This week I was in a discussion with a new client about their business strategy and how we were going to help them integrate social media to help them build more word-of-mouth and sales – a conversation I have all the time – but this time it hit me and reminded me of something that is often overlooked – KEEPING YOUR PROMISES is the foundation upon which all this is built.
Your brand, your identity, your image, the company’s reputation, the quality of your people, are all tied to this basic foundation. It is often overlooked in all the hype and buzz and excitement over such things as social media but it is indeed the core to your business. Don’t overlook it – in fact – remind your employees about it as often as possible. If we don’t keep the promises we make to our customers, we have no foundation upon which to build all this other cool stuff (technical term). Sounds simple, yes, but often forgotten and overlooked.
In talking with this client and helping them develop their business strategy, that was the one question I kept coming back to – do you have the people and processes in place to keep the promises you are making – implied and implicit? After some blank stares for a few minutes, I think we all knew the answer. This is what reminded me that we should all be reminded of this basic principle before we get all excited about something new – take care of the foundation and the house will stand a very long time…
