Expectations are shifting like sand.  What once was acceptable, may no longer be.

The standard you do things by may not be the standard that your customer is expecting given all of the other things they can compare you to in life.  One click purchasing on Amazon, timed delivery slots from Tesco, paying by Paypal, free delivery, being heard on social media are all examples of how a customers expectations are changing.  They are the same customers, with the same money.

Last night I stayed in a hotel and I was thinking about the basics that I now expect before choosing to stay somewhere.  Location, wireless network, cost of parking, access to leisure facilities are just some of the add ons that come along with a comfortable room and bed.  The hotel industry has had to shift it’s proposition.

Last night, a perfectly comfortable hotel went into my black book of places never to go back to.  I had a brilliant nights sleep, bed was super comfortable, room very contemporary, all the mod cons.  However, I couldn’t connect to the wireless network, the car park for the hotel was a full five minutes walk away and fifteen minutes to drive due to a one-way system and my mobile phone had no signal, despite being in a major city centre.  My expectations weren’t met, despite having lovely accomodation (the key proposition) the wrap around elements (related to the key proposition) diluted the key proposition so significantly, I became a one-off customer, rather than a repeat customer.

It was a reminder to me, not to just think about your core business proposition but the associated things that wrap around it.  The add-ons, the after service, the details that make up a buying interaction.  Using the above example, what is the wireless network equivalent in your proposition?  It’s not your core but your customer may want more.  They may have greater expectations, so stay close, keep listening and keep refining.