What happens when your expectations are not met? How do you feel when a product or service doesn’t live up to the marketing or sales hype? Are you likely to recommend a product that fell short of your expectations?
So much of the “word of mouth” recommendation cycle is based on products or services meeting or exceeding personal expectations. Meet my expectations or just give me what I want, and I may or may not recommend your product. I have become a Passive, in Net Promoter® terms.
However, if you exceed my expectations, give me something that I didn’t expect and make me feel that you value me as a customer, then I will sing your praises to all my friends and family. You’ve made me a Promoter.
Fail to live up to my expectations and I will quickly become a Detractor. I will feel disappointed, cheated and even angry if your product or service doesn’t meet my standards. I won’t be buying a second time and I certainly won’t give you a recommendation. In fact, I may even warn my friends to stay away from whatever it is you have to offer.