On Copywriting

200% Guaranteed Lowest Price Pledge

As I walked through Furniture Row tonight, I noticed an interesting guarantee, which they coin the "200% Guaranteed Lowest Price Pledge."

Kinda wordy, but it got my attention.

Basically, if you buy furniture, then discover you could have gotten it for less elsewhere, they'll pay you 200% of the difference in price.

Then I got to thinking about why these outrageous guarantees actually work.

You see, they're banking on a subtle psychological quirk that works kind of like this:

1. They make an outrageous guarantee.
2. You automatically trust the guarantee because it's so bold. ("Surely they wouldn't make such a claim if it weren't true!")
3. You think, "Wow, if they're so confident, I guess I don't need to worry about personally making sure their prices are the lowest."
4. You go ahead and purchase without price shopping at all!

Interesting how an outrageous guarantee can build trust like that, isn't it? How can you make an outrageous guarantee in your business?

Aaron Brothers' Guarantee

Risk reversal guarantees almost always increase sales. And even though they are most frequently used in direct response sales situations, they can also be used effectively in a retail setting. Here's a guarantee I saw posted in Aaron Brothers today, a store that sells artwork and frames:

"See something you like? Take it home today, hang it tonight and see how great it looks with your own decor. If you aren't completely satisfied with your new artwork bring it back for a full refund."

This guarantee was posted prominently near the artwork on a double-sided banner that stuck out from the wall. And while I don't know the stats, I bet this guarantee has served to greatly increase sales of this stores' artwork.