Be a Promise Keeper

Walmart, General Electric, and Duke Energy came up with a slam-bang promotion. They mailed a coupon, good for a package of compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) to thousands of households. It could be redeemed at any WalMart store.

It was a tremendous opportunity for
● GE to generate sampling and build brand loyalty for their CFLs
● Duke Energy to build a “green,” consumer friendly reputation
● Walmart to attract consumers who would probably buy other stuff while they were in the store.

Only one problem--the offer was so good that the stores sold out overnight, and many people seeking to redeem their coupons were disappointed. I was one of those people. I don’t shop at Walmart often. But this offer was so good that I made a special effort to include Walmart on my next shopping trip. No bulbs.

I was persistent however. I kept the coupon in the car and when driving by a different Walmart a couple of weeks later I stopped and found--they were sold out too. End of effort. Now instead of the positive feelings (and sales) the promotion participants had hoped to create, they created a consumer with decidedly more negative feelings toward their companies and products.

Those negative feelings intensified when I received a follow-up post card recently apologizing for the “overwhelming response” and telling me the coupon expiration had been extended until July. The only problem is, I threw away the coupon months ago. Who saves a coupon that apparently can’t be cashed?

Wait, though. It says on the second postcard that I can visit a website for more information. Maybe I can download a new coupon there… Nope. There’s a number I can call in case I never got a coupon, but it’s too much trouble for a pack of light bulbs. I’ll just nurse my resentment, thank you very much.

This point was reinforced the other day when someone at an organization I belong to promised event participants that the person would post some recipes (for food served at the event) on the organization’s website. I’m the webmaster for the site, so I sent this person a message a couple days later asking for the recipes. The person replied that they were too busy to send them then, it would be a few days until they could get around to it.

I told them not to bother. By that time it was too late--the promise was broken. Just as I would not return to Walmart every week looking for lightbulbs, the members of this organization will not return to its website over and over looking for these recipes. My point is, fulfillment delayed is fulfillment denied. And fulfillment denied generates disappointment and negative feelings.
You go to a lot of trouble to make people like your organization and buy its products. Don’t disappoint them. It is easy to blow a lot of good will in a very short period of time. Be very careful to keep your promises, or don’t make them in the first place.