Remove The Fear Barrier With A Guarantee
As part of an ongoing series, I will continue highlighting the seven elements of creating killer messages that produce results. This month I’m discussing element number four; check out the previous elements at bowlingindustry.com
This month’s marketing lesson is all about taking the danger out of your offers.
Today’s consumers expect a product or service to deliver on its marketing promises. Companies that get the most people to try their offers are the ones that boldly guarantee satisfaction.
Why? Because people want to know they have an ‘out’ or an ‘exit strategy’ if a product or service did not live up to its marketing expectations. Nobody wants buyer's remorse!
Think about companies like Walmart all the way through to a company like Nordstrom’s that caters to a more affluent consumer. They offer guarantees that put their customers (and potential customers) at ease; your operation should be no different.
Successful companies guarantee that customers will be happy, or they offer “money back,” “no questions asked returns” or “refunds or exchanges.” All types of consumers respond positively to bold guarantees. I encourage you to include a guarantee in the body of all your offers, from scheduling a birthday party to joining a league.
Beware wimpy guarantees that simply say, “We guarantee your satisfaction!” are not enough.
When making a guarantee, make it specific, make it solid, and display your confidence that you and your team will deliver as promised.
Here is a good example of a guarantee that might work for your center:
When you are planning to offer an 8-week fun league that targets people not familiar with league bowling, make it easy for them to say YES! YES! YES! to your offer. Try something like this:
We Guarantee You Will Love Our Fun XYZ League
Come the first week FREE to make sure the fun is for you!
Consider This
You might want to turn your 8-week fun league into a 9-week league to accommodate the free week. You will get more people trying your offer because of the free week guarantee once they come in and have a good time.
Guarantees should only worry you if your company has a habit of overpromising and underdelivering. To me, it is a marketing error not to advertise and promote guarantees; most operators often go out of their way to satisfy customers, so why not consistently share your bold guarantee?
Add this marketing element to all your messages.
It works! I Guarantee It!