A key component of any positive customer experience is trust. Trust that a business is going to deliver what it said it would – and, if it doesn’t – trust that the business will either make it right, or make the customer whole in some fashion.
Product and service guarantees help to instill that trust by drawing a clear line in the sand: If we don’t do [X], then you will get [Y]. A good guarantee provides assurance and removes ambiguity, thereby giving sales prospects the confidence to buy and existing customers the confidence to stay.
The most effective, loyalty-building guarantees exhibit the following qualities:
1. They are (largely) unconditional.
The most powerful guarantees have no strings attached – no list of exceptions or loopholes where the promise no longer applies. The more small print and legalese that accompanies a guarantee, the less compelling it’ll likely be to the customer.
For much of its history, outdoor apparel and equipment retailer L.L. Bean had one of the most legendary unconditional guarantees in business: If a customer wasn’t 100% satisfied with a product, they could return it at any time (even years later). Due to a small segment of customers abusing the guarantee, the company modified it in 2018, now giving people one full year to return a product (even if it has been used). Despite that alteration, L.L. Bean’s satisfaction guarantee remains one of the best and most unconditional in its industry.
2. They are clear and simple.
The terms of the guarantee should be straightforward and easy for customers to understand. That includes the litmus test that triggers the guarantee (if something other than just the customer’s perceived satisfaction), as well as the nature and timing of the remedy.
Northeast Delta Dental, a regional dental insurance provider, provides customers with a “Guarantee of Service Excellence (GOSE).” It’s among the reasons the organization won the 2024 Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and has steadily maintained a Net Promoter Score in the 90’s (both are extremely rare accomplishments). The GOSE certificate that Delta Dental shares with customers offers a great example of guarantee clarity. It details, in very specific terms, what level of service customers can expect as well as what compensation they’ll receive (and when) if those service levels are not met.
3. They are relevant and proportionate.
For customers to even care about a product or service guarantee, it has to focus on aspects of the customer experience that are highly relevant to them. In the restaurant business, for example, a speed-of-service guarantee would be much more meaningful and appropriate at a fast casual chain, as compared to a high-end eatery.
The remedy promised through the guarantee must also be relevant to the target audience, and proportional to the harm or inconvenience they experienced as a result of the service failure. Returning to the restaurant example: At the fast casual chain, a free drink might be a reasonable payout for a failure in guaranteed order accuracy. At the luxury restaurant, however, that clientele will expect much richer compensation if a service gaffe ruins the patrons’ evening.
“Guarantees provides assurance and remove ambiguity — giving prospects the confidence to buy and customers the confidence to stay.”
4. They can be credibly honored.
It’s important that whatever level of service/product quality a company is guaranteeing can be realistically achieved, for two key reasons: First, word will quickly spread if the guaranteed performance is not routinely met. If quality is consistently poor, a guarantee is not going to help, as customers simply don’t want the hassle of having to repeatedly invoke the guarantee terms.
Second, since there is a cost associated with honoring a guarantee, it can literally bankrupt a company if performance levels are nowhere near the promised targets. In January 2025, telecommunications company AT&T made waves in its markets by offering an industry-first connectivity guarantee, where service outages trigger bill credits for affected customers. The payouts on such a guarantee could add up quickly if AT&T’s network experienced frequent and prolonged outages. What AT&T surely understood, however, is that the carrier’s nationwide network reliability is tops in its industry (based on 2024 data from RootMetrics), meaning their guarantee is more likely to be brand-enhancing than financially foolhardy.
5. They are easy to invoke.
No matter how clear, unconditional, and compelling a guarantee is, if it’s not easy for a customer to invoke (and collect) on the promise, then the commitment is essentially worthless. It must be effortless for the customer to make a claim against the guarantee, through whatever channel is most convenient for them. That means no paper-only submissions, no pages of forms to be filled out, no reams of documentation required.
Luggage manufacturer Briggs & Riley offers what they call a “Simple as that” guarantee. It covers the repair of all functional (i.e., non-cosmetic) issues with their luggage for life. (Even if airline baggage handlers break the bag, Briggs & Riley will fix it for you, at no cost.) They have authorized repair centers around the globe (easily searchable from their website) where travelers can drop their bags off for repairs, with no proof-of-purchase documentation required. Alternatively, customers can ship their luggage back to the Briggs & Riley factory for repair (again, via completion of a simple online form that immediately generates a repair authorization code).
Highly data-driven businesses can do even better, actually sensing when a service guarantee hasn’t been met and then proactively reaching out to advise the customer and offer compensation. Netflix did this in its early years, monitoring its nascent network and proactively e-mailing customers who encountered issues while streaming (they were offered a 3% credit on their next bill). AT&T is embracing a similar strategy with its new guarantee, using network monitoring to automatically notify and credit customers who are affected by an outage.
6. They are prominently marketed.
Business leaders are often so familiar with their firm’s offerings, they forget that customers don’t know as much as company insiders do. As a result, organizations often neglect to articulate and accentuate key sources of differentiation, be it with regards to a product’s unique craftmanship, the staff’s breadth and depth of experience, or even the presence of a compelling service guarantee.
If your business has invested in developing a guarantee, make certain that it’s not the company’s best-kept secret. Promote it. Advertise it. Train salespeople to talk about it. The business-building benefits of such guarantees can only come to fruition if prospects and customers know they exist.
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Guarantees can be powerful tools for garnering attention in crowded marketplaces and accelerating business growth. Follow these guidelines, and your company is “guaranteed” to strengthen its go-to-market strategy — cultivating trust with prospects and customers alike.
[A version of this article originally appeared on Forbes.com.]
GOSE is a registered trademark of Northeast Delta Dental. Net Promoter is a registered trademark of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
Jon Picoult is founder of Watermark Consulting, a customer experience advisory firm that helps companies impress customers and inspire employees, creating raving fans that drive business growth. Author of “FROM IMPRESSED TO OBSESSED: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans,” Picoult is an acclaimed keynote speaker, as well as an advisor to some of world’s foremost brands. Follow Jon on LinkedIn or Instagram, or subscribe to his monthly eNewsletter.