If I’m reading a book, I expect an analog experience. If I’m reading an e-book, I expect that experience to be different, even if the “medium” is still based in text. They may both be books, but they’re distinctive experiences that manifest different expectations.
If I’m staying in an inexpensive hotel, my expectation for my stay is different than if I had booked a posh suite in an exclusive hotel. I might tolerate things in a roadside motel that I wouldn’t at the Four Seasons. It’s a different set of implicit promises.
Expectations matter a great deal when it comes to the quality of any experience, any interaction. The danger area – or at least the challenge – is where expectations and experience don’t line up.
When that happens, whose fault is it? What leads to misguided expectations, or not delivering on that anticipated experience? How do you diagnose it, and what do you do about it?
This is why it’s so critical to understand what your customers *expectations* are for their experience with your brand. It’s not enough anymore for you to craft aspirations for your brand, or a vision for how you’d like to be seen.
It’s the perception and experience reality for your customers that’s defining you, and how well you level expectation and actuality.
If there’s a disconnect between the way you see your company and the way people are talking about you, perhaps you’re in the midst of an expectation rift.
So the choice becomes: shift the expectation, or amend the experience. Each probably have their place, but I know which way I lean. How would you handle it?
Photo Credit: Daquella Manera, because it made me snicker
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Amber,
Going with gut reaction here. I fall on the side of amending experience. Reason being, it is something I have more ability to control. To carry your hotel analogy, as the manager of Four Seasons, I can overcome gaffes or diminished delivery by working to invest in my product and my people. That should have more sustainable impact on the expectation the public has.
The challenge here is that a customer filters experience through a personalized lens that is shaped by all other competing experiences and their continuity with all other expectation levels.
It’s a riddle, but I still maintain experience gives me more long-term opporutnity.
Jake
Jake Yarbroughs last blog post..What Floats Your Boat?
Amber,
Going with gut reaction here. I fall on the side of amending experience. Reason being, it is something I have more ability to control. To carry your hotel analogy, as the manager of Four Seasons, I can overcome gaffes or diminished delivery by working to invest in my product and my people. That should have more sustainable impact on the expectation the public has.
The challenge here is that a customer filters experience through a personalized lens that is shaped by all other competing experiences and their continuity with all other expectation levels.
It’s a riddle, but I still maintain experience gives me more long-term opporutnity.
Jake
Jake Yarbroughs last blog post..What Floats Your Boat?
As a graphic designer, I find that it’s always a struggle to figure out what the client expects as they’re asking us to design a web site for them. If they’re expecting a quick, inexpensive web site design, not only do they not appreciate a conversation about user interface design and search engine optimized content, but they suspiciously think that we’re trying to upsell them. And on the other end, I’ve lost work because we looked to inexpensive. What I’ve learned is to ask more questions than talk myself. After all, its all about what the customer wants, not what we have to offer.
As a graphic designer, I find that it’s always a struggle to figure out what the client expects as they’re asking us to design a web site for them. If they’re expecting a quick, inexpensive web site design, not only do they not appreciate a conversation about user interface design and search engine optimized content, but they suspiciously think that we’re trying to upsell them. And on the other end, I’ve lost work because we looked to inexpensive. What I’ve learned is to ask more questions than talk myself. After all, its all about what the customer wants, not what we have to offer.
I lean heavily towards amending the experience; I think it’s vital in this day and age, when information and opinion travels faster than the speed of sound. This is precisely why crowd-sourcing can produce such a positive effect on a company, its product and its reputation. However, that can only happen in an environment that is willing to accept the expectation of those existing stakeholders and craft the product and/or experience around it. That’s not a particularly easy place to get to organizationally, though; and I think it gets harder the larger a company grows.
Michelle Evanss last blog post..Full Service in a Self Serve World
I lean heavily towards amending the experience; I think it’s vital in this day and age, when information and opinion travels faster than the speed of sound. This is precisely why crowd-sourcing can produce such a positive effect on a company, its product and its reputation. However, that can only happen in an environment that is willing to accept the expectation of those existing stakeholders and craft the product and/or experience around it. That’s not a particularly easy place to get to organizationally, though; and I think it gets harder the larger a company grows.
Michelle Evanss last blog post..Full Service in a Self Serve World
One does have some control over setting expectations when it comes to your brand promise. Too often, we will encounter brands that say they are a, b and c… when in reality, they may only be a and b… and they don’t really have the c part down yet… psst, they’re working on it!…
Don’t overpromise. By doing so, you’ve set up expectations that you can’t possibly match.
In my view, expectations AND experience are important. You have to account for both and it’s not really an either/or choice here.
David Camerons last blog post..Can Adamo Change Consumer Perception of Dell?
One does have some control over setting expectations when it comes to your brand promise. Too often, we will encounter brands that say they are a, b and c… when in reality, they may only be a and b… and they don’t really have the c part down yet… psst, they’re working on it!…
Don’t overpromise. By doing so, you’ve set up expectations that you can’t possibly match.
In my view, expectations AND experience are important. You have to account for both and it’s not really an either/or choice here.
David Camerons last blog post..Can Adamo Change Consumer Perception of Dell?
Expectation is something that is built by how you have promoted your brand previously or sell your brand today. If the packaging and price say luxury but the delivery and experience is budget then you’ve set an expectation and under-delivered.
Shifting the expectation would suggest changing your brand proposition – not an easy or quick thing to do so in the short term if you have an established brand so it has to be amend the experience (or more likely bring it back up to where it was)
Mark Sages last blog post..Beanz Meanz Markz (& Spencer)?
Expectation is something that is built by how you have promoted your brand previously or sell your brand today. If the packaging and price say luxury but the delivery and experience is budget then you’ve set an expectation and under-delivered.
Shifting the expectation would suggest changing your brand proposition – not an easy or quick thing to do so in the short term if you have an established brand so it has to be amend the experience (or more likely bring it back up to where it was)
Mark Sages last blog post..Beanz Meanz Markz (& Spencer)?
I think it’s probably a little bit of A, a little bit of B. 😉
Although we can certainly amend our customers’ perception of us as business owners, at times the level of expectation is also absurdly high.
We’ve positioned ourselves in a world that allows everyone an instant voice – blogging, Twitter, Youtube, etc.
Yet just because a customer now has more methods of opining, that doesn’t mean that their voice will always be right. We have to make sure it’s not just griping for griping’s sake.
Danny Browns last blog post..Closing Down for Earth Hour
I think it’s probably a little bit of A, a little bit of B. 😉
Although we can certainly amend our customers’ perception of us as business owners, at times the level of expectation is also absurdly high.
We’ve positioned ourselves in a world that allows everyone an instant voice – blogging, Twitter, Youtube, etc.
Yet just because a customer now has more methods of opining, that doesn’t mean that their voice will always be right. We have to make sure it’s not just griping for griping’s sake.
Danny Browns last blog post..Closing Down for Earth Hour
A great topic, thanks! At the heart of your question is another question: Why was there a disconnect in the first place?
Is it that the product is pretending to be something it’s not? (i.e. claiming to be a luxury hotel when clearly it can’t deliver).
Or is it that the brand doesn’t really understand the specific needs of the target audience? (making sure the towels by the pool are luxuriously fluffy, when the customers are business travelers who just want a 24-hour business concierge as their “luxury”?).
Or perhaps is it that the product tried hard but a few unintentional glitches became high-profile news that thus became part of the brand story?
Looking at *why* the disconnect happened will allow you to take the best, most appropriate action, be it changing the messaging (perception) or changing the product (experience).
If you truly have a product you believe in but your audience doesn’t, look at perception. But if you are telling people to believe in a product that isn’t working, change the product.
Lisa Hickeys last blog post..lisahickey: RT @smashadv Any writer can hack together a sales appeal. Copywriters, however, focus on convincing a single person of a big idea.
A great topic, thanks! At the heart of your question is another question: Why was there a disconnect in the first place?
Is it that the product is pretending to be something it’s not? (i.e. claiming to be a luxury hotel when clearly it can’t deliver).
Or is it that the brand doesn’t really understand the specific needs of the target audience? (making sure the towels by the pool are luxuriously fluffy, when the customers are business travelers who just want a 24-hour business concierge as their “luxury”?).
Or perhaps is it that the product tried hard but a few unintentional glitches became high-profile news that thus became part of the brand story?
Looking at *why* the disconnect happened will allow you to take the best, most appropriate action, be it changing the messaging (perception) or changing the product (experience).
If you truly have a product you believe in but your audience doesn’t, look at perception. But if you are telling people to believe in a product that isn’t working, change the product.
Lisa Hickeys last blog post..lisahickey: RT @smashadv Any writer can hack together a sales appeal. Copywriters, however, focus on convincing a single person of a big idea.