Today, we’re going to look at the topic of overpromise and over deliver. It’s a mantra that can help take your company’s customer service satisfaction to the next level. Let’s talk about this concept in three stages:
1. In this stage, the company is not doing a very good job at delivery. For example, a rep might say, “I’m going to deliver this product or service to you a week from today.” And what happens is that they actually end up delivering two weeks later. So the customer or client is unhappy, and when the delivery happens, there’s nothing special or unique about it. I call this stage “nothing” because the said company is doing nothing right.
2. The second phase is a good one, and it uses a mantra you’ve probably heard before: under promise, over deliver. Here’s how it works. Say you know that you can deliver your product or service in one week, but instead you say that you’ll deliver in eleven days. In terms of the actual product or service, you only talk about the basics of what your customer will get. And when you finally make the delivery, you deliver more than what you promised.
So, as opposed to getting the product in 11 days, your customer ends up getting it in a week. They’re excited because you’re giving them what they want before they even expected it. And if you throw in an extra special gift unannounced, they’ll be ecstatic.
3. The next and highest level is called overpromise and over deliver. It means being the best in your industry and giving added value far above and beyond normal expectations. During the early sales communication, you might say, “I’m going to deliver this product or service within 5 days.” Now 5 days might already be quicker and better than what anyone else in your industry can do. However, not only that, but you also tell them about all the bonuses you’re going to give them when they receive the delivery.
Basically, you’re overpromising and playing up what you’re going to deliver. You straight-up tell them about all the value they’re going to get, and you’ll also deliver in a shorter timeframe than what they’d usually expect. Now, in terms of over delivering, as an example, maybe you deliver that product or service in 3 days as opposed to 5 days (or whatever your initial promise was). You promise a fast turnaround and deliver even faster. This is overpromising and over delivering. And, you might include even more bonuses than you originally promised. Essentially, you create raving fans when you do this.
The point is for you to go from doing nothing, to under promising and over delivering, which is actually very good. Then, you get to the point where you overpromise and over deliver. That is what you need to do if you want to be on the very top of your game. Make it happen and have fun doing it!
