Brigantine Media

GUARANTEES WILL BRING YOU more business at very little cost. How about this one from cataloguer Lands End: “Guaranteed. Period.”

That says it all.

Nordstrom department stores extends its exemplary service to its guarantee with a full page up front in its catalog. It offers the regular money back-or-new merchandise option plus two-day shipping by FedEx (no extra charge) and free returns. Not happy with what you bought? Call Nordstrom. They will send FedEx to pick it up. Oh yes, they also have free gift wrapping.

Hey, I want to do business with them!

Cross Pens are known for quality and craftsmanship and their “lifetime guarantee.” If one of their pens breaks, is run over by a truck or smashed in an accident, mail the pieces back to Cross and they will send you a new pen.

And then there’s the one from Jay Ward Productions in Hollywood, known for their Dudley Do-Right cartoon characters. They say, “If by some quirk in your nature you are not utterly delighted with the stuff you get, send it back within 10 days and we will return your money (and cry a lot).”

One of the best we saw was from a wine company who said if we were not happy with the taste of the wine to simply send it back and “we’ll drink it!”

Richard Griot’s catalogue, “Griot’s Garage,” prints its lifetime guarantee up front on the cover page. Here it is:

“I always chuckle when I see 30 day guarantees. Wow! 30 days! I think to myself, they apparently only want you as a customer for 30 days. At Girot’s Garage, we want you as a customer for life. Everything you purchase from us comes with a lifetime guarantee. We’ll either repair the product, replace it or refund your purchase price. Forever. Customers for life. That’s our guarantee.”

Murray Raphel travels the world speaking about marketing for retailing, direct marketing, financial/insurance groups and the food industry. He is the author of several books including “Selling Rules!”, “Speaking Rules!”, and “Tough Selling for Tough Times.”

For more information about Murray and his books, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Customer Service, Selling Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.