Guarantees with Oomph

by Marcia Yudkin

Not long ago a real estate appraiser asked my opinion of his 
new brochure. "'Guaranteed on-time appraisals,'" I read out 
loud. "You mean that if it's not on time, the customer gets 
a refund?" 

"No, I couldn't do that," he replied. "So many times things 
get delayed for reasons outside of my control." 

"What do you mean, then, by 'guaranteed'?" 

"Never mind, then. Strike that out. We couldn't give people 
their money back every time an appraisal was late." 

He'd come close to landing his business in serious trouble. 
The word "guarantee," like the word "free," has a specific 
meaning that the Federal Trade Commission and state 
attorneys general enforce. Without any explicit qualifiers 
attached, "guarantee" means that the customer has the right 
to a 100 percent refund if the product or service 
disappoints them -- no "ifs," "ands" or "buts." 

Further, because of the well-known strength of the word, a 
guarantee holds a powerful potential to increase business. I 
explained to the appraiser that an on-time guarantee would 
probably boost his business enough to cover the occasional 
refund. We then restated his guarantee to read, "We 
guarantee that we'll deliver your appraisal by the promised 
time, or it's free." He'd cover his flanks by being careful 
about the promises he made. 

Like a sharp knife, guarantees can cut through a prospect's 
skepticism and fears. Handle them with care, but include 
them in your business's toolbox. 

* Try a long guarantee. The longer the guarantee, in fact, 
the fewer refund requests a business receives. If your 
competitors offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, extend 
yours to 90 days, a year or even a lifetime. 

* Depending on your business, consider a performance 
guarantee instead of promising a refund. For example, a 
termite-control customer might prefer your promise to make 
the problem go away, no matter what it takes, to getting her 
money back if the treatment doesn't wipe out the pests. 

* If you can stand behind outrageous-sounding guarantees, go 
for it, as in, "We guarantee that your credit-card 
application will be approved by one of the listed banks, or 
we'll return every penny you paid us, plus $10.00 extra for 
your trouble." Since this company knows that only 4 percent 
of applicants get turned down, their offer motivates without 
bankrupting them. 

* Try guaranteeing some aspect of your product or service 
rather than the main product or service itself. One 
advertising firm promises that all calls will be returned in 
less than one hour, or the caller receives a $25 gift 
certificate to a local restaurant. 

* Act graciously and promptly when a request for a refund 
comes in. See what you can learn from the customer's 
dissatisfaction. Software returns were killing one catalog 
merchant until she wrote the catalog copy more carefully and 
tested it on her friends for clarity. Customer service 
research reveals that people whose complaints are handled 
well often turn into more loyal customers than those who 
never had a problem! 

The above is adapted from "Secrets of Mouthwatering 
Marketing Copy" by Marcia Yudkin, available from 
http://www.yudkin.com/mouthwatering.htm  . Marcia Yudkin 
<marcia@yudkin.com>  is the author of 11 books, including 
Persuading on Paper and Internet Marketing for Less than 
$500/Year.