7 Things That Influence and Shape Customer Expectations

Faith Ocampo Published on July 5, 2017 Last updated on October 5, 2021

Managing customer expectations is tricky. It’s by no means an exact science, which is precisely what makes it a difficult task.

People’s expectations from your brand affect the customer experience in many ways. Failing to meet consumers’ standards translates to poor sales and low customer retention rates.

A critical part of managing buyers’ expectations is understanding the factors that can influence their perceptions. By considering these, you’ll understand what your clients want and how to meet their demands.

Here are seven things that shape customer expectations.

  1. Customers’ Needs and Preferences

    Excited man looking at smartphone

    As a general rule, customers expect brands to be able to help them at all times. In return for their continuous support, they want fast issue resolution and hassle-free transactions. Preferences like these can greatly affect customers’ expectations of your company.

    Even purchasing habits can significantly influence people’s expectations. For instance, Millennial consumers, who are always connected to the Internet, prefer online shopping and online payment. Thus, you should consider all these when creating and launching your business strategies.

  2. Culture or Location

    woman holding tablet looking out to buildings in the distance

    Buyers’ expectations vary greatly across cultures and locations. In some countries, customers don’t want overly friendly or cheery customer service reps. Some customers, however, don’t want to talk to agents that sound too stiff or businesslike.

    When interacting with a diverse clientele, consider their rules of etiquette and attitudes toward businesses, especially new market players. Other aspects such as timeliness and communication style should also be taken into account.

  3. Experience with Other Companies

    couple looking choosing products

    When managing customer expectations, consider your competition. What are your competitors doing to make customers happy? Can you match or exceed their performance? What are the unique ways by which you can impress your customers?

    People’s experience with other brands, especially with your competitors, can shape their expectations from you. They might model their preferences based on what other brands can do for them. If you can’t outshine your competitors, you can’t win customers over.

  4. Other Customers’ Feedback

    women looking at tablet

    These days, your customers can spread the word about your brand instantly via the web. They can post their feedback on review websites and on social media, which can greatly influence your brand’s image and reputation

    What people say about you can change or contribute to customers’ perceptions of your brand. Thus, apart from ensuring consistent, high-quality performance, you should also take your online reputation management seriously. Doing so will help you build a positive identity.

  5. Customers’ Past Transactions with You

    customer experience agent at call center sorting work on computer screen

    This is arguably the strongest predictor of customer expectations. People’s past experiences and transactions can greatly influence what they think about your brand. In fact, just one instance of poor customer support interaction is enough to make customers think you’re unreliable.

    At every opportunity and touchpoint, aim to make customers happy. This will result in a positive customer experience

  6. How You Communicate

    customer experience specialist explaining to consumer with hand gestures

    How you communicate pertains to your customer service and marketing approaches combined. Are you using digital channels? What’s your communication style, language, and tone of voice?

    The way you talk to customersโ€”whether in person, online, or over the phoneโ€”gives them an idea about your brand’s personality. Thus, make sure that the way you interact with them reflects your business’ values and identity. Also, make sure to communicate with customers in a consistent manner, regardless of the channel used.

  7. What You Communicate

    customer support specialist assisting caller over the phone

    What you tell your customers, whether directly or through your customer support and marketing channels, will shape their expectations. Make sure to always disseminate accurate information. If you’ve promised something, be sure to follow through. Misleading or incorrect information can have disastrous consequences that may affect your corporate image.

What’s next for your business?

Knowing what shapes customer expectations is crucial, but do you have the right tools to match what your consumers are anticipating from you? Find an outsourcing partner that understands your consumers’ expectations and has the right solutions to meet their standards.

As an industry expert, Open Access BPO offers a wide range of cost-effective services to help you address low consumer retention rates and usher in satisfying customer experiences. Let bad customer service be a thing of the past by getting in touch with our team today.

 

Read More

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO Yesterday
The ๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ is a top #outsourcing destination. The country's capital, Manila, where Makati is located, houses most of the country's top 1,000 companies.
๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฃ๐—ข's flagship center in Makati leverage world-class infrastructures and the nation's most expansive talent pool.

Our facilities in the Makati Central Business District offer scalable multilingual solutions for global businesses.

๐——๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—น๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€: https://buff.ly/4e7eRln

----------
๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฃ๐—ข
โ€ข Our Solutions: https://buff.ly/4f22Mip
โ€ข Our Other Locations: https://buff.ly/4e68ej1

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
Open Access BPO Yesterday
๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฃ๐—ข ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ-๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ข๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ, ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฐ.

Drop It Like It's Hot: The OABPO Weight Loss Challenge began with an early morning wellness session hosted by the outsourcing company's Clinic Services with guest speaker, fitness coach JR Madriaga. Both the morning and evening sessions were streamed online for those who could not be physically present.

After discussing the rules of the challenge and weigh-in schedules, Coach JR talked about some of the most effective methods of losing weight. He highlighted the healthiest ways for the participants to get their weight loss journey started.

A high-energy Zumba session soon followed the discussion. It not only served as a fun way to start the challenge but also emphasized the importance of incorporating physical activity into daily routines.

More than 80 employees from both Open Access BPO Makati and Davao signed up for the three-month weight loss challenge. The grand prize, originally P25,000, has since been doubled to P50,000, with the winner to be announced in next year's Kick Off Party.
Open Access BPO Yesterday
Did you know that it's possible for you to connect with your Chinese #ecommerce customers even though you don't speak their language?

#CallCenter outsourcing can greatly help in atracting and supporting customers from this gigantic Asian market.
Here's how partnering with an #outsourcing #CustomerExperience procall center can establish these connections: https://buff.ly/3C8HG3G

----------
Whether it's Mandarin, Cantonese, or Hokkien, Open Access BPO's multilingual services are your best bet for an improved market presence in China: https://buff.ly/48uCcfp

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #MultilingualCallCenter
Open Access BPO Yesterday
๐๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐›๐š๐ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ฒ, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐š ๐œ๐ซ๐ฎ๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐›๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ.

Our blog post provides you expert tips and strategies to help you handle these situations with empathy and professionalism.
Discover effective strategies and best practices to ensure your communication remains clear, respectful, and compassionate: https://buff.ly/4eaaJkD

----------
Deliver exceptional #CustomerExperience with our services to ensure #CustomerRetention and foster brand loyalty: https://buff.ly/4f3L4vd

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CX #CSat
#outsourcing #CustomerSatisfaction
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
Our dedicated Xiamen and Taipei teams always go #AboveAndBeyond for our customers. To show our appreciation for their hard work, we spent during #CSWeek treating them to some fun and games at the office.

They even took part in the special video challenge to share how they show their dedication in customer service. And of course, they had a special dinner last Friday to close the festivities.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerServiceWeek #CSWeek
#OABPOCSWeek2024 #AboveAndBeyond
#CustomerServiceWeek2024
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
๐„๐ฅ๐ž๐ฏ๐š๐ญ๐ž #๐‚๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐’๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐›๐ฒ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก-๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  #๐‚๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ฆ.

Learn about the crucial skills, traits, and mindset of these #CustomerService experts, key for exceptional #CX and sustained positive brand reputation.

Here are the types of high-performing customer support agents: https://buff.ly/40pii3K

----------
Outsource with us today and get a team of dedicated experts for your business needs: https://buff.ly/3C0mNHH

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CallCenters #CX #oustourcing