Happy

There's an old joke about a patient complaining to their doctor that they are not as happy as the people in the ads.

Making people feel insecure about their present choice is good in the short run, but I think bad in the long run. When your product doesn't deliver unending bliss to your customer, they are going to grow cynical about your next message.

Set reasonable expectations for your customer and the odds of them coming back go way up.

Information Sets Expectations

One thing I miss from the analog days at the public library- the due date stamps in the front of books.

Besides telling you when your book was due, it also told you in direct terms how popular the book was in your community. This popularity information also set a certain expectation for the book- if everyone was reading it it must have value on some level, even if it is only entertainment. If the book was from a deep niche, it could confirm both the obscurity of the subject and also validation that a few others shared your love of that niche.

A nearly empty due date sheet hinted that you were freeing a seldom read book from the shelf, and whatever it held inside would remain, even after your reading of it, a closely held secret experience of a select few.

Knowing the Amazon rank of a book just isn't the same kind of information.

Peter

Disillusionment

When the reality of your customer's situation falls below their expectations, you've got a problem.

Fortunately, if they choose to interact with you again, their expectations will be lowered as they come in the door. Perhaps you can meet them and try to cement the relationship.

If they come back in.

Peter

Lowered Expectations

Sometimes a company can impress you despite your first impression.

I buy shoes at this place. They have nice staff. They know what they are doing. They are considered experts locally. Their service is super.

But their website is like a flashback to 1994. Or rather, they built the website in '94 and have never done a redesign to bring it up to modern technological or aesthetic standards.

While a business that still rings up sales on an old cash register (Cha-Ching!) can appear quaint and nostalgic, an outdated website suggests cluelessness.

It lowered my expectations as a first time customer.

While the 'retro' website may be an in-joke for regular shoppers, how many potential sales are chased away?

Peter