How do you actually “manage expectations”?

“Happiness = reality — expectations.” — Unknown

Manage Expectations. A business phrase that encapsulates the frustrating thing about business phrases. Two big words with meanings that should be obvious, but have become so nebulous that the meaning has almost become lost. When you’re told to manage customer expectations, how do you actually go about it?

Making and keeping customers happy is ultimately the goal of any business, so it’s no secret that a lot of attention has gone into discovering the factors that contribute to happy customers. Expectation management comes as an important one because it’s relatively easy (well, at least compared to other aspects of good business). Setting expectations is mostly done by copywriting and onboarding for any product/service. “Here’s what we do! Okay, interested? Here’s what to expect.”

Here comes the tricky part, though. Of course, you want people to have high expectations for your product. It pushes your brand into a higher level of prestige and respect and can even allow you to charge more. Yet, the higher the target the higher the chance of failure and thus the need to deflate expectations so that you create more happy customers.

Expectations are a fickle thing because their subjective nature can have an outsized impact on an objective experience. Think back to the last time you went to a nice dinner or sat down in a theater for a highly-reviewed movie. Expectations high, you’re excited for the next 90 minutes of your life. Then, something happened. The food wasn’t stellar, the movie wasn’t your cup of tea. Does that mean the food or movie was bad, like worse than average food or entertainment? No. They failed to meet your high expectations.

The inverse works as well. “Well, I wasn’t expecting much out of that new restaurant without plates, but I was pleasantly surprised! I’m gonna tell my friends about it!”

So, when part of the job description is to “manage expectations”, how do you do so in a way that makes the most customers happy? How do you balance generating excitement with setting yourself up for success?

The first thing to do, without even trying to set high or low expectations, is to create clear and realistic ones. It’s tempting to turn expectation setting into marketing, but resist this urge. Remember, even if your product/service is good, if people expect great they’ll interpret the experience as bad. The larger the expectation gap, the worse your reviews are going to be. Give customers more credit, when evaluating potential vendors they’re skeptical, wary of being misled. Not only will you get points for being honest and transparent, your expectation target will also be easier to hit because it is more defined.

Take this example:

Bad: Subscribe to our meal delivery service and you will save time, money, and energy. You’ll become healthier, develop better relationships with your family and friends, and save the planet at the same time.

Is anybody buying this lofty message? Even if they do, they’ll be let down.

Good: Subscribe to our meal delivery service and see how we can help you eat better without the all-too-common time and stress!

This gets to the point and doesn’t promise what it can’t deliver.

Customers and clients are seeking reliability, it can be hard to find. Simply telling them what you’re going to do, and then doing it goes further than you may think. Though it is repeated jokingly in offices everywhere, “under-promise, over-deliver” is a cliche for a reason — there’s some truth in it.

Everyone runs into the awkward and frustrating situation when you lose a (potential) customer because they expected something else. “Well, we thought you were going to do X but you don’t/didn’t.” Those situations where your biggest sin was some disconnect that may have not even been your fault. So beyond creating clear and transparent expectations, it helps to ensure understanding as well.

The somewhat sneaky way that some companies do to prevent post-sale disagreements is to put the language in the contract or terms of service. Then, because you’ve signed or toggled that you understood the terms, you can’t come back and say, “I didn’t understand the terms!”

The more honest approach is to make it part of your discovery/onboarding/demo/qualification process. “Before we get started today, I wanted to ask about why you wanted to speak to me about our service today. Okay, well what we actually do is…” Because let’s be honest, most of us don’t do all of the research or reading beforehand, we want to have a discussion with a human about the nuances of the two parties and their fit for each other. That’s fine.

The second half of the equation is meeting or exceeding these expectations. Easier said than done.

Regardless, here are some things that customers typically expect regardless of the product or service:

• That you will work hard and be communicative about progress or lack thereof.
• That you are a domain expert and can either answer any question they may have, or quickly find the person who does.
• That you will provide timely support and troubleshooting

Thankfully, most businesses have structures that hit on these because they have become universal expectations. However, it is a useful checklist to make sure you’re at least covering your bases.

An important distinction I’ve learned is that there is a difference between how well you’re executing for the customer, and how well they think you’re executing. They can often be different and you have some space to affect the later.

When it comes time to show your results, a “show, don’t tell” approach helps the customer see and feel the difference. Whether it’s an automated email, QBR, follow-up call, whatever, the less heavy-handed you are, the more space you allow for your customer to fill the gaps with their own interpretation. Sound like inception? Well, that’s kind of the point. Remember, customers are skeptical of overt attempts to influence their thinking, and may think you’re papering over cracks or being disingenuous. Guide them to the conclusions you want, instead of trying to force them there.

So, let’s recap on how to manage expectations well:

• Be clear and transparent, under-promising is okay.
• Resist the urge to turn expectation setting into marketing.
• Make sure the customer understands the expectations.
• Cover your bases on the things all customers expect.
• “Show, don’t tell” to have your customers come to the right conclusions on their own.

I hope this helps you with whatever you’re working on. If there’s something I’ve missed, please let me know in the comments!