A key component to creating happy customer relations in any industry is the management of customer expectations.

Today's consumers have information on anything at their fingertips. However, most often, they expect the company representative assisting them to be an expert providing guidance on what to expect, and how to proceed in transacting business.

These customer expectations apply to doing business both online and offline.

Just as companies must employ the "principles of expectation" to a physical brick & mortar store or office location, so too must an online presence utilzie these same principles to provide a positive online experience.

People come to a company to transact, buy a product, or receive a service. If the company wants the sale AND a happy customer, they must give clear direction to:

• what offers are available
• how to obtain the desired offer
• as well as what to expect upon requesting the offer

If a business fails to address these standards, they risk losing the sale to the competition.

Clear Signage & Navigation

A successful business provides clear navigation and direction to all information on available offers.

Just like a physical store location must have clear signage directing customers to various departments, so too must a website provide clear & easy to understand navigation; information must be found quickly, or the sale may be lost.

The following guidelines will help in providing clear navigation and direction throughout the website:

• The navigation menu should be clearly visible and remain stationary.
  • Visitors should not have to look for the navigation menu in a different place for every page or section.
  • Keep the navigation stationary and obvious.
    
    
• No part of the website navigation or links should require special technology plugins or downloads, such as Flash, to work.
  • The navigation menu should work with any standard HTML browser.
    
    
• Links should be clearly visible and stand out from regular text or hyperlinks so that visitors can easily click.
  
  
• Link formats should not change from link to link, but instead follow a standard format.
  • If a company's website uses one color for links, then all links should be that color.
  • Don't make customers guess what's a link and what's just fancy aesthetics or text decoration.
    
    
• Menu Titles and Link Titles should be clear and concise with no more than 2-3 words.
  • These titles should be meaningful and clearly state what the visitor can expect to find on the other end of the link.
    
    
• Page titles and paragraph headings should be obvious, meaningful, and keep a consistent format from page to page.
  
  
• The home page should give obvious clues as to:
  • where & how to find any major section of the website;
  • yet remain uncluttered, easy to read, and digest.
    
    
• Any special sales or promotions should be clearly defined on the home page.
  
  
• The website search box should be prominently displayed and easy to find.

Overall, providing clear direction means having easy to use navigation to all information within the website.

Often too much information cluttered together creates confusion and frustration, possibly leading to a loss of sale.

If it's too hard to find what someone wants, the potential customer may leave and go to a competitor's website.

How to Obtain the Offer

Once a user has been directed to the information or offer of interest, the site or store location must clearly lead the customer through the process of obtaining the desired offer.

Whether in-store ads, posters, or other online ads, the marketing collateral must reveal, in plain language, how to proceed to secure the product or service offered.

Since some people still find the internet cumbersome and confusing, this is an important stage for businesses with an online presence, and often requires spelling out step-by-step what needs to be done to complete the offer.

• In the example of obtaining information from a downloadable PDF, audio, video, or other similar file; the site must clearly describe what must be done to initiate the download process.
  • It is imperative that a website give clear notes as to what additional software may be required to run/view the download file.
  • For example with PDF's, the visitor may need to download a PDF reader.
  • For audio or video files, they may be required to use a special player to view/hear the files.
  • Make it clear and obvious what is required to obtain the file and run it.
    
    
• If a website is selling a product or service, there needs to be clear instructions on how to purchase the product or service:
  • Instruct the user how to proceed through the checkout submission process.
  • Every step of the checkout process should be clearly defined and easy to complete.

Each step necessary to obtain an offer needs to be clearly identifiable so that even the least computer literate person can understand and complete the sale.

If any step is at all confusing, the business risks losing the sale.

What to Expect Next

Once a user is committed to obtaining the offer, there is still the need to provide clear direction.

For a customer to be happy with a company's service, and become a repeat customer, provide clear instruction that advises them what to expect next.

• In the example of obtaining information:
  • There should be clear instruction on how the download will begin, whether it will be emailed in a ZIP file, or mailed on CD or DVD.
  • If the customer requires assistance, there should be clear instruction on how and where to obtain support.
    
    
• In the example of selling a product or service:
  • Clearly map out on how the product or service will be handled,
  • When the customer can expect to receive their new product or service (e.g. confirmation email with shipping date, receiving date, scheduled appointment date, etc),
  • If there is the possibility of exceptions, clearly outline how the customer should expect to handle such anomalies.
    • For example, should a package get lost in shipment, what can the customer expect to be done to rectify the situation.
    • Who should the customer contact for resolution of an issue?
    • What are the policies to receive a refund?
    • How can a customer return an item?
    • What are the policies concerning defects?

Conclusion

By following the above standards, a company can set clear expectations for customers in doing business with the company.

Pending personnel, partners, and employees conduct business according to company-instituted guidelines; the customer should have a smooth experience, and be happy to provide a 5-star review on Google, and other platforms.