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Business Services Industry

Guaranteed results

Entrepreneur, March, 2005 by Gwen Moran

A money-back guarantee works great for retailers, but what if you own a service business? According to Peter Geisheker of The Geisheker Group, a marketing company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a guarantee is a great sales tool. Geisheker, 34, launched a money-back guarantee two years ago. "If I say I can do what I do, and I charge for a service, it's my moral obligation to fulfill that agreement," he explains. "I guarantee there will be results, or the client should not have to pay me."

But money-back guarantees can be tricky for some service companies, says Christina Miranda, a partner at New York City's Redpoint Marketing PR: "I would rather keep going until the promised results are delivered instead of returning money," she says.

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If you decide to try a guarantee, Miranda offers a few tips to avoid potential pitfalls:

* Spell out terms specifically so people don't think they can get something without actually having to pay for it.

* Use guarantees selectively. Miranda says they can be good for new customers, as a sales incentive and to see if the client/ provider relationship is a good fit.

* Promise only what you can control. Because a publicist doesn't have the final say in what stories run, guaranteeing certain coverage, for example, is a bad idea. Says Miranda, "A PR firm [can] guarantee results, but time and flexibility need to be allowed."

Business Services Industry

Guaranteed results

Entrepreneur, March, 2005 by Gwen Moran

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