You saw the ad, the pictures on the internet, even the quick annoying video popup on the YouTube video you were watching…the deluxe, everything you always wanted, hamburger sold by your local fast food restaurant. Or maybe it was this loaded sandwich on a fresh hoagie roll that looked like you couldn’t wait to get one for yourself.
Then you got the “real hamburger or sandwich” and it looked nothing like the ones you have been seeing all over the pages and the internet. What happened? How could this be…they showed me one product and delivered one that only vaguely resembles the one I wanted to purchase. Anyone out there ever have this experience? We all have…unless you have been on a deserted island or in a cave for the past 30 years.
Sadly…it’s become the norm…to expect that you won’t get what you see. You know they are lying to you. You know this is deceptive advertising. You know you won’t get what you see and so you have conditioned yourself to be “OK” with it because everyone does it this way.
WHAT??? Why is this acceptable? Why are we willing to put up with this type of marketing and advertising…and customer experience? WHY???
Just because they all do it doesn’t make it right…its unethical. They have “made a promise” to you in the advertising but they aren’t willing to “keep their promise” in real life. And this is OK with us as a buyer, a consumer, a customer? I don’t think so…I don’t think this is the way we, as customers, should be treated or have to accept their product.
And here’s the best part…what if you say something. I’m sure you already realize I say something all the time when I am checking these things out. I ask, “Why is what you just gave me completely different, and not in a good way, from what is all over your images, website, advertising and everywhere you promote yourself? Don’t I deserve to get what it is you are promising me in the pictures?” Their response, “I’m sorry, that’s just the way we have been instructed to prepare it and I agree with you it doesn’t look like the pictures we have out there.” And this is OK with us to hear this and still purchase the product? It’s our fault as customers to put up with this and continue to spend money on a broken promise.
By the way, if you tell the manager you want the product they show in the pictures, they will simply give you your money back and say they don’t have that product. They have the broken promise product for you. Try it…it’s an interesting exchange.
But here’s the real point of this story for you, the leader. What promises are you making to your customers and what promises are you delivering to them. Are they getting the product/service (burger) that doesn’t resemble the one you are promising or are they getting a product/service that looks the same as your promise…or even better? This says a ton about your own organization and how you feel/treat your customers…and how they feel about you as a business.
WHAT IF you were the one that actually delivered what was promised. WHAT IF you delivered something better than what you promised? AND…WHAT IF you delivered this better product/service with such an incredible experience where they said, “WOW, you are amazing and I not only get more than you promised but I feel super special whenever I deal with you.”
Do you think you would stand out from the competition? Do you think you would be viewed as being completely different as anyone else in your industry? Do you think you would get talked about more than your competitors…in a good way? Do you think you might steal a few customers away from your competitors…without any additional cost to market to them?
This is what happens to companies that keep their promises of what they are going to deliver to their customers and do it with an incredible experience. I believe this is what your customers deserve and what the best ones expect. When I get asked in speeches and strategy sessions, “How do we get the best customers and steal them away from our competitors,” this is always the answer I give them…KEEP YOUR PROMISES AND DELIVER AN EXPERIENCE THEY CAN’T WAIT TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT.
If the burger and sandwich shop (and a host of other businesses) actually did this, we would all go there. There are some out there…and when we find them, we switch and tell others. In a crowded, commoditized world (which is the one we live it today) this is the true differentiator that sets companies apart. What does your “burger” look like?
