Sam is struggling to keep his exercise commitment that he made in January. He walks into a gym to explore the cost of membership and learns the fee is $40 per month for a one-year contract. Sam is at the decision point — he knows he needs a gym or some other option to get in shape, but he wonders if this will even work for him.
As Sam hesitates, the manager explains, “We have a guarantee. If you don’t like the facility, and we believe you will, you can cancel any time during the first 30 days.”
Sam moves closer to committing, but still hesitates. He asks, “What if I just don’t get into using the guy? Am I stuck for the $480 fee for the year?”
The manager responds, “Any time within 90 days you can cancel and pay only for the time used. We don’t want to take money from customers who just don’t use the gym, for any reason.”
Sam figures he has nothing to lose and signs up as a new member. The guarantee was the major factor that got Sam to join and spend his money.
The prophet Zechariah wrote, “If it is good in your sight, give me your wages; but if not, never mind” (Zechariah 11:12 NASB). The prophet has given us a great model; offer an ironclad guarantee to customers and let them decide.
Good Marketing
In the current business environment, you need every edge you can get, so offering a guarantee is simply good marketing. A customer will often look at a purchase as a risk. The more prominently you offer and highlight a guarantee, the less risk the buyer sees and the more likely you are to get the sale.
Customers want to know if you trust your ability to deliver what you promise. A key question for the business owner is this: “Do you deliver consistently what you promise?” Then back up your belief with a strong guarantee, and the longer the time you can offer the warranty the better.
Biblically sound
The Lord gave us a standard, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31 AS). As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to reflect God’s glory to every extent possible in everything we do, including in the products we sell and services we offer. We should be delighted to stand behind what we sell.
The reality of guarantees
Sellers are generally already under a lot of rules covering guarantees, so you may as well aggressively advertise your refund promise. Federal law gives buyers an automatic refund for items purchased by credit card through the mail. In addition, credit card companies honor most complaints by buyers (i.e. being short changed) and reverse the charges. Any merchant understands the challenges of dealing with credit card companies when charges are reversed.
Given the reality that you already have guarantees in place, use that reality as a strong marketing tool.
Most people don’t return their items
Most customers don’t use returns anyway, unless the item is expensive or failed to perform in a big way. When I do consulting, I offer an ironclad promise to clients, at their sole discretion, that if the time is not effective and helpful, they will not be charged. Clients risk time and money working with a consultant, so I remove the money risk.
When guarantees don’t work
Some high-ticket items may need to be serviced under warranty provisions rather than allowing a return. The cost of a simple return may be too great. If you sell a one-time, high-cost service, this tactic may not work very well. Professionals, like attorneys or doctors, likely can’t guarantee results given the uncertainties of the profession.
The use of honest, effective no-nonsense guarantees is a great biblically based tool that will help grow your business.
