Your best chance at meeting (let alone exceeding) your customers’ expectations is to effectively manage their expectations from the very beginning. What your customers believe about their relationship and experience with your casino begins with your Brand Promise.
Your Brand Promise is more than a clever marketing tagline and even more than a company philosophy. It is your 360-degree experience. What your customers experience, associate and remember about your casino at every touchpoint is the bulk of your brand promise. How your employees, owners,partners, and vendors interact, represent and experience your casino is the rest of your brand promise.
(Assumption) We all know Apple’s marketing campaign. Think Different. While an advertising tagline is not the same thing as a Brand Promise, it must (if the campaign is to be successful) represent the brand promise. As we look at Apple’s products, their launch strategies, how they operate their stores, etc. it is safe to say amongst their competitive set, they do represent a Think Different approach.
Apple, Nike, and Starbucks are easy examples of successful Brand Promises. What is the Brand Promise for your casino? Do you know what your brand promise is from the customer’s perception? We all know what it means to assume, so do the research. The only way to know what your current and potential customers perceive about your brand is to ask. Ask your customers, employees, executives, and owners. You will probably need to ask more questions than you think and ask a bigger audience than you plan on.
When exploring the development of, or refreshing your casino’s brand promise consider the following attributes. Your brand promise should be clear, actual, individual, memorable and motivating.
First, your brand promise should be clear. It should be easy to understand and even easier to communicate. Customers should inherently just get it. Nike’s brand promise is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Their marketing tagline is “Just do it.” In everything Nike does, it is in the spirit of inspiring and innovating every athlete in the world.
Second, your Brand Promise should be actual. Does BMW deliver on creating the “ultimate driving machine”? Does your casino live the promise it makes to your audience and your team members? Are you the most luxurious and refined gaming/hospitality experience in the region? Are you the friendliest casino?
The third consideration for your Brand Promise is that it is individual. Your Brand Promise should focus on something that sets you apart in the marketplace. Your brand promise should represent your differentiator.
Your casino brand is dependent upon how customers perceive and remember their experience with your casino. Having a memorable Brand Promise means you are delivering on your promise through your experience. Wynn’s Brand Promise is to make every visit a once-in-a-lifetime experience for their guests.
Finally, a successful Brand Promise should motivate your customers. If your marketing campaign and Brand Promise is in harmony, you’ll see continued engagement and be successful in triggering desired behaviors from your current and potential customers.
