Brand promise · Keeping it · Component
The failure record
How often the promise was not kept, by cause and period — because a promise with no failure record is unmeasured rather than unbroken.
The deliverable
What it is
Defining what counts as a failure is the step organisations avoid, because it makes the number visible. It is also the only thing that makes the promise manageable.
The rate is more useful than the incidents. Individual complaints produce emotion and inconsistent responses; a monthly rate produces a decision.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The failure definition
What counts as the promise not being kept.
3 attributes: Definition · Agreed by · Effective
LearnThe rate
How often the promise fails, per period.
3 attributes: Failure rate · Period · Against expected
LearnThe causes
Why the promise failed, in categories that can be counted.
3 attributes: Cause category · Occurrences · Routed to
Learn
Include “the promise was always too wide” in the cause categories. It is the one nobody records and the one that matters.
The other components in keeping it
The recovery
What happens when the promise fails, and who can authorise it without asking — because a recovery requiring approval takes long enough to lose the customer.
LearnThe trust reading
Whether customers believe the promise — a different measure from whether it is kept, and the one that decides behaviour.
Learn