Should you offer a satisfaction guarantee?

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Brad Krueger, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

When working with clients, often one question that comes up is whether or not to offer a satisfaction guarantee.

At first, this can seem pretty scary if you’re a small business.

There’s an immediate fear that you’re going to work with a client that’s going to take advantage of you.

For example – for a long time, the Duluth Trading Company, which sells a lines of quality clothing with names like “Ballroom” jeans and “Buck Naked” underwear (definitely unique branding) and offered a life-time satisfaction guarantee on their clothing.

My father loved their guarantee!

Why?

Because, he would wear a pair of their pants for years until they completely wore out and then return them for a new pair.

Now, my father is generally a generous and nice guy. But he has never been a business owner and he just really enjoys getting things for free.

I kid him that the store probably use his picture on a dart board in their break room, which only makes him laugh. He’s not going to change.

My father is probably the stereotypical nightmare client that makes you cringe when you think about giving satisfaction guarantees.

Right?

But, hear me out.

The right guarantee can be good for your business.

Why?

Put yourself in your client’s shoes.

If you had to choose between 2 providers. And, one was more expensive and guaranteed your satisfaction and the other was cheaper but had no guarantee, which one would you pick?

Wouldn’t you pick the business that stood behind their work, even if it cost more?

Not only does it reduce your fear of buyer’s remorse, but also shows the service provider is confident in their work.

Generally, a satisfaction guarantee leads to more trust. And, if there’s more trust, the more likely you are to make the sale and the less price is a consideration.

Now, if you’re offering a guarantee, there is a risk that you might get hired by a opportunistic client, like my father, that sees your guarantee as a way to get free services.

But, there are ways to reduce your exposure.

For one, satisfaction guarantees are generally not a strategy for low-cost services. A guarantee adds more value, so the price should be higher. And, higher prices can weed out opportunistic clients.

For example, I offer a money-back satisfaction guarantee on the first month of my Premier, high-touch, VIP business success coaching. My exposure is limited to 1 month.

Honestly, if a client is unhappy and I can’t make them happy no matter how hard I try, I’d rather refund their money than risk a bad review.

Think about it, if you had a client that you just can’t make happy no matter how hard you try, wouldn’t you rather just refund their money and move on?

Who knows, they might recommend you to someone who is an ideal client!

So, perhaps you already have an informal satisfaction guarantee. Maybe it’s just time to formalize it and get credit for.

Speaking of which, recently Duluth Trading Company updated their guarantee, which now only gives my father one year to return worn out clothes. And, he has grudgingly admitted that his days of getting free replacement clothes are over.

The good news is he still is a loyal shopper of Duluth Trading Company.

Which illustrates my point that you can build trust with your clients while protecting yourself from opportunistic clients if you set clear expectations around your satisfaction guarantee.

Ultimately, a guarantee can be a great way to build trust with clients, especially if you’re still building your reputation.

So, what if you offered a satisfaction guarantee?

Would it give you another way of confidently winning over new clients and build loyalty with existing clients?

I encourage you to give them some thought.

It’s another way you can stand out from your competition.

Would you like to discuss your unique situation?

Request a free consultation today!

Don’t put it off, get something on the calendar today.

Let’s make success beyond luck a reality for your business.

Brad Krueger
Business success coach