Customer expectations are a huge management issue.  You have to strive to exceed customer expectations with every transaction.  Knowing you have to do it is one thing, understanding what the customer’s expectations are, is quite another.  

Here are three questions you can use to elicit from your clients, what their definition of exceeding customer expectations is.

What do you like, and what do you dislike about how you’ve gotten IT support in the past?  

With this question, the client will start to open up about the good, bad, and ugly customer service they have had.  Listen carefully and let them vent.  

This is where you will pick up invaluable information about their customer expectations. Take tons and tons of notes.  Once they’ve told you all the things they hate and despise, all you need to do to exceed customer expectation is overcome the issues they just told you about. When you do, you look like a knight in shining armor.

Is there anything I can do to make your job easier when working with us?  

Here again, the responses you will typically get address what past consultants have done that they don’t like.  Turn their experience with you completely around.  When you don’t do the things that have upset them in the past, you will succeed at exceeding the customer’s expectations.  

Is there anything else that would be helpful for me to know about supporting your company’s IT needs?  

With this question you will likely get into the politics and the nuances of the company that will determine how well you handle customer expectations.  If you can navigate the political mine field, and make the process as smooth as possible for everyone, then you will be perceived as the ultimate in exceeding customer expectations.

Once you have your responses to these three customer expectation questions, you need to record the answers and make sure you have a way to refer back to them often.

Bottom Line on Customer Expectations
Customer expectation can’t be left to chance.  You have to prepare yourself to meet and exceed customer expectations every time.  By asking the right questions, you will get the answers you need regarding customer expectations.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Customer Expectations. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Customer Expectations, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.