This is my theory, prove me wrong! 🙂
When someone buys something- a product, a service, a restaurant meal, a new car, a tiny part for a broken dishwasher, etc- they are buying because they are hopeful and optimistic.
They are hopeful that they have made a good choice and that the thing they bought will deliver on their expectations. They are optimistic that what they are expecting will be delivered on time at the time of the purchase or when they actually get what they ordered if there is a wait.
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The person buying plumbing services is hopeful the plumber can fix the problem quickly and at an affordable price and they are optimistic that this will happen.
The person buying a nice meal at a steak house is hopeful the meal will be good and optimistic that it will be based on the reviews and recommendations from friends.
The person buying a radiator hose for their car is hopeful this will fix the leak and optimistic they can make the repair a success.
And so on. Your customers are hopeful buying from you will be a good choice, and optimistic that it will be because they choose to give you their money among all their possible choices.
All you have to do is make sure you deliver on that hope and optimism. If you do, you’ll never run short of customers. If you don’t, you won’t be around in business for long.
Easier said than done. How do you make sure you do that? Ask yourself what are they hoping for when they buy from you, and what is making them optimistic they will get that result?
Then make sure you are setting accurate and clear expectations for their hopes and then delivering on those things. Overdelivering if possible. But never underdelivering.
You don’t have to be a mind reader to know what customers are hoping for- they will usually tell you if you ask but also if you are putting out marketing materials and making promises in your ads, or website, or social media, then at minimum, they expect you to live up to those promises.
That doesn’t mean you have to put Wagyu beef in your $5 value meal, but if you promise the $5 meal is delivered fast, fresh, and tastes decent, then it should do that. If it takes 15 minutes and comes out cold and soggy, you’ve failed, and their optimism will turn quickly to pessimism, and your chances of earning their future business will plummet.
It also doesn’t mean you have to let customers make all the decisions- you are free to and should carefully define what you are offering so if they are hopeful of getting that then you know you’ll be able to deliver. Don’t fall into the temptation of overpromising just to win the sale if you are going to be a disappointment later.
Every business is selling to customers who are hopeful that buying from you will be as good or better than they expect, and they are optimistic you will be the one to deliver. You have them until you lose them. So make sure you don’t lose them if it’s in your power to do so.
You won’t always win- sometimes, despite your best efforts to do everything right, there is a customer who does expect Wagyu for $5, and you’re just never going to be able to deliver that.
But if you think about what your customers hope they get by doing business with you and how to ensure you both carefully set those expectations and then deliver on them, you’re going to be very successful. If you routinely miss on this or fail to think about it at all, then you’re going to have a pretty rough time in business. It’s not complicated, but it’s not easy.