question their authenticity.

An effective brand promise can offer clues about your business like:

• Level of professional experience
• Knowledge of complex issues
• The character of your employees

This statement can also show your commitment to solving a specific problem for your customers.

Your brand promise should be memorable.

It’s not enough to just grab attention with your brand promise. Instead, you want people to remember your promise and connect it to your brand and products long-term.

A memorable brand promises to evoke emotion, draw attention, and offer an audience something new. To create strong emotions, think about the emotions that come up when your customers solve a problem with your product or service. Then analyze the strength of these emotions. You can also look at how different situations might evoke different emotions.

This act of seeing from your customer’s perspective can help you create a “sticky” brand promise.

Your brand promise should have a business impact.

In promises between friends, both make the promise because both get something out of it.

So, your brand promise should support what matters most to your business. It might convey product excellence, drive sales, or expand brand influence. And as people in your organization make decisions, they should do so with your brand promise in mind.

As you work on your brand promise, think about it from the perspective of every department and team member in your company. This can help your promise to inspire your employees and support the culture of your business too.

Your brand promise should be actionable.

A brand promise is an offer that a business needs to keep. This means that the promise must be something your company can act on.

As you review your brand promise, ask yourself:

• Is your brand promise also a call to action?
• What do your customers get in return if they commit to your brand?
• How can your audience engage or get involved with your brand promise?
• What other questions might someone ask after seeing your brand promise?

To be effective, your brand promise needs to be something your stakeholders can act on or see you taking action on, plus why that action is valuable. If your promise is vague or static, you may need to keep working.