Think about it. When you’ve delivered a project for a client, you want them to say to themselves, “this is much better than I expected“.

When you tell someone about the service you offer, then quote your fee, you want them to say to themselves, “this quote is much better than I expected“.

When someone experiences your customer service, you want them to say to themselves, “this service is much better than I expected“.

Five of the best words in business

There’s REAL power in those 5 words. They’re a sure sign that you’re exceeding expectations. And the most successful business owners strive to exceed expectations, with every interaction.

Here’s why.

They know that by truly exceeding expectations, they’ll retain more clients. They know they’ll also receive highly valuable client referrals. And they know they’ll build an exceptional reputation, too.

The reason the majority of small businesses fail to achieve this, is that it presents the business owner with 2 tricky challenges. When you overcome them, you can benefit from all the advantages of exceeding the expectations of your clients and your marketplace. And that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

Let’s start by looking at those 2 challenges and how you can turn things around.

1. Almost every business owner thinks they’re already exceeding expectations

They know how hard they work. They know how passionately they care about their clients. They then confuse their hard work and passion with delivering a remarkably good service.

Working hard doesn’t mean you’re exceeding expectations. After all, you can work darn hard just delivering exactly what your client expects from you! That kind of hard work is merely meeting expectations. Not exceeding them.

How do you find out for sure, if you’re exceeding expectations?

Simple. Just look at the number of referrals your clients give you. This will sound harsh if you’re currently not receiving regular referrals. But in every industry, people proactively recommend the products and services that really impress them. They want their friends to know. That’s how word of mouth marketing works.

Some clients will stay with an “okay service provider” for years, just because it’s easier than switching to a better provider. The provider can wrongly assume this loyalty is a reflection of truly remarkable service.

It isn’t.

When a business isn’t getting a regular stream of client referrals, it’s a sure sign that the business isn’t exceeding what their clients expect from them. And it’s a wake up call. A wake up call to put things right, to up their game, to go from average to remarkable.

At least it should be.

2. It’s harder to exceed expectations than to meet them

Even if a business owner accepts they’re not exceeding expectations, it can be a challenge to figure out what they need to do, to turn things around. Every marketplace is saturated with average providers. And this can make it tricky to get out of that mindset. To see what’s truly possible and blow the lid off the service you provide.

Fear not!

Here’s something I share with my clients, to help them overcome this challenge.

The best way to elevate your own expectations of what’s possible, is to look outside of your industry and beyond your competitors for guidance and inspiration.

For example.

• Compare your customer service to Disney.
• Compare your product’s build quality to Rolex.
• Compare your design quality to Apple.
• Compare your distribution to Amazon.

Then, look for better ways to deliver your services, based on what you learn from these (and other) examples of excellence. It takes a little effort. That’s for sure. However, it’s a proven way to radically improve your services. A proven way to get people saying your offering is “much better than I expected”.

And I’ve seen it work hundreds of times with my clients, helping them smash their sales targets into pieces. It’s one of my marketing tips for 2024, just as it was for 2004.

What next?

In my experience, it’s the first of those challenges that’s always the toughest.

Even when some business owners know they get very few referrals, they’ll still fail to accept it’s down to them.

• They’ll say their clients expect too much.
• They’ll blame their clients for being ungrateful.
• They’ll tell themselves their clients aren’t the kind who recommend others.

In short, they’ll refuse to acknowledge the problem.

The second challenge is a little less tricky.

It means embracing the edges. And that feels riskier than staying in their comfort zone. But as any entrepreneur, I mean real entrepreneur will tell you, the riskiest thing you can do is cling to the overcrowded middle ground.

Make no mistake, consistently exceeding expectations takes real commitment. And that’s why so few of your competitors will do it.

It’s also why this wonderful opportunity is open to you.

It’s an opportunity to attract the best clients, to attract endless referrals, to retain your clients for longer and build an outstanding business. A business that’s much better than people expected. A business that will thrive in any economy… including this one.

Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash

This could be the right time to expand the marketplace you serve.

It really could.

But often when a small business owner explains their scenario and asks for my advice, the solution is not to expand. Their existing marketplace tends to be more than big enough.

Usually, to get the business results they want, the answer is for them to make their prospects more interested, more engaged and more reliant on the products or services the business provides.

How?

Here’s a quick overview of what this might mean for you and your business.

• It means greatly increasing the value of your services or products.
• It means looking at every detail of what you provide, for opportunities to improve it.
• It means developing new, high-value, high-profit products and services for existing and prospective clients/customers.
• It means getting serious about your marketing.
• It means creating an inspiring wow! factor for your services, products and brand. Creating something so compelling that it attracts attention, attracts buyers, attracts referrals and attracts word-of-mouth publicity.

Now what?

It depends

If you’ve deployed this process already, and seen a significant increase in your market share, then look to expand your marketplace. The work you’ve already done in maximizing the sales potential of your business, will make the expansion spectacularly more effective.

However, if you haven’t already given your services, products and brand this type of radical review AND implemented the improvements, do that first! Then, expand your marketplace.

Is it easy?

No, of course not.

The rewards are huge and the work required is considerable. Don’t believe anyone who says you can have it all, with growth hacks and tricks. That’s bullshit.

Is it possible?

Yes, of course it is.

People in your industry, have already optimized the sales potential of their business and successfully expanded in to new markets.

Will you do it?

Only you can answer that.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Successful athletes focus heavily on building their core body strength. They know that a strong core is essential to their overall performance.

 Equally, a business needs to be strong in all its core areas if it wants to succeed. To get you started, I have included a few business-related cores you should focus on. Plus, I’ve added some guiding questions, to prompt you to find the specific answers you need.

The core values of your business: What does your business stand for? Do you just want to make money or do you want to make a difference?

The human core of your business: How effective are the people who work for your business? Do they receive regular training and appraisals? Is it time to invest in higher level people?

The core of your innovation: Do you introduce new products or services regularly enough? Do you seek out ways to improve existing products or services? Do you encourage problem solving? Is your business agile?

The core of your marketing message: Why should people buy from you or hire you, rather than one of your competitors? Is your message clear? Is it easy to share? Is your message compelling enough to attract the attention of your marketplace? Does your business have a story, which people tell their friends about? Can your message be improved?

With a strong business core, you’ll be ready and able to seize future opportunities. You’ll also be better equipped to weather the inevitable storms ahead.

And by regularly strengthening these core areas, you won’t just get strong. You’ll stay strong.

Right now, your marketplace has unmet needs. That may not sound particularly exciting.

But it should.

Why?

Because when you provide what they need, you gain a powerful advantage over all of your competitors.

It’s easier than you think

Unmet needs are usually easy to find. That’s because your clients or customers will tell you what they are.

Here’s a quick example from a couple of years ago.

I met with the owner of a successful accountancy practice. She focused on serving local, independent retailers. During our first meeting, I asked if any of her clients had requested something that her practice did not currently provide. She said that clients would sometimes say they wished accountants opened earlier. Her practice, and all the others in her area, opened no earlier than 8:45am. Her clients explained that even if they got the earliest meeting slot, they would have to open their store an hour late. That costs them valuable trading time and money.

I suggested the accountant trialled opening her practice an hour earlier, 2-days a week, for 8-weeks. Then, we would measure the results. She agreed, and had 4 of her team available from 7:45am. It became immediately obvious that the new opening times were extremely popular. These early slots were always the first to get booked. After 4 or 5-weeks the accountant started getting new clients from referrals; when her clients told other retailers about the earlier opening times. After the trial period, the early opening was made permanent and extended to 3-days a week.

Note: By the time her competitors figured out what was happening, my client already owned the retailer-friendly chunk of her marketplace.

Is it always as easy as that?

No. Sometimes it’s even easier and sometimes it’s a little trickier. But it’s never particularly difficult.

The challenge is figuring out how to provide the unmet need. You have to find a way that’s both effective and sustainable for you.

Is it worth a try?

Yes, definitely. The upside when you get this right can be huge.

How interested are you, regarding the challenges facing your prospective clients or customers? That may seem like an odd question, but your answer is spectacularly important.

Why?

Because the most effective marketing, and strongest business relationships, are all built on a foundation of empathy: The ability to understand and share in the feelings of another person.

Think about it for a moment.

• The vendors you are most loyal to, are those you feel have a connection with you.
• The vendors you tell your friends about, are those you feel confident recommending.
• The vendors you feel closest to, are those who understand your wants and needs, because they took time to find out.
• And the vendors you appreciate the most, are those you feel you actually ‘know’.

Conversely, the vendors you have no interest in are those who have a mostly transactional relationship with you. These are the vendors that don’t really give a rat’s ass about you or what matters to you. Their focus is cold and based on how to maximize their yield from you.

Show your empathy through your marketing

Despite the value of demonstrating empathy and the damage caused by a transactional focus, most marketing lacks feeling. Instead we’re hit with needy messages transparently designed to milk us like a cash cow; sales pitches, killer deals, special offers and marketing gimmicks. It’s stripped of empathy, yet that human connection is the most valuable part.

Here’s the thing:

Business is all about people. And marketing is about how those people feel.

That’s because our feelings are what drive the decisions we make and the actions we take. Feelings are what cause people to hire you, buy from you, recommend you and remain a loyal customer. Without those feelings there’s no connection.

And without that connection, you and your business lose.

You know that you care about your customers and the community you serve. So, don’t keep it a secret. Instead, make empathy a visible part of the way you do business and the way you market your business.

Look for empathy opportunities

Proactively look for ways to demonstrate empathy.

Yes, demonstrate!

Words have amazing power. But when you show someone, it has massively greater impact, than when you merely tell them.

Here’s a suggestion. Do a review of the way you communicate with your customers and prospective customers. Are you creating empathy? Are you building them-focused relationships? If not, put it right.

Because when you do, it will radically improve the way they feel about you. And those feelings are what drive their decisions and actions.