"What if our brand promises more than we can deliver?"

“What if our brand promises more than we can deliver?”

This question both shocked and amazed me when I heard it. Not only because it showed a remarkable lack of understand about how a brand should make a promise, but because it also illustrated a level of arrogance that simply will not be tolerated by consumers any longer.

In order for any brand to be powerful and enduring, it must be authentic and deliver on its promise every single time.

Authenticity requires an introspective look at your organization during the brand audit process (described in more detail in my Top End Alignment^TM article). This introspection will ensure that you do not promise more than you can deliver. Your brand promise must be based on the experience you can deliver fully and consistently.

If you fear that your brand promises more than your organization can deliver, immediately change your branding strategy or change your organization. Period. No questions asked and no shortcuts, please. Your brand must accurately communicate the unique value it will deliver…without question and without debate.

Building a powerful brand is a two-way street. Not only must your brand promise unique value that reflects the best of what your organization can deliver, but your organization must be willing and able to adjust and evolve to ensure that it continually delivers on your brand’s promise.

Everyone in your organization must not only understand your brand’s promise, but also embrace it and be committed to consistently delivering on that brand promise. Call it internal branding, organizational alignment, or Top End Alignment, but your people must understand and be committed to your brand’s promise so they are motivated to deliver on it and propagate it as deeply as possible to your target market.

Your brand simply must keep its promises or it will be summarily rejected.