Don't build me up, Buttercup

Managing customer expectations is paramount. Brand loyalty is completely built on the customer having a good experience in the past and trusting it will be good again the next time. Building a solid brand for repeat customers is good business. Articulating to the customer what they will experience, and then delivering on that is the way to build brand loyalty.

I go to a lot of conferences. When I go to ones centered on customer experience, I have higher expectations. Given that experience is the center of the conference, the bar is raised. However, I do expect limits. There is no expectation for extravagant and over the top gimmicks (conferences have a system and formula to work well and turn a profit). But I do expect good execution.

Recently, I attended a customer experience conference that was one of the best-run conferences I've ever attended. The preparation showed. Things ran extremely efficiently, it was easy to navigate the sessions, notes and presentations were readily available prior to the conference for preparation and the events were impressive. I even appreciated that the conference started at noon on the first day (allowing for better transportation).

But the conference notably failed in managing a big expectation. Prior to the conference, the organizers made a big deal about filling out a food questionnaire listing food preferences and allergies. As a person with many food restrictions, I was very excited about this. I have been to a number of events where these restrictions were considered and I was provided with alternative options. However, when I arrived, there was no alternative option. It turned out that there was very little I could eat for the five days. I do not expect food to be accommodated specifically for me and I'm used to preparing alternatives in advance. But asking those questions raised expectations and I did not figure out an alternate. I was not prepared and the experience was more frustrating than if the conference didn't ask at all.

The lesson learned is to know what people traditionally expect. If you want to raise expectations, you need to make sure to communicate clearly what the new expectation is. Then meet those expectations. Talk and ideas are cheap; execution is everything.