Rising Expectations

 Lately, I have found when I talk about how the game just got tougher, many businesspeople tell me the problem is really the customer, because their expectations are continually rising. The solution, they say, is to manage down these ‘unrealistic’ expectations.

But attempts to reduce customer expectations are doomed to fail. When I studied at the University of Stockholm nearly 40 years ago, the Swedish government recognised a phenomenon they called ‘rising expectations’. They had learned that whatever they did for their citizens this year was not going to be enough to keep them happy next year. In business we have yet to understand that our customers are always asking themselves, “What has this business done for me lately?”

I

n short, we must dramatically improve the way we look after our customers. Minor improvements will not be enough. The key to making such a step change is to ask yourself these three mind-opening questions:

 •   What would we have to do to delight our customers?

 •   How could we improve the way we look after our customers so in six months we will be embarrassed by what we do now?

 •   Which problems do our customers have that they would just love us to solve but do not expect we will? 

If you do not know the answers, ask your team members and your customers. They’ll tell

you everything you need to know to succeed.