Everyone remembers the cheesy 100% satisfaction guarantee that old television infomercials would haul out to get people to believe in their products. Well, consumers are much more savvy now and most people understand this to be more of a trial guarantee that after a certain period expires.
In other words, the 100% satisfaction guarantee was usually limited to a few weeks or less, and after that you were stuck with the product. So, in all fairness it was more like a free trial than a 100% satisfaction guarantee. After all, if you’re not satisfied and the period for returns has ended, aren’t you then still a dissatisfied customer?
So, how to put in place something that goes beyond the 100% satisfaction guarantee, even though it may seem impossible. Well, it isn’t. It is your conviction that the products you offer are of such worth that you can offer a guarantee that goes beyond everyone’s expectations and still make money on the product. And, when you have that sort of conviction about the products you sell, the customer begins to believe it too.
The Strategy
The strategy, on the surface, seems a bit crazy for a business person to implement. What you will suggest to your customers is that if a certain condition is met that you will refund their money or make amends beyond what is expected of you. That means that if you sell a product and it breaks, you promise to refund the money or replace it, even if it’s one year or two years down the line.
But, it doesn’t just have to be about things breaking, it can also be a usage condition. Say, you buy a subscription to use a particular service and then find you don’t use it enough to pay for the membership costs. In this strategy, the way to go beyond the 100% satisfaction guarantee is to offer to refund all the money for the subscription if you don’t use the products and services offered by the membership at all within the year. Of course, you would have to have a way of figuring that out.
In a discount club, you have membership costs that give you access to discounts on other products. The idea is that the amount of money you save will easily exceed the membership cost to sign up and you eventually make back your membership fee.
But, what if you didn’t do that? Would most companies offer you the membership fee back if you found that the use of the club wasn’t worth it? Well, if your membership club did this it would set itself above the rest by offering to ensure that whether a member uses the membership they bought or not, they will end up satisfied with the purchase because you will make sure to go beyond the typical business guarantee. Now, add a little perk at the end like a free gift or even a coupon for popular items for having just tried the membership, even if it didn’t end up saving you money, people will flock to sign up.
