In a competitive business world, where consumers are spoilt for choice, meeting customer expectations is important. But it is pertinent that you make clear the expectations that you can deliver on. Customers construct their expectations based on the perceived image of your brand, what they have heard or seen concerning your offerings, their experiences with similar businesses, previous interactions with your business and several other factors (most of which you have no control over).
What are Customer Expectations?
To better understand customer expectations, it is critical to first know what they mean. A blanket definition of customer expectations is any set of actions that people anticipate when interacting with a business or brand. These actions are also mostly beneficial to the customer.
If you are familiar with the way business works, you will know not to overlook customer expectations. As a matter of fact, the concept of customer expectations is so valuable since unsatisfied customers can result in a significant drop in sales and thus, put pressure on the business to acquire new customers. And you should know also that Customer acquisition is more expensive than retention. This is why big firms spend millions to understand the trends in customer expectations and improve their services accordingly.
Examples of customer expectations
Customer expectations can vary from one business to the other. What customers would like to experience with a pastry shop is quite different from what they would like to see in a footwear store. While individuals can consider whether or not the pastries were made in a hygienic environment, little or no attention is paid to the space that footwears are manufactured because the fashion items are not meant to be ingested. Other factors such as durability, and price may be top of the list for the footwear buyers.
Nonetheless, there are some common customer expectations that can apply to both product and service-based businesses. Some of them include;
- Quick service
- Shorter waiting time
- Trustworthiness
- Availability of quality products or services
- Innovation
- Great customer service/experience
- Fast resolution of customer complaints.
- Seamless transactions
In a nutshell, customers only want value for their product alongside a pleasant experience. Meeting these two basic needs will ensure the longevity of your business.
How do you manage customer expectations?
Now that we have a clearer picture of what customer expectations really are, here are two major and effective ways to manage them.
Be Transparent and Realistic: Your customers should know what you can deliver. It’s your responsibility as a business owner to determine the factors that influence your business and make sure you promise only what you can provide. It is that simple. Every piece of information included in your communication channels with your target audience must tally with whatever that you have stocked or your ability to provide a service. Same goes for wait time. If you had communicated that it takes 2-3 days for a customer to receive a purchased item after placing an order through your website, then ensure that the package is at their doorstep within and not after the given time frame. All advertisements and marketing should be as accurate as possible, not misleading in any form. Use clear language, not ambiguous terms that can be misinterpreted differently. This is how you build trust with your customers.
Do not overpromise: It is important that you promise what you can deliver on. While you are trying to get the right words to convince the customer to patronize you, avoid saying things that you clearly cannot meet up with. This is one part where you should avoid copying the competition. Keep your promises within what your resources can deliver. A competitor who has personal dispatch bikes can promise same-day delivery. If you are outsourcing your deliveries and you try to make same promise, you could end up grossly disappointing your customers. It is safer to under-promise and over-deliver.
Adapt: Companies are constantly looking for ways to attract and keep customers. Therefore, brands offer extra value because they are well aware of how customers tastes and needs evolve. So it would be unwise not to adapt to what your customers are currently experiencing and even strive to provide a bit more. The earlier you realize that customers will compare their choices and will probably move away from your business to get more in another business, the better for you as an entrepreneur. Thus, it is crucial for you study the market, find out what your competitors are doing and try to beat them at it. Try to stay informed and proactive when it comes to service quality.
It would interest you to know that, in some cases, your competitors might not be doing the most. It could simply be that they respond fast to customer concerns and complaints. So if you are in the habit of not replying customers on time via your various channels, you are bound to lose them. If you do not attend to them quickly, they move on to a similar business that can give them what they desire, and right when they want it. It is crucial to offer a solution to every problem the customers might present and provide them quickly too.
How to know what your customers expect from you
You cannot meet customer expectations if you don’t know what it is they want from you. You might be wondering how to figure out what your customers truly want, each customer’s definition of quality product and services, etc. Well, you do not have to rack your brain too much to understand how to please your customers. All you have to do is to collect data from your customers.
This will help you discover their likes and dislikes about your product, price, delivery or even your relations with them. To collect data, you could choose from the many survey tools available. You could also use Google forms to ask both closed and open-ended questions to obtain information from your customers. These surveys should help you analyse and categorize your customers, make you pick out the areas that you are lagging in so you can improve on them.
Importantly ask for reviews. Ask them what they think about your products. Ask them about the durability of the product. Ask them to rate your services. Beyond using reviews to sell more products, you can use it to know what to adjust in your services, which products to continue with, and which to leave out of your inventory.
Conclusion
If you must remain in business, it is advisable to learn how to manage customer expectations and for you to strike a healthy balance, you could make mouth-watering promises based on what you can do and package what you have to meet in the middle with what customers want, especially if you don’t have the resources to operate on the same level as your competitors yet.
