Organizations today are slowly working their way into new media and leaving behind the ‘era of TV marketing.’ Which is best for everyone; new media gives the consumer a voice while portraying organizations in a light before unachievable in any capacity.
NOTE: *Organization is meant to reference all businesses, non-profits and personal pursuits – like job hunting.
The problem with new media is that organizations are leaving principles out on the table; as if they’re in such a rush to jump ship they forget their life-preserver. New media allows every organization to tell a story effectively. The strength and weakness to every story however, is that they’re left to victim to expectations. For example, glance at the cover of a book and automatically an expectation has been set; and only the reader can decide whether it will be a disappointment or a celebration.
Why Expectations Matter
The problem with expectations is that only the end-user of the product or service (hereon referred to as product) can decide on what that expectation is – and whether it was fulfilled.
Expectations are most often (if not always) set prior to the purchase and more likely prior to any formalized interaction between consumer and organization, thanks to marketing and market positioning. Think about that – the act of marketing forces every organization into a position to be judged early, in hopes to be recognized at all through all the ‘market noise.’ Once an organization has been judged, the consumer has decided exactly what they expect from it; forming the intangible (and possibly incomprehensible) scale on which that organization will be judged.
Encompass Expectations into a Branding and Market Strategy
The traditional marketing mix is evolving and being forced to encompass more everyday. However, that’s not to say that the basics still apply. Organizations need to remember that they are designing products according to the consumer’s needs and wants; not building a product and then trying to market it. The consumer is truly in control of marketing – not the other way around.
Therefore, it should be of the utmost importance that the marketing represents what it is it’s going to deliver. Falling short on the consumers end isn’t just a nuance, but rather “betrayal”, a failure to meet expectations.
Seth Godin (renowned business and marketing author) defines ‘brand’ as, "the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another."
Branding is the image of an organization. If expectations are the image of an organization then it only seems apt to build market strategy, positioning and branding from that direction. Stop trying to build a brand to deliver expectations, but rather build a brand around those expectations.
Changing the Perception of an Organization
The design, research and experience put to work in marketing are essential but they are not a ‘brand.’ Consumers are still the decision makers of a product’s, not to mention an organization’s success. Anyone who has written a resume has most likely been tested after employment to ensure that they can deliver on the claims, and thus the expectations, made on it.
What if every organization marketed their expectations? What if every organization built products that genuinely exceeded the consumer’s expectations?
People set expectations. People set expectations before a relationship is built – possibly before a ‘proper introduction.’ Don’t let marketing fall victim to expectations, instead always genuinely exceed expectations!
Josh Bennett - I have my AAS in project management and a triple minor BA in management, business and social science.
