Of the many issues, phrases, claims and counter claims amongst all the political parties, one phrase has been used on a regular basis; the broken promise.
Political parties have talked about others breaking promises and of course their determination not to break the promises that they make. It’s not surprising that the term is used so frequently. The promise is one of the oldest, most human specific behaviours, which promotes cooperation, trust and partnership. Although promises are generally not legally binding, they form the basis for a great many everyday social interactions and will underlie any meaningful relationship.
At the heart of the promise is ‘trust’. Trust is something that is hard to gain and quick to lose and the lessons for businesses and brands are just as important as they are for politicians.
Organisations make very specific promises; lowest prices, excellent service etc and of course consumers judge them on those promises. In one sense this is a very transparent and rational promise which may or may not be delivered.
Brands also make promises but these promises are built over time and are a combination of both emotional and rational considerations. Consumers develop expectations of what a brand will or will not do, how it will or will not behave. The trust in some brands can be so strong that when they introduce a new product or service consumers are already confident of how it will perform.
It is the trust in the brand that allows Tesco to sell Insurance and Apple to create massive consumer expectation when a new product is still on the drawing board.
Unfortunately consumers are already sceptical due to over promise and too many broken promises and ironically politicians have not helped any of us in this with an emphasis on spin over delivery.
The broken promise is therefore at the very heart of building great brands. Think of your brand as a promise made to a loved one. The promise you make will create implications of things that you simply must deliver every time.
We call them brand imperatives and they are at the heart of delivering an aligned brand.
In reality our politicians could learn from the world’s great brands. Great brands are clear what they are promising and they are very clear about the things that they simply must deliver on time and time again. By doing this they build genuine trust and strong loyalty.
A simple lesson for politicians; build trust through keeping promises and you just might become as popular as Apple, or Prett a Manger, or Google!
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