THE THREE A’s OF CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS MANAGEMENT

The frequent changes in the educational system in this country can sometimes leave one very confused. The apparent misunderstanding in the system makes one wonder why the old system was scrapped in the first place. Why was the system not tweaked to suit the realities of modern times? Was it necessary to have thrown it all away? I am told the old system was a relic of colonialism and that is why it had to go. Who am I to argue against that? Anyway, I miss the good old days of the O’s and ‘A’s. I reminisced on the days of the much-feared pink papers. Writing the GCE A’ Level was war, at least for some of us. I am sure there were some folks who just waltzed through those exams.
I wonder how the early folks wrote A’ Level Ad Maths without calculators and still managed to come out with a chain of A’s because I wrote mine with a huge CASIO by my side and I still struggled. In those days, when you hear of a fellow who had had three or four ‘A’s, you looked at that person twice. We held such people in such high esteem. I happened to have written my GCE A’Levels as part of the last batch of the “old school” and never made 3 ‘A’s. I would not lie about that. Scoring ‘A’s, in any, or all, of the three electives and General Paper, was no easy feat. Mnay were those who had to go for 2nd and 3rd World Wars. Some even earned the nickname ‘Addo John Sulley’ after the infamous name used as an example for how the exams forms were to be correctly filled. Those were interesting times.
Recently I came up with another form of A’s-this time in an ‘examination’ for business on customer care. Businesses condition the minds of their customers, either directly or indirectly, as to what to expect from their products or services. I have found out that there are three A-factors that firms used in affecting customer expectations. A business that intends to win the loyalty of its customers must be conscious of these factors. Just like me, many businesses MIGHT also find it very difficult to score ‘A’s in all three A-factors.

Advertising
Advertising is one of the most direct means businesses use in conditioning the minds of their customers. Through advertising, firms tell us what to expect of them. However, in creating those expectations in the customer, it is essential that a line is drawn between customer expectations and actual business performance. The firm must know what it can actually do and what it tells its customers to expect.
The advertising message must ensure that expectations are not too high that performance falls way below the expectations, while at the same time raising expectations high enough to entice customers to be interested in the company’s offering. It seems this is where some of the firms in this country fall short. They overpromise and under-deliver. MTN’s “Everywhere you Go!” slogan always amuses me, especially in the light of the many complaints from patrons about the “out of coverage area” phenomenon. I have been trying to get a broadband Internet access from Vodafone in my house for sometime now. It is taking so much of my time that I wonder if that is not a reflection of the real meaning behind their “It’s Your Time” tag line. Maybe it is really their time not mine. I am eagerly waiting for GLO to begin operations so that I can see if I can really “Rule My World”!
I know of a microfinance company around Kokomlemle that claims they can give a loan within 30 minutes. That is a message I wish they had not put out there. It is not the impossibility of the claim that worries me. Having spent a number of years in banking, I am fully aware that a loan can be disbursed within thirty minutes; that is, if all conditions are met. What I have a problem with, however, is whether they can do this for every single client every single time.
Just this past Tuesday, I was a gentleman who had gone to that particular company for a loan. I am sure he was expecting the money within 30 minutes but it never happened, even though as far as he was concerned he had met all obligations. I am sure we could argue that the gentleman might not have provided the necessary documents to merit the loan in 30 minutes, but that is not the point. The customer’s perception is very important. If customers find out that a company is unable to meet claims that it has made, the company is worse off, in the mind of the customer, than if it had not made those claims at all.
Even the medium used in advertising has a way of psyching patrons up about the product-service offering. One of the findings of a research I did for my second degree on billboard advertising was that many Ghanaians believe billboards are a very expensive advertising medium. Therefore, it is assumed that products (or services) advertised on billboards must really be good. This heightens the expectations of customers for that brand. I find it interesting that one bank uses a number of billboards to advertise their brand while customers have to beg for pay-in slips.

Ambience
Research has revealed that elements of a business’s location, such as music, lighting and aroma and decor have a profound influence on customer mood, satisfaction and expectations. At the point of purchase, the atmospherics matter a lot. The ambience created can elevate the expectations of customers. Readers will recall from last week’s piece about my encounter with the waakye seller that I was fooled by the atmospherics. The ambience around the woman’s booth worked my taste buds into a state of high expectation. I believe some good restaurants in this town are doing well with their ambience. The cool music at the background, arousing aroma and well-dressed attendants increases the expectations of patrons.
Even the dressing of company staff has an effect on the expectations of patrons. I doubt the professionalism certain private security companies claim just by the looks of their officers. How do you convince a client that the scruffy-looking gentleman will be able to keep her home or office safe face if he cannot even take time to dress decent?

Attitudes
We are judged by the friends we keep; companies are judged by the personnel they keep. If sales and customer service reps are professional in their interactions with customers, the expectation is that the product-service offering must be good. Whenever I have to go to the Ministries for business, I lower my expectations just because of the attitudes of the people there. This is because I have experienced so much unprofessionalism at those offices that my expectations are always lowered.
Attitudes can be very infectious; therefore when sales people or customer care reps do not possess the right attitudes, customer expectations are not only lowered but purchase of the offering might not occur at all. Salespeople who sell as if they have being forced to do so by their bosses end up lowering customer expectations of the offering. Many times these wrong attitudes affect the customer who eventually declines the sales offer. It is interesting when these same mediocre salespeople come back to report that people are not buying these days.
Great companies are very careful about the expectations they create. Every advertising message is carefully crafted. Every single item that forms part of the atmospherics of the firm is carefully selected. Every single employee is made aware of his or her role in sending the right corporate message out. When such companies make a claim they ensure that they put their resources behind the claim and ensure that the expectations of customers are, in the very least, met.
Mediocre companies, on the other hand, have a habit of mismanaging customer expectations. They say things they know they cannot do. They spend a lot of money and time on advertising and neglect the atmospherics in the offices. As far as I am concerned, the worst of these companies are those that try to manipulate customer expectations by the use of ambiguous statements. The most popular these days is “Terms and conditions apply.” What does that statement mean? Is it a ploy to cheat customers, as many people I have spoken to believe? I believe I should talk to some legal brains over that statement.
The product or service a company offers is important but a good product (or service) is not enough to ensure business success. As we have seen, there is more to satisfying customers. Companies must ensure that they create the right expectations or else they will end up scoring three F’s instead of three A’s.