"Selling the Invisible" author Harry Beckwith tells us that our customers' perceptions are always right. The issue is not whether our customers should be satisfied with our efforts, products, services or relationships, but that our customers indeed feel satisfied and that that perception persists over time.

To complicate the matter, Beckwith confirms what we already know -- we humans perceive poorly. We are not always logical in drawing conclusions or forming our perceptions. We experience what we believe, or perceive, we will experience. How else could we ever explain the placebo effect phenomenon that has been demonstrated thousands of times over the past century?

Psychology 101

The psychology behind all this is something called "Expectancy Theory." If your mind expects something to happen, it will. At least in the mind's eye. So how do we as business people deal with this? How do we ever compete with the powerful customer mind and the mumbo jumbo magic of Expectancy Theory?

Leverage the Theory--Brand Those Expectations

Let's look at professional speakers, since they leverage this theory to their advantage all the time. As Zig Zigler, a master professional speaker, is wont to say, "Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em". In other words, set up the expectation, deliver on it, and tell 'em the value of what you just did.

One way marketers set expectations (and therefore, increase their chances of being successful in keeping customers satisfied) is by building strong branding strategies and positionings over time. Through the market's experiences with your company or products certain levels of service and quality come to be expected. These delivered-on expectations lead to comfort, satisfaction, competitive advantage, and sales.

"Customers will have an expectation . . . of your organization in mind before you ever begin telling them about specific product or service-related messages. And that can elevate your company out of the pack to a special place reserved for friends and trusted partners." Not a bad place to be, huh?

How To Do It?

• Build your brand on what's important to your customers - As you go about building a brand, make sure that you are hitting on the expectations that are important to your target audiences.

• Design a logo and tagline that promises delivery of those expectations. The closer you can make the visual logo and tagline communicate the promises of your brand the easier it will be for potential customers to learn and remember your services or products when buying time comes around.

• Use your brands consistently and with respect. - Once a brand's tactical elements and positioning have been decided on, they then need to be implemented consistently over product and division categories . . . and time. Learning theory tells us that the more people are exposed to the same material or information the more easily it is remembered and recalled. (Who doesn't know what the yellow arches mean?) Also, be careful not to bastardize the brand name through watered-down brand extensions or promotional tie-in themes. This confuses the customer and muddies the brand image and perception.

• Tell 'em what you told 'em -Especially in these harder economic times, consider retention marketing tactics like newsletters or promotional mailings that remind your current customers of the value your brand brings to them in increasing their business or making them more profitable. This "value-add" material not only keeps customers more satisfied, it also increases the likelihood that they'll stay with you.

Remember to spend in good times and bad, even if the spending levels are lower during tougher times. Marketing is like putting money in the bank. If you put it in one day and take it out the next your net profits are zero.

Call Mosaic to help you put together a solid branding effort that fits your budget!

Remember, Mosaic creates customers and increases sales for business-to-business companies through specific project work, on-going retainer assignments or marketing coaching sessions.

Until next time.....

Rosemary Walter
847-483-5018
Rose1Walter@MosaicMM.com

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© 2004 Rosemary Walter, all rights reserved. You are free to use material from Mosaic's Monthly Marketing Tips in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including a live website link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

"By Rosemary Walter of Mosaic Marketing Management, Inc. Please visit Rosemary's web site at http://www.MosaicMM.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for business to business companies."