Article written by Jannie Rossouw, Head: Sanlam Business Market
A guarantee is a formal assurance (typically written) that certain conditions will be met; specifically that a product will be reinstated or replaced if it does not live up to the specified quality, or that a service will be reviewed if it does not deliver the expected result.
When you consider a product/service guarantee it should be in line with the “best promise that you can deliver on”.
Such a guarantee should:
- Eliminate any discerned risk for a client
- Demonstrate full trust in your product
- Be specific – include all claim particulars and conditions
- Be measurable
The following guidelines can be considered when you frame guarantees:
- Learn from your competitors (what do they do?).
- Focus on what you do excellently (what you do better than your competition).
- Guarantee results (the outcome that your client can expect).
- Pay more than 100% of the product/service value when a guarantee is called up and guarantee conditions are met (pay an extra % for a client’s time and trouble).
Tell the world about your guarantees. Include them in your business marketing material, quotations and website information, i.e. feature them in all your marketing elements.
The following are a few examples of phrases that you can consider:
- “100% on the spot guarantee”
- “Absolutely no risk for you”
- “My 110% – I must be crazy” guarantee
- “Unconditional money back guarantee”
A good guarantee says that you have faith in your product/service. It gives clients that do not know you yet, peace of mind.
Henry Ford once said, “Quality means doing it right when nobody is looking.” If quality is part of the DNA of how we must do business, the honouring of guarantees will be no challenge, because the calling up of a guarantee will then be the exception and not the rule.
To receive similar articles from Sanlam on a regular basis please click here to subscribe