“A Courageous Offer opens up the customer floodgates.
The money of the many will wash away the bad taste of a few.”

*“A typical business hears from 4% of its dissatisfied customers. 96% of dissatisfied customers don’t complain. 91% of these customers will never come back.”

Source: ‘Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner

“Buddy needs a scale and clean,” said the vet.
The quote? I could fly from Australia to Bali and back for less.
“Specific dental dog food will help prevent future plaque build up,” he suggested.
So now I’m off to buy expensive dog food.

Buddy is a Toy Poodle and a connoisseur when it comes to food. Twice before supermarket dry food has failed to meet his expectations. Both bags sat sadly in the garage for a month before ending in the bin.

A pleasant experience.

“If your dog doesn’t like the taste and won’t eat it, bring in the rest of the bag, and we’ll give your money back. Or we can exchange it for another brand,” said Jo, my new favourite shop attendant. Jo works at City Farmers in Townsville.

Full refund or exchange no questions asked.
This offer takes away any risk. This is a Courageous Offer.
I had never been into City Farmers before, but now consider me a regular.

My business partner, Mike Slover, has a process to develop a marketing strategy. Mike calls it the Strategy Diamond.

The Strategy Diamond has four sides.

  1. The Big Idea
  2. Differentiation
  3. Courageous Offer
  4. Unexpected Delight factor

Mike goes into depth about the importance of having a Courageous Offer in his book, The Strategy Wizard.

So what exactly is a Courageous Offer?

It is something your competitors would be afraid to do, would never do or can’t deliver.

Naysayers will offer you advice like, “You’ll go broke offering that. Customers will screw you. Customers will take advantage of you.”

You can only have a Courageous Offer when you are super confident in your product or service. An average business would go broke having a Courageous Offer they could not consistently deliver.

And yes a few customers will take advantage. Get over it.
A Courageous Offer opens up the customer floodgates. The money of the many will wash away the bad taste of a few.

You must deliver on your offer. No whining. No but’s. No excuses.
A Courageous Offer is not courageous if it comes with a page of terms and conditions.

Here are a few examples of a Courageous Offer.

My client, The Coloured House, offers a 30-Day Love Them Guarantee. Love your blinds or curtains for 30-days or your money back.

Benjamin Franklin the Punctual Plumber offers an on-time guarantee. “On Time. If there’s any delay, it’s you we pay.® If we’re not on time, we pay you $5.00 per each minute we’re late.” This business has a backend system that delivers its promise.

One Hour Airconditioning & Heating also offers an on-time guarantee. “On Time. We have convenient, one hour appointment windows to better fit your schedule and If your One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® service provider is even one minute late the service is on us. SERVICE ON TIME OR YOU DO NOT PAY A DIME.®” One Hour also has systems that deliver like Benjamin Franklin.

Tip: You need to celebrate and make public when you fail to deliver on your Courageous Offer. This proves to the doubtful that your offer is real.

A past client, Coral Sea Property does a great job celebrating when they fail to deliver. They do a BIG cheque handover and post on their website.

I offer a full 100% money back guarantee on my workshops. No questions asked. I want you to go away happy and come back.

*“News of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for a good service experience.”

The Takeaway: Take the time to address unhappy customers and do everything in your power to remedy the situation. It’s not only worth keeping their business, but also avoiding any negative word of mouth exposure.”

Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs

A Courageous Offer removes perceived risk for the customer.
A Courageous Offer attracts more customers.
A Courageous Offer creates customer loyalty.
A Courageous Offer reduces customer leakage.
A Courageous Offer reduces negative word of mouth.
A Courageous Offer creates positive word of mouth.
A Courageous Offer grows your business faster.

Tip: Being courageous has a cost.
Allow for that cost in your marketing budget.

In business, fortune favours the brave.

How brave are you?

Until next week
Work hard. Have fun.

PS If you have any examples of Courageous Offers, please share, and I’ll be sure to mention.

* Both these customer service stats come from an infographic put out by HelpScout.net. You can download it here. Big thanks to my business partner Tim Miles for finding that info and sharing.

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