Brand promise · Keeping it · Component
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.
The deliverable
What it is
How a failure is handled affects loyalty more than whether it occurred. The finding is robust and consistently under-acted on, because recovery is a cost with no budget line.
Speed and authority matter more than generosity. A small remedy offered immediately by the person who took the call outperforms a larger one approved three days later.
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 response
What is offered when the promise is not kept.
3 attributes: Response · Value · Proportionate to
LearnThe authority
Who can offer the recovery without asking.
3 attributes: Can authorise · Limit · Time to resolve
LearnThe recovery outcome
Whether the recovery actually worked.
3 attributes: Outcome · Retention after failure · Followed for
Learn
Measure recovery by whether the customer stayed, not by whether they accepted the remedy. The two diverge.
The other components in keeping it
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.
LearnThe trust reading
Whether customers believe the promise — a different measure from whether it is kept, and the one that decides behaviour.
Learn