Local Customers and Expectations

When a consumer is confronted with your business (via an ad, your website, in your store, etc.), what expectation will they form? Would they think (feel, believe, expect) you are:

• Family friendly and accommodating?
• Obsessed with customer satisfaction?
• Honest and deal with integrity?
• Can service their [insert mechanical device here] better than anyone?
• Revolutionary and will change their daily lives?
• Are a deity incarnate and can do everything, including walking on water?
• Are a crazed ingrate and, after seeing your commercial, they are pretty sure you are a salesman. However, the only expectation they have is that they would probably get accosted should they visit your company.

The Balance

When a customer comes in contact with a message from your company, you have to make sure it says what you mean and is on-target. Making outlandish claims or too-good-to-be-true promises will do nothing more than shed a negative light on you in their minds. Using misleading or deftly crafted words will make them feel unsettled. Even more important still is their ‘feeling’ of what you are like (stand for, think is important, represent).

Being creative is O.K.! Being silly is O.K. You just have to keep in mind that people will form an opinion (get a feeling, have an impression) of your company before they even walk in the door. Don’t give your customers a reason to be dissatisfied on the first interaction. Set their expectations every time they see an ad, visit your website or come in your store. You know what ‘they’ say: You only get one chance to make a first impression.

What does this have to do with a website? Everything! Just like any other marketing initiative, the goal is to engage and entice a potential customer. Create a continuity in your messages. Make it the right one for your company … and make sure you can back it up.

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What are your thoughts? Post a comment and let’s talk.

Do you have questions about what how you can leverage the Internet to improve your customer experience and boost your company’s performance? Just ask.