Should this be the first rule of marketing?

I don't think the theory of  'managing expectations' receives enough press. It's not vogue, it's not new. It's a pretty straight forward concept. Yet, it could be the most important foundation in marketing, business, and just life in general. 

I am reminded of this constantly when teaching. 9 times out of 10 when I grade student papers and something does not meet my expectations, it's my fault, not the students. I have to look back to how I set my expectations for grading and the assignment. I cannot take off points for something I did not make clear. Every quarter I have to make my expectations VERY OBVIOUS and clear. You cannot blame a customer for mis-interpreting something you did not make obvious. Obvious is better than fancy or subtle. I say this all the time, "No body will take more than 20 seconds to figure you or your business out." 

Think about how you are managing expectations with your marketing efforts. It starts with the foundation of your differentiation and positioning. Are you specific and realistic about what a customer can expect? Or why they should do business with you versus a competitor? I find many companies weak in this foundation of all marketing. If you are not clear, your customers will fill in the blanks for you. From the initial encounter with your store or website or salesperson: the customer will get an immediate reaction based on your message, tone, and look. 

Here are a few more points to ponder relative to the Marketing 4 P's:

Pricing: Are you clear upfront? Any hidden fees? Don't you HATE making a purchase on eBay only to find the shipping cost is more than the product (after the fact?). I can't stand Ticketmaster taking on extra fees AFTER you hit the 'purchase' button. People abandon carts for this reason.

Promotion: If someone signs up for your newsletter, do they know how often you will 'ping' them? What is the content? Do you sell your newsletter as news, when it is actually a promotion notice? I had a client do this to find unsubscribe rates fairly high.

Product: Volumes can be written about this. Does your product/service deliver on it's promise. I've written before on companies communicating points they aspire to be vs. what they can deliver. It's not worth it. You have to work 10 times as hard (and spend a lot more money) to win back a customer when they are disappointed.

Place/Distribution: Do customers know where to find your product/service? Can you guarantee supply and stock? Think through your entire supply chain. Don't start promoting until you have your channel secure. Even more, don't promise a date for new product to launch  before you have the product done. We learned this lesson at my former employer when Product Dev couldn't get bugs worked out in time for launch. That delay was embarrassing.

Everyone knows the phrase "Underpromise. Overdeliver." which is managing expectations. Sounds much simpler than it really is to deliver. Are you doing it all the way through your marketing efforts?

What do you think?
Jackie

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Posted by Jackie Kuehl at 12/1/2009 11:24 AM
Categories: marketing tips,marketing strategy and tactics
Tags: managing expectations 4 P's overpromise underdeliver marketing programs
 

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