What is your brand’s reason to believe?

Lindsay Says

Most of us would agree that one’s brand promise must be unambiguously true. Brands that fail to deliver on their promises lose customer trust and therefore long-term viability.

Your brand promise, though, must be more than just true. It must be demonstrably true. It must have the power to make people believe it by presenting compelling proof.

An ironclad brand strategy includes a forceful “reason to believe.” This is proof of your promise. Your proof stems from a tangible and indisputable attribute, feature, fact, guarantee, or ingredient.

Give us a reason to believe.

I recently saw an ordinary computer mouse package with the tagline “Enjoy what you do.” This is a big promise for a boring computer mouse that appears no different from other boring computer mice! They offered nothing to prove this lofty promise. Whether or not this mouse could indeed enable me to enjoy what I do, I don’t believe their promise because they gave me no reason to believe. The promise might have been true, but it was not demonstrably true.

Contrast this with Zappos, a brand that promises amazing customer service. That is no squishy promise, because Zappos presents a concrete reason to believe. While most retailers bury their 1-800 customer service numbers in small print, Zappos 1-800 number is displayed “proudly” (in the late CEO Tony Hsieh’s words) on every page of their website. That visible display of the 1-800 number makes the Zappos promise of amazing customer service demonstrably true.

Some more brands with compelling reasons to believe:

Dove soap

Promise: Softens skin.
Reason to believe: Contains ¼ moisturizing cream in each bar.
My conclusion: Soap is known to dry skin, not soften it. But containing that much moisturizing cream allows me to picture the softening. Now I believe that promise.

Starbucks VIA instant coffee

Promise: “Starbucks coffee in an instant.”
Reason to believe: Made from the same actual coffee beans as other Starbucks coffee, micro-grinded into Starbucks VIA powder.
My conclusion: That is a big, hard-to-believe promise, as instant coffee is usually considered low-quality coffee unequal to Starbucks caliber. But now that I know they’re using the same actual Starbucks coffee beans, I believe the promise.

Zildjian Cymbals

Promise: The gold standard of the musical instrument cymbals.
Reason to believe: Zildjian Cymbals was founded in Constantinople in 1623.
My conclusion: Wow, that was centuries ago and made in the land where cymbals originated. Now I believe that promise.

Original Pantry Café

Promise: Always open.
Reason to believe: Since first opening in 1924, they have never had locks installed on the doors.
My conclusion: If they’ve never had locks, it must be true that they’re always open. Now I believe in their promise.

Granular makes credible.

As you define your brand promise’s “reason to believe,” eschew the general and embrace the granular. Fine granularity increases believability.

A University of Michigan study asked participants to estimate the battery life of two GPS devices, with one device claiming a battery life of “up to 2 hours” and the other “up to 120 minutes.” Participants estimated the first to have a battery life of 89 minutes and the second 106 minutes, despite the claims’ equivalence.

People associate the finer granularity of the more granular proof point with more credibility than the more general proof point. With your reason to believe, get as granular as possible.

Challenge yourself to show concrete proof.

While articulating your brand, identify not only your true promise, but also a reason for customers to believe it.

Show that you’re good for your promise.