Traction Tip: Offer a Guarantee

Just a little over 20 years ago Zappos went live as an online shoe retail store. Naysayers argued that it would fail. Can you guess why? Because we want to know the shoes fit before we buy them. We are (were) accustomed to going to a shoe store, having our foot measured, trying on two or three different pairs of each style, and selecting the one that fit and looked the best. You just can’t do that online. Or can you? Assurance that a product or service will “fit” – meet expectations – helps the prospective customer choose to buy.

Zappos created a guarantee for their customers: Free shipping, free returns. No questions asked. In fact, four years after they launched, Zappos offered a unique warranty – 365 day returns, for free! This essentially eliminated the consumers’ barrier to buy shoes online.

What are the barriers your prospects have? Is it price, fit, “I’m not sure that I’ll like it,” quality of service, delivery time, or something else? Eliminating or at least minimizing these barriers will increase sales and shorten your sales cycle.

Businesses running on EOS® spend time first deciding if a guarantee is valuable to their target market. Then they spend time deciding which barrier(s) they can and want to address in the guarantee. Coupled with the Proven Process, your guarantee provides the assurance your customer is looking for, but may not be mentioning. Here is Zappos’ guarantee:

“Return shipping from anywhere in the United States is always FREE. If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase from Zappos, you can return your qualifying item(s) for a full refund within 365 days of purchase – no catches or exceptions!”[1]

What’s your guarantee? Your customers want assurance. Be proactive and tell them you’ll guarantee that their money will not be wasted.

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[1] https://www.zappos.com/c/shipping-and-returns, June 2021

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