No, this post isn’t about making money on Twitter. If you’re into that kind of thing, then I’m sorry, you’re in the wrong place. My bad.
What’s interesting to me (and hopefully you) is why headlines like this work. If setting realistic expectations is so crucial to customer experience, then why are we continually hooked with this kind of bait? And, at what point do expectations cross the line from optimistic to misleading?
Expectations and Customer Experience
I won’t get much opposition by stating that setting realistic expectations plays a large part in creating a great customer experience. People don’t want to feel like they’ve been tricked or conned into something they don’t want. Over-promising and under-delivering is a surefire way to anger customers.
However, it seems like there’s a very fine line we have to walk. The expectations we set, while being realistic, should also elicit strong initial emotions. It’s been shown (by people much smarter than me) that emotion can account for as much as 50% of a customer’s purchase experience. You’ve seen Steve Jobs give a keynote, right?
Funny that they don’t talk about any downsides during those keynote speeches. No mention of shoddy networks or subpar antennas. Nothing said about their closed systems and lack of Flash support. Yet, people love Apple (throw me in that group). I have a phone that sucks as a phone, but I still love it because of everything else it does and how it does it.
What do you think? Are expectations as important as we make them out to be? Or is emotion more important? And another question: if you’re providing a product or service that creates a large amount of perceived value, then do expectations even matter?
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Little Hinges on 
Expectations are everything, and I think emotion fits into those expectations like a baseball fits into a glove. I was once that guy who SWORE I’d never buy a Mac. Ever. I defended PCs against the Mac Fanboys until I was blue in the face. Today… I’m going to buy a brand new Macbook Pro. Why?
1) Expectations – Each of my roommates has a Macbook Pro. They are huge nerds (like real life ones… the ones that know lots about computers). One of them said to me yesterday that his Mac is the first computer he’s owned for over a year and been 100% satisfied with. That’s a big deal.
I was even guest lecturing in a college class this week and asked by raise of hand, who in the class owned a Mac. Over half of the students raised their hands. I then asked them to keep their hands up if they’d recommend a Mac to a friend who was shopping for a computer… not a hand went down.
If that’s not setting an expectation, I don’t know what is.
2) Emotion – When you (or your tribe) sets expectations like those mentioned above, emotion comes naturally tied to them. Not only am I entering into a (seemingly) exclusive club of Mac users, but I’m changing 15 years of habit using a completely different OS to the wind. With as much time as I spend using a computer, it’s safe to say that I’m making a lifestyle change with this purpose.
It’s definitely important to me that both the emotion of my purchase is validated, and that the expectations or met. Here’s hoping that Apple pulls through for me. *Fingers Crossed*
Great comment as always Nate. I was going to write an in-depth response, but I’m just glad you have a MacBook Pro now. I know you’re in heaven.
Great post! It’s almost like the chicken or the egg discussion. Which one comes first? I say almost because in this case I think they’re conjoined. My emotions are tied to your product, service, or brand meeting my expectations. Before I can derive emotional value i need to have some expectation to measure against. Expectations -> Measuring Stick <- Emotions
Organizations should manage expectations early in the experience cycle because consumers {yes I am guilty} can develop their own expectations. We expect the same treatment at every restaurant even though they're two completely different establishments. Never would you hear "I'll let them slide".
Unfortunately too, emotions are transient, and expectations change. So to answer your question: No matter how much perceived value there is expectations still matter.
@Bags: Crossing toes for you!
I agree with your “chicken or the egg” analogy. Emotions help to set expectations, but those expectations (whether they’re met, exceeded, or destroyed) surely affect our emotions the next time around. I guess that’s where this post originated from…when our expectations are not met over and over, why do we (some, not all) continue to let emotions play such a large role in our pre-purchase decision making?
Hi Tim,
In one of my previous lives, I was a division GM for a retail fashion company. In that business like no other I learned the fine art of helping customers “aspire.” To demonstrate why we were different to solve our customers’ needs, we would help them see what life would look like on the other side of a purchase with our clothes and accessories – and in the life we helped them envision, they always looked darn good!I was keenly aware of the fine line between that emotional vision and the real thing.
We all want to be or do something better because we have a product or service. I think (in some form) that’s the 50%+ pull in a purchase decision you mention. Thanks for the reminder that we must work responsibly in evoking that emotion. More is not always better. LCI
This is something I deal with too, but perhaps in a different sense. A large share our our revenue is generated from professional services (as is yours, I’m sure). I often find myself pushing clients to move forward with new projects and initiatives they wouldn’t otherwise start on their own. In order to sell those services we have to help them see what life is going to look like when the project is finished. We deal with more concrete goals and metrics, but there’s always going to be some embellishment in the selling process.
As I said in my post and you said in your comment, it’s a fine line. I suppose at the end of the day it’s the perceived value of the client that matters the most. If we can consistently provide value, and the client is happy, then who’s going to complain, right?
Tim,
Here’s my take on expectations. They can be a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. We’ve all seen businesses, politicians, athletes over commit and under deliver.
But, taking Apple as an example (as I type this comment on my new MacBook Air which I haven’t put down since it was delivered yesterday), yes they set meteoric expectations. But, the expectations that are set, and the positives that are promoted are so well targeted to their customers that the risk of overshooting and setting themselves up is very low.
To your point, you didn’t hear words like “awesome phone”, “amazing calling features” or “the absolute best reception”. And, like you, the customers and prospects that they target don’t care about those things.
So, here’s the point about Apple. Everyone views them as a product and design company. But, I would challenge anyone to find a company that so intimately understands its customers like Apple does. THAT is its strength. Without that knowledge, these types of expectation-setting speeches would most likely blow up in their collective face.
Barry
I agree, Apple thrives on selling design and simplicity. A great lesson for us all.
BTW, I’m jealous of your MacBook Air.
I guess in a way, expectations is something that is primarily for brand and buzz making. Though it can really be a two fold thing, especially if the buzz doesn’t deliver the service that it has promised. And if anything, failure to deliver in this day and age is much worse than ever before, social networking has made this even more true.