Abridged with the author’s permission from Pro Copy Tips.
Every copywriter should know how to write a guarantee. It’s a powerful marketing tool that will almost certainly create more profit than will be lost through the few people who take advantage of it.
A solid guarantee provides tangible proof that a business is reputable and helps lower the perceived risk prospects feel when considering the offer. It boosts response to nearly any sales message. You can even use a guarantee in fundraising to assure that funds are used as promised.
Here are the basics of writing a guarantee
If there’s anything like a guarantee template, it’s this:
We provide the finest widgets in the world. If you are not fully satisfied, for any reason, just return your widget within 60 days for a full refund of your purchase price.
You can be more personal. Or stronger. Just keep it short and sweet and readable at a glance.
Include the elements of a solid guarantee. Your guarantee should assure the prospective buyer of the quality of the product, clearly spell out terms and conditions, and specify a generous time period for evaluation. It should also state clearly what the company will do should the customer be dissatisfied.
Make limitations clear. Sometimes you must have limits. You might have a time limit. You might have usage conditions. You might have a liability limit. You might want to specify repair or replacement rather than return.
Don’t use limits unless you must. But when you do, make the limit clear.
Make your guarantee legal. Never, ever use a guarantee that hasn’t passed muster in the legal department. Make sure you’re not promising something you don’t intend to do. And make sure the guarantee will stand up in court if you have any customer complaints down the road.
Back up your guarantee fully. If you say it, mean it. And make sure everyone in the organization understands the guarantee, especially phone operators, complaint handlers, management, and anyone else who deals directly with customers.
Avoid legal-looking teeny type. No one wants to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous customers. And, yes, your guarantee is legally binding. But a guarantee shouldn’t look like a legal document, or you’ll alienate honest customers.
If the legal beagles force you to do these things, follow the lead of most financial direct marketers and bury the type elsewhere in the package. (Just don’t hide anything your customers should know.)
Keep conditions to a minimum. Don’t beat up people with conditions. Treat people as if they’re honest and most of them will act that way.
Tips for getting the most from your guarantee
A guarantee should speak for itself, but there are some tricks of the trade to make a guarantee work harder.
Make the guarantee visible. It should be one of the key elements of your promotion.
Use guarantee copy to sell. The whole point of the guarantee is to help stimulate a response, so whenever possible, I like to include sell copy in the guarantee. For example, I might add a line such as “Fill out the order form and mail it today. Try your gizmo for 60 days. If you’re not completely satisfied …” and so on.
Opt for unconditional guarantees. They’re stronger than conditional guarantees and easier to administer. However, if you have to use a conditional guarantee, a longer term is better — a 60-day free examination is better than 30 days, for example.
Use strong language. Unconditionally Guaranteed. No-Risk Guarantee. As long as it’s believable, the stronger the better.
Go beyond money back. Try “Double Your Money Back” or “115% Credit” for another purchase. Or maybe “We won’t cash your check for 30 days” or “We’ll return your own check to you” to assure that the customer will never have money at risk. Put yourself on the line with a super-powerful guarantee that appears to carry some risk for you.
Make your guarantee dramatic. For example, “Clip this coupon and bring it to our store. If we can’t match the lowest price in town, we’ll pay for the gas you used to drive here.”
Make your guarantee look official. Use certificate borders, certificate paper, watermarks, icons like eagles and flags, dollar values in the corners, and other touches. You can even ask the designer to create a seal or stamp with your basic guarantee copy in it.
Dean Rieck is a direct marketing copywriter and consultant and publisher of Pro Copy Tips, a blog that provides copywriting tips for smart copywriters.
