This week, Florida-based fiber provider Summit Broadband announced the implementation of a new brand promise.
According to the company’s announcement, “This strategic direction marks a significant step for Summit Broadband, reinforcing its investment in network infrastructure and its relationships with both residential and commercial customers across Florida. The company’s renewed focus aims to drive innovation, foster stronger community ties, and ultimately deliver an unparalleled customer experience.”
The new Summit Broadband brand promise is, “Focused on Fiber. Focused on Florida. Focused on You.”
The company explained the three points of the promise:
- Focused on Fiber: “The Guarantee of Cutting-Edge Connectivity.” Summit Broadband points to their 99.99% reliability guarantee as part of their commitment to fiber.
- Focused on Florida: “A Commitment to Community.” The company notes that they have served homes and businesses in Florida for more than 30 years.
- Focused on You: “The Promise of Customer-Centric Excellence.” Summit Broadband said they have a pledge “to prioritize customer satisfaction above all else,” including 24/7/365 support.
Marketing Analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses
Brand promises should be something a company can prove — not just say — so the primary strength of new Summit Broadband brand promise is that at least two of its three points are easy to prove. The fact that Summit Broadband is both fiber-based and Florida-based is clear, with the company’s website even using the registered tagline, “Fiber-Focused. Florida-Based.”
It’s possible that being based in Florida and having an emphasis on fiber are two of Summit Broadband’s competitive differentiators. If so, they are right to emphasize them.
The third claim of the brand promise, “Focused on You,” is both very difficult to prove and more generic.
It’s worth considering how much being both fiber- and Florida-based matters to customers. Recent research suggests that customers are most interested in the speed and price of their broadband service.
While fiber is associated with speed, the revised, technology-neutral guidelines of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program suggest that other technologies may meet consumers’ needs just as well.
Lower price is a differentiator that Tier 2 and Tier 3 providers often cannot claim. These providers must promote their overall value, emphasizing a mix of affordability, service, and reliability. The Summit Broadband brand promise touches on the benefits of service and reliability, but perhaps not explicitly enough.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the new Summit Broadband brand promise does not yet appear on the company’s website, except on their “News and Updates” page. Although the company announced the promise via social media — to mixed customer reactions — the fact that it is not featured more heavily on the site feels like a missed opportunity.
Telecompetitor is a Pivot publication. As a marketing and customer experience agency, Pivot regularly develops brand promises for broadband providers.
