Customer expectations have a significant impact when it comes to the reputation of your business. Fortunately, surpassing customer expectations is surprisingly easy. 

With 76% of consumers expecting businesses to understand their needs, awareness on customer expectations has never been more imperative to the success of a business. 

It All Starts with Trust

Just like in any other relationship, trust needs to be the foundation of your business. The question that then arises is, how do I build trust with my customers? Well, one way to build trust is through the credibility you build through your online presence. With over 90% of consumers reading online reviews, your online ratings matter when customers are looking at your business. 

Transparency is another great way to gain your customer’s trust – be honest with what you can do for them, and make sure to always review expectations from the very beginning. 

Customers Want to be Treated like People, not Numbers 

What does it take to win over a customer? The answer is quite simple – treat your customers like people and not numbers. 

You may not know all the names of your customers, but that’s okay. Through customer management technology, personalization through digital marketing is quite simple. Whether that’s sending out a customized email with your client’s name, or a text reminder on a specific service your customer needs, customers are twice as likely to open and read personalized messages. 

With 84% of customers stating they want to be treated like people and not numbers, customization is crucial to retaining a customer. 

Collect Feedback (it matters) 

When you ask a customer for feedback, you are reinstating the value the customer has to you and your business. You’ll never know if there’s a problem with your business if you aren’t able to listen to what your customers have to say. If it’s negative feedback, you’re given the opportunity to make things right. If it’s positive feedback, ask the customer to leave you an online review to help out your online presence. 

The more you listen to your customers, the more they know you care. When customers feel heard, they become advocates for your business. 

Final Thoughts 

The reputation of your business relies heavily on the expectations your customers have. When it comes to surpassing customer expectations, it all comes down to exceeding customer experiences. With trust and customer personalization, your customers will be sure to have confidence in both you and your business. When it doubt, listen to your customers – what they have to say could be valuable to your business. 

Sources: https://www.salesforce.com/research/customer-expectations/# https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/84-percent-of-people-trust-online-reviews-as-much-.html 

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!