Why
promises must be managed
Improving
dependability is one of the fastest and most direct routes
to building trust and boosting productivity—two
objectives that are in the sights of most senior executives.
Building
trust
The most definitive work on service quality in the US
showed that “simply put, customers want service
companies to do what they are supposed to do. They expect
fundamentals, not fanciness; performance, not empty promises.”
One
of the biggest problems facing marketers today is delivering
what is promised. The gap between the marketing promise
and what gets delivered has been stretched to the limit-
so much so that the new cynical consumer has been created.
On
the other hand, take a look at marketing’s success
stories of the century, like Coca Cola, Nike, Mars, Fedex
or Singapore Airlines. What they have in common is the
trust built from their ability to move their brand with
the time and deliver on the promise they make to customers.
As Marketing magazine says, “those who make marketing
history will be judged by the promises they make, and
how well they keep them.”
Boosting
productivity
The wastage that comes from poor reliability is a big
cost—it is also largely invisible because it is
hard to observe.
Outstanding
reliable brands, partners, teams and individuals cost
less and do more.
For
example, our studies show that an outstandingly reliable
employee may be more than ten times more productive than
the average. Yet most employers do not have a clue who
these people are, they possess no strategy for hiring
more of them and fail to reward them proportionate to
what they achieve.
.
|