Mispromise and Desatisfy

Andy from Marketing Genius has this interesting take, on how great advertising can hurt business.  

The next time you create a new, exciting, cutting edge advertising campaign, take out a note card and write down the promise that you have created for the customer. ...What are you saying the customer is going to get out of the experience if they do what you want them to?  Ok, now set the campaign aside.  Go and do business with the customer that you created the campaign for (make sure you take the card with you). Visit their store, go to their website, call them - whatever - interact with the client as a customers and see if you fulfill the promise you just offered up to the world on behalf of your client. . . . What if your advertising promises top notch service and a customer receives fair service? . . .Your advertising actually reduced sales in the long run because you prompted trial and offered a promise that wasn't delivered. . . . Uh! Oh! - effective advertising actually reducing sales.  Now that's a point to ponder.

Don’t make a promise your business can’t keep.  You could turn an otherwise satisfied customer into an unsatisfied one, only because you’ve raised their expectations beyond what your business can deliver.