A Guide Map To Customers’ Expectations In 2016 and Beyond

HOW TO MEET
CUSTOMERS’
EXPECTATIONS IN
2016 & BEYOND
A GUIDE MAP

INTRODUCTION
Your customers are logging into websites more frequently,
signing up for new online services, and trying new apps every
day. The well-documented consumerization of business product
users is putting increasing pressure on companies.
In many cases, companies can’t keep up with the evolving
expectations of their customer base.

INTRODUCTION
Searches for customer
engagement and
community resources hit
fever pitch in 2015 and
interest in improving
relationships with
customers is expected to
continue to rise over the
next decade.

INTRODUCTION
The team at Socious follows trends in customer relationship
management very closely. The following guide outlines 20 things
that your customers expect from you and your company in 2016.
Many of these trends have been bubbling under the surface for
years. However, companies that excel in 2016 will put a premium
on these acute areas of their customers’ relationships.

Customers Expect the Basics
HOW TO MEET CUSTOMERS’ EXPECTATIONS IN 2016 & BEYOND
A GUIDE MAP

EXPECTATION #1) SIMPLICITY
As more of your customers use the awesome mobile apps and
consumer-focused online services available to them – from
Amazon and Twitter to Airbnb and Uber - they expect similar
ease of use and real-time task accomplishment from your
products and interactions.

EXPECTATION #2) MEASURABLE AND
EXPLAINABLE VALUE
It has been over six and half years since the last recession in the
United States. One of the lingering effects of the Great
Recession is that decisions made by people up and down your org
chart are scrutinized against their measurable impact on the
business. Customers expect you to give them the tools, metrics,
and language to report on the business outcomes that your
products and services deliver.

EXPECTATION #3) RISK REDUCTION
With increasing accountability for decisions and their impact on
business performance comes increased risk of changing the
status quo. This perceived risk comes in two interconnected
forms – risk to the company and risk to the personal brands of
the individuals making the change. Your customers are counting
on you to highlight how your solution, content, and programs
help them reduce both forms of risk.

EXPECTATION #4) MOBILE
Check your Google Analytics account for the past 365 days. You
may be surprised by how many people visit your website through
a mobile browser. According to the Pew Research Center, “Nearly
two-thirds of Americans are now smartphone owners, and for
many these devices are a key entry point to the online world.”
Providing a seamless mobile experience for prospective and
current customers to interact with your company and products is
no longer a luxury for some. It is an expectation of all companies.

EXPECTATION #5) SMARTS
Customers are more savvy and informed than they have been at
any pointing history. They know good and bad products, support,
and customer experiences when the see them. Customers
expect your organization to be the smartest people in the room
when it comes to your solutions and industries. Your customers
don’t have time for people in your company who they feel they
need to educate about your products or services and how they
are using them.

Customers Expect a Community
A GUIDE MAP

EXPECTATION #6) CONSISTENT
COMMUNICATION
Your customers, like most people, spend a significant amount of
time online using social networks. When your customers access
Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, all of their favorite people and
brands are there – every time! This consistent presence extends
to their email inbox as well. If you don’t consistently
communicate with your customers, your brand will be the outlier
and will likely lose “share of mind” given all of the other messages
that your community receives.

EXPECTATION #7) ACCESS TO A NETWORK OF
PEERS
It is no longer enough to limit customer engagement to
customer-to-company interactions. Customers increasingly
expect to be able to share ideas, get advice, and learn best
practices from other customers and partners. Make access to
your community ubiquitous and ongoing participation easy.

EXPECTATION #8) OPPORTUNITIES TO
ADVOCATE
If your customers love your products, agree with what you stand
for, or like what you are doing, it is in their online DNA to want to
share their experience with people who care. Give them clear
opportunities to help them spread positive experiences with
your company or products, so that they don’t feel like they are
advocating in a vacuum.

EXPECTATION #9) RECOGNITION FOR
PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITY
One of the reasons that customers participate in your community – whether
it is co-creating new product features, helping other customers solve a
problem, or sharing their best tips in a blog post – is to strengthen their
personal brand. Your customers will spend a lot of time and energy helping
you build a stronger community with no expectation of monetary
compensation. However, with more and more companies building active
customer communities, your customers that engage your company do
expect some small form of recognition to your company and their peers.

EXPECTATION #10) ONGOING EDUCATION
Customers expect you to have great products and services.
However, in an age where content marketing strategies flood the
internet with useful insight and helpful tips, your customers
expect your company to couple amazing products and services
with ongoing education about how to excel in their market and
how to get the most from you solution.

EXPECTATION #11) FEEDBACK
OPPORTUNITIES
Your customers have invested time and budget in you. And you
have in turn demonstrated how you are investing in their
success. With that type of relationship comes an expectation that
your customers will have a voice in how to make your products
and services even more useful.

Customers Expect to Be Treated Like an
Audience of One
A GUIDE MAP

EXPECTATION #12) PERSONALIZATION
Your customers expect every touch with your company to involve
more than a token “Hi [fill in the first name]” email or phone call.
Today’s customers expect you to know their goals, interests,
challenges, and plans for your product or service. They expect
that understanding to be reflected in your online and live
interactions.

EXPECTATION #13) SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS
The rise of online portals and easy-to-use mobile apps has
increased people’s reliance on getting stuff done right here, right
now. As much as your customers might love you, there are things
that they want to accomplish that they simply want to do
themselves.

EXPECTATION #14) THE RIGHT MESSAGE AT
THE RIGHT TIME
Though you might think that any communication with customers
is a positive step forward, customers can smell a disengaged
company a mile away. If your customers receive an email, phone,
call, or direct mail piece that is not relevant to them, they’ll likely
toss you into their mental junk mail pile along with all of the other
companies that they no longer need to pay attention to because
their messages are not relevant.

Customers Expect a Partner
A GUIDE MAP

EXPECTATION #15) ACCESS TO RESOURCES
If you have a more complex set of products or services where
there is any size learning curve, your customers expect your
company to be the leading provider of resources to help them
find success with your solution.

EXPECTATION #16) SPEED TO ANSWERS
According to Parature’s 2015 Global State of Multichannel
Customer Service Report, “getting my issue resolved quickly” was
the most important aspect to a satisfying customer experience in
every region worldwide. Whether it is through your customer
community, online knowledgebase, chat, or support tickets, your
customers expect not to have to wait to get answer to their
question or overcome roadblocks.

EXPECTATION #17) ALIGNMENT WITH THEIR
BEST INTERESTS
This may sound simple, but it will be increasingly important in
2016. Customers know that ultimately your company’s interests
are your top priority. However, they also expect you to
demonstrate through your actions and messages that you are
constantly working for their interests.

EXPECTATION #18) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
THEIR GOALS
You are no longer just selling a product or service. You are selling
an outcome. Customers expect you to understand what they are
trying to achieve and for you to communicate that understanding
at every turn.

EXPECTATION #19) TRANSPARENCY
Gone are the days when you controlled all of the information
about your products or industry. Customers have access to all
kinds for information and rumors. They seek this information
because they are not only investing in what your company does.
They are investing in how you do it, who is doing it, and why you
do it. Customers expect a great deal of trust to come with their
relationships. Being transparent to a high degree with customers
bakes trust into your relationship.

EXPECTATION #20) AGILITY TO SOLVE
MARKET PROBLEMS
As markets evolve and priorities shift, your customers expect
your organization to adapt rapidly to support new opportunities.
Their ability to capitalize on these market problems depends on
it.

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS TAKEAWAY
Keeping your eye on customer expectations and building your
products, services, and customer programs around those
elements can have a significant impact on both customer
retention and new customer acquisition.
You probably won’t be able to address all of these trends this
year, but this list gives you a foundation for evaluating how you
manage customer relationships, so that you can prioritize your
customer engagement plans for 2016.

A Guide Map To Customers’ Expectations In 2016 and Beyond

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A Guide Map To Customers’ Expectations In 2016 and Beyond