Empty Promises

“If we can’t beat the price on any comparable mattress then the mattress is free!”

I’ve heard this low-price guarantee off and on over the past several years from one distributor in the area.  I’ve never really believed it, though, and there are some very important reasons.

Firstly, just think of what the promise means.  They aren’t promising the best mattresses, the highest quality, the best value, the best comfort – they’re promising the lowest price.  At the same time, they try to avoid affiliating their brand with “cheap.”  Seems a bit difficult.

Secondly, it betrays their purpose in the market.  Why go to an expert retailer to buy a mattress when you could just pick one up at, say, Bed Bath & Beyond?  Why go from one specialty shop to another if you can get everything done at a big box retailer?  Specialty shops are meant to provide a sense of added value – ‘we guarantee you’ll take home the best mattress for you’ would be a better tag-line.

Finally, this brand promise is entirely empty.  They can never fulfill it!  Let’s say I find the mattress of my dreams and it costs $300 at store A.  I come back to this store and mention their guarantee, so they give me a discount and sell it for $250.  I find another store carrying the same mattress for $250, so they offer it to me for $225.

There is no way they can’t beat the price unless someone is standing on the corner giving mattresses away for free to begin with!  Even if someone offered my dream mattress up for $1 they could still beat the price.

A brand promise is all about defining your relationship with the customer.  What is it you do for them that only you can do and that you focus all of your energies and resources?  Is it an empty promise to charge them the least amount of money as in the above example?  Are you setting yourself up for failure by promising something you can’t deliver?