One of my favorite customer experience graphics here at Forrester speaks to companies “making promises” through marketing and branding channels, while “keeping promises” by delivering value through other channels. However, there are external forces at play that raise people’s expectations. Companies like Google make us wonder why we can’t have good search when looking on a manufacturer’s site for a product; Trader Joe’s makes us wonder why floor staff at other stores isn’t as friendly and helpful; and Zappos makes us wonder why products don’t always arrive ahead of schedule.

I’ve taken liberties and updated the graphic to reflect that the “promises” companies make are really “expectations” that they set, and those are influenced by lots of external factors. In order to meet customer expectations — thus delivering a good experience — companies have to account for those factors that may lay outside of the firm or even the industry.

Why Does It Matter?

About 67% of companies that we surveyed describe their customer experience goal as simply trying to differentiate from competitors in their industry. But, they must also factor in the expectations set from outside of their firm or industry. Does this mean that every company needs to deliver a Zappos-like experience? Absolutely not! But it does mean that companies need to understand clearly what their customers really expect from them.