Crafting Your Sales and Service Value
Promise
Learn the essential elements of developing a sales and customer service value promise..
A sales value promise comprises everything you
communicate to your customer prior to their purchase of your product or
service. Likewise, a service value promise comprises everything you convey
to your customer after their purchase. These promises tell your customers
how they should do business with you in order to get what they want in the
way of value
(competitive pricing, customized service, complete integrity in information
provided, a quick and efficient sales process, etc.). Customers want to know
what to expect from you and what you expect from them.
Unless you distill your promises into succinct yet thorough language and
incorporate them into every manner of message you send to your customers,
your customers will mentally summarize everything they receive into what
they perceive your promise of value is. When this happens, you lose control
over the collective meaning of your messages regarding what your customers
can expect from your organization and how best they can interact with you.
Being explicit and direct is critical to avoiding ambiguity and confusion in
the mind of your customers. Ambiguity or confusion during the sales process
gives customers reasons to say “no” to your efforts to build value in your
product or service. When everything is clear regarding both the
product/service and the process, customers are more comfortable in
saying “yes.” They know what they’re doing because they know what you’re
doing!
Take charge of the content of the messages you communicate both before and
after the sale! You can do this by simply being intentional in crafting what
you want to say, how it is said and in what manner (print, web, TV, radio,
direct mailings, verbal, signage, etc.). Ensure that all communications are
integrated and consistent in conveying how you make it easy, convenient and
pleasant for customers to do business with you.
Following are the essential elements that should be contained within any
value promise that you deliver to your customers both before and after the
sale:
“We promise:
• Innovative products that deliver obvious and outstanding value
• A welcoming, clean and comfortable retail environment in which customers
can gather and study easily understood information and consider their
choices at their own pace
• Responsible, courteous and dignified treatment as well as honest
consideration of and respect for customer wants and needs
• Service before, during and after the sale that meets your specific
requirements
• On-going care from committed knowledgeable professionals dedicated to
delivering exceptional value and complete customer satisfaction”
About the Author