The Basics Of Expectation Management

One of the central pillars of a compelling experience is exceeding expectations. Managing expectations means controlling what people expect from you – and controlling those expectations means you are able to exceed them every time.

Understanding suspense by looking at films

When the trailer for a film comes out, we have a peak of suspense – we are anticipating the experience of the film. Our suspense is highest right before the film starts. From then on, based on our expectations, we leave surprised, satisfied, or sacrificed.

The classic failure: “all the best bits were in the trailer.” This is the first lesson in expectation management: what is your end?

Three scenarios:

1. The B-grade movie knows it has a cheap storyline and front-loads the best scenes into the trailer to create expectations it knows it can’t meet, in order to get people in and collect ticket sales. Short-term gain. This is sacrifice.

2. Apple knows it has a great product and back-loads expectations. They release enough information to create buzz, but not more than they can deliver on. They are more concerned with creating suspense than delivering surprise. This is surprise, or satisfaction.

3. A new café knows it has a newness factor and high standards from newly trained staff. It must not just satisfy expectations but exceed them, to lock in long-term loyalty. This is surprise.

The general rule: if receiving short-term gain, front-load expectations. If receiving long-term gain, back-load them.

If you’re running events but no one is coming back, this may well be why. Why should they return if you only satisfied them but didn’t surprise them?