Have you ever thought where your expectations come from? Where does that feeling or belief about how successful, good or bad, someone or something will be come from?
Our expectations are developed over the course of our lives from both our experiences and what we are taught. As children it starts with adults teaching us that there are rules. As we grow older, we continue to build these expectations from our own ongoing interactions with the world.
Since expectations are tied to feelings and experiences, as well as ideas, rewards can be pretty high when expectations are met but come with great disappointment when they are not.
As we become aware of our expectations and where they come from, we can decide if we want to keep them or if we want to change them. To be aware of what they are means we have the chance to make the choices that honour who we are.
Your businesses reputation or a customer’s previous experience establishes strong expectations. A great haircut, a fantastic meal or a really comfortable bed are all great experiences that would set up great expectations.
But there are also your customers’ own life experiences, which will create expectations about your product or business. Some may not be positive and some may be unrealistic.
How many of your customers read the latest Trip Advisor review, or check your Facebook page, website or Twitter feed? When your customer comes to you they already have an emotional contract with your business. They know how they expect to be treated and they have expectations for the quality, feel and experience that they will get. The answer to this is your brand.
That means everything that your customer sees, feels, touches and experiences! Setting up your customer’s expectations means that you need to ‘control’ everything your customer sees and hears about you.
You need to get your message out there. So, no matter the platform, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, website, promotional page, advertisement, blog or even articles written about you and your business, everything needs to tell your story and message consistently. This information influences our expectations and gives us the ability to evaluate quality, value, and the ability of the product or service to meet our needs.
Once you have set clear expectations, it then all comes down to execution!