@Note Taking Nerd – Well said. It’s good to have an unconditional guarantee paired with a conditional guarantee. Usually, the conditional guarantee involves getting MORE back than you paid, while an unconditional guarantee is simply a full refund.

@Ian – Excellent insight. I especially agree with this statement you made: “The true impact of making a bad decision isn’t the money wasted on the product — that’s trivial compared to the damage that is likely to be done to my business by following bad advice.”

@Scott – A transferable guarantee is definitely a step up. Car makers honor their standard warranties even if the car is sold to a second or third owner. But outside of that business, it’s certainly a unique model.

I was kind of blown away…

For me, in contrast, many of the “money back” guarantees on information products are meaningless.

As you say, my fear is not about making a good decision instead of making a great decision – it’s of making a bad decision.

But the true impact of making a bad decision isn’t the money wasted on the product – that’s trivial compared to the damage that is likely to be done to my business by following bad advice. Screwing my SEO, wasting my time on business ideas that don’t work, etc.

A money back guarantee on an information product doesn’t really help me with that. I find that testimonials and case studies (if I believed them) would be stronger. What is especially strong is reading information from the seller in advance so I can judge the quality of what they say. That’s why blogs like yours are in fact stronger “guarantees” for any products you sell that a money back guarantee.

Ian

The Hyundai example you used here was brilliant.

It speaks directly to the conversation people are having with themselves and their spouses.

I wonder if there are any weasel clauses built into it.

You know, the whole 2 point copy buried on page 18 of the contract that says “Hyundai will honor guarantee if and only if these conditions are met:

Vehicle must have retained “new car smell”. Paint job is better-than-when-you-purchased it. And no maintenace problems or potential problems exist.

This is what we need to be concerned with if we do use a conditional guarantee. The “I knew this sounded too good to be true” response when we craft a risk reversal proposition.

By law we have to refund people their money if they ask for it by a certain time so I don’t cower away this fact.

If I’m sweetening the deal by using a conditional assurance guarantee I always make sure there’s a unconditional one before it or after to eliminate the “I knew they were pulling my chain” reaction.

Talk again soon,
Note Taking Nerd #2
http://www.mynotetakingnerd.wordpress.com

It’ll be interesting to follow Hyundai’s progress with this. It has a lot of potential.