The task of delivering brand promise looks different for different businesses. There are several factors that affect how the brand promise is carried out, including:

The brand itself
Every brand has its own unique brand personality. This personality is made up of the distinctive traits and characteristics that make the brand special and set it apart from the competition. A KIND bar (an all-natural fruit-and-nut bar) and a Snickers bar are both tasty snacks, but they have very different brand personalities and promises. KIND bars are meant to be “a nirvana of healthful tastiness,” whereas a Snickers “really satisfies.” Consider some of the touch points you learned about in Objective A. How might they differ between these two products in terms of delivering brand promise?

The business environment
A business’s environment also influences how its brand promise is carried out. This includes physical environment as well as virtual environment. Two similar products might be treated differently depending on the business environments in which they’re sold. For example, quality kitchen utensils are sold in stores (e.g., Williams-Sonoma), and sometimes, they are sold person-to-person (e.g., The Pampered Chef). Can you see how the touch points might differ between the two? For example, if a customer buys a product at Williams-Sonoma, s/he likely takes it home that day. With The Pampered Chef, however, s/he will need to wait for the product to be delivered. Consider a situation in which one brand is sold in a store and a similar brand is sold online. How would this change the way brand promise is carried out?

Corporate culture
The values and ideals that an organization encourages among its employees make up its corporate culture (sometimes referred to as organizational culture). Corporate culture can certainly influence how a brand promise is carried out. A culture that values creativity and innovation may carry out brand promise by developing high-impact marketing campaigns. A culture that emphasizes personal interaction may carry out brand promise by sending thank-you notes to individual customers after each sale. Regardless of what the brand promise actually is, corporate culture will have an impact on how the business conveys it. For more on brand promise and corporate culture, see Susan Gunelius’s article “The Importance of Integrating Your Brand Promise into Your Company Culture.”

Employees
The most important factor in carrying out brand promise is the employees themselves. Do they have the knowledge, experience, abilities, and willingness they need to complete this very important task? Successful businesses consider this question with every new individual they hire. Do you know what your company’s brand promise is and how you can help carry it out? It isn’t as difficult as you might think—see the simple steps outlined in the next section.