All You Need To Know About Evolving Customer Expectations
Introduction
Your primary aim of being in business is to satisfy your customers. Interestingly, customers are generally willing to pay more for a greater customer experience. Thus, you should ensure all you need to know about evolving customer expectations are at your fingertips. More so, you should be ready to implement your knowledge. Read on for more on managing customer expectations.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What Are Customer Expectations?
- Reasons to Manage Customer Expectations
- Factors That Affect Customer Expectations
- Practical Ways to Manage Customer Expectations In Order To Be Successful
- In Order To Be Successful
What Are Customer Expectations?
Customer expectations describe what customers feel and the needs they have towards your product or service. Moreover, they form these expectations by personal contact (written or verbal) with your brand, observing other people’s sentiments, or previous interaction.
In other words, you can define customer expectations as a set of behaviours and actions that customers anticipate receiving when they interact with a company or brand.
Reasons to Manage Customer Expectations
For your business to be sustainable, you need to reach a certain customer threshold. In turn, you need to build positive cash flow, brand engagement, and customer retention to reach this threshold. Thus, you not only need to attract customers by promising value, but you also need to meet and manage evolving customer expectations.
In other words, you begin by attracting customers with the promise of quality products and services so they can consider you. Concurrently, you need to make them feel satisfied and create a reality that meets their needs.
Factors That Affect Customer Expectations
Now, multiple factors influence customer expectations. However, here are a few key elements that act as important factors affecting customer expectations.
Previous customer experience or interaction
Certainly, if the prior experience of your customer is highly satisfactory, they will leave with a high level of expectation. On the other hand, if their previous experience was suboptimal, their expectations may turn out low. Your goal should be to create and maintain high expectations and remove low expectations.
Communications from your channels
Likewise, your outbound communication from your channels influences customer expectations. This includes communication from web pages, tweets, blog posts, emails, print media, TV, and Radio. Clearly, your communications on your channels should be clear, honest, and consistent.
Reviews, word of mouth, and other referrals
Your customers can research your online reputation from the internet. Thus, they may read reviews of your product or service, peruse what people say in forums, and see your engagements on social media. As such, you need to pay attention to your online reputation.
Experience with other businesses
Interestingly, you have to consider what other companies both in similar and non-similar industries are promising. Customers may expect the same high levels of customer service across various businesses and industries.
Practical Ways to Manage Customer Expectations
With the current state of the world economy due to the recent coronavirus pandemic, businesses may find it difficult to survive. Consequently, delivering a fantastic customer experience is even more important. Here are several ways to manage customer expectations.
1. Tell the truth
First, tell your customers the real truth about your products. This helps them be realistic in their initial expectations. For example, promising a constant next day delivery to your customers when that is not realistic would not do at all. If you are likely to have potential changes or limitations, it is better to clarify them from the onset. Perhaps, you can send regular updates via email or place a banner on your front store and website.
Similarly, you can use reviews, testimonials, and award wins to help reassure customers.
2. Use a softer communication approach
Second, when things do not go well, your customers may need a softer customer-first approach. In sales talk and regular contact, show empathy and appreciate them. Be prompt in answering service queries. Again, continue to update and engage with them across your platforms. Thus, they can feel informed and supported.
3. Know your current customer demographics
Third, you have to keep up with the current trends of your customer demographics. This includes what apps are most popular, what devices are being used, and how they are being used. For instance, managing customer expectations involves replying to customers promptly when they @ you on Twitter. Likewise, your mobile site should work seamlessly on their phones. Records show that businesses lose site visits when customers encounter problems on mobile sites.
4. Regularly orient and prepare your team
Furthermore, your quality of customer service helps you retain customers. You may have all you need to know about managing customer expectations and it wouldn’t be enough. Your customer service team should be on top of their game. This includes handling calls and enquiries that will manage customers’ expectations properly.
Your team should have all the tools they need. They should also be thoroughly briefed to avoid giving false or inaccurate information to the customers.
5. Be adaptable
In addition, your business needs an agile and flexible approach to customer service in order to manage customer expectations. Again, with the current business climate, the business environment can be unpredictable. As such, you may be ready to offer extended support hours, flexible payment plans, and other customer support services. However, you should do this without hurting your business.
Ultimately, this will help you manage customer expectations favourably.
6. Know your customer expectations
Surely, the basis of all you need to know about evolving customer expectations starts with listening to your customers, right? Begin with getting customer reviews. Collect them yourself, use Google, or use a third party service. This can help you understand their changing expectations.
Remember, you can set up your survey questions to identify what areas you fail to meet customer expectations. Thereafter, you can analyse these areas. Naturally, you conclude by optimizing the areas where you fall short. Remember, it can be an iterative process rather than an instant process.
In Order To Be Successful
Surely, when you started your business, you started with having goals. Likely, your customers are the central stakeholder in achieving your business goal. Therefore, you need to treat them right. However, during tough times, meeting customer expectations can be difficult. This is all the more reason you should be familiar with all you need to know about evolving customer expectations. Thereafter, systematically apply this knowledge and you should be able to manage their expectations.
