Episode 8
Setting Clear Expectations to Strengthen Brand Connection
Robyn explores the often-overlooked aspect of branding: setting clear and robust expectations. She discusses how to apply your brand to conversations and interpersonal interactions to ensure a consistent and pleasant experience for your clients. Using examples such as customized order emails from small businesses and the importance of clear call-to-action buttons, Robyn emphasizes the impact of setting expectations aligned with your brand story. Gain valuable insights into reinforcing your brand identity and setting expectations at every touchpoint, ultimately creating a favorable experience for your clients. Tune in as Robyn shares practical tips for crafting a customer journey that aligns with your brand and leaves a lasting impression.
- Importance of setting and managing expectations in brand interactions
- Examples of how small businesses can personalize communication to enhance the customer experience
- Balancing cleverness with clarity in messaging
- Reinforcing brand identity through copy and imagery
- Strategies for communicating a unique brand approach, clarifying FAQs, disclosing rules, and providing clear directives
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Transcript
So far, I've talked a lot about the visual and
Speaker:verbal elements of your Brand, copy, messaging,
Speaker:story, all of the visual aspects,
Speaker:but your brand can also and should
Speaker:also be applied to conversations and in
Speaker:person interactions. One of the most impactful, but often
Speaker:overlooked ways to reinforce your brand is to set
Speaker:expectations. Think about
Speaker:every touch point and conversation that's embedded in
Speaker:your process, your product, your service.
Speaker:Where can you apply your brand and set expectations
Speaker:to decrease friction for your clients but
Speaker:also ensure that your client has a pleasant
Speaker:experience that's in alignment with your brand
Speaker:and your brand story. One of my favorite examples of
Speaker:this is, sometimes, when you order something from a small business,
Speaker:the way in which they customize the emails that tell
Speaker:you that your order has been received or your order has been
Speaker:shipped. I don't know about you, but I get a huge kick out of seeing
Speaker:emails that are, like, Our elves are currently packing up your
Speaker:product with, you know, the utmost care, and are wrapping it
Speaker:up with, you know, a magical bow, and We'll soon
Speaker:to send it off on the wings of angels to land at your
Speaker:doorstep. Right? They could just send an email that
Speaker:Sayles, We're packing it in the warehouse, and you'll get an
Speaker:email when we ship it. Right? That's what they're trying to convey.
Speaker:But instead, they're taking time to customize the email,
Speaker:and and have some fun with it, and create a moment of
Speaker:surprise and delight For me, the customer, and I truly
Speaker:appreciate that. Not everybody does. Again, this is where
Speaker:understanding your customer and your target audience becomes really
Speaker:important because if you're customizing and
Speaker:crafting things and setting expectations that go
Speaker:against what your ideal client wants,
Speaker:then that's gonna hurt you in the long run. So some
Speaker:people just want some customers, and some businesses are going to
Speaker:be best built around a simple, We have
Speaker:received your order. It is currently being packed, and you will get another email when
Speaker:your order has been shipped. Right? And then
Speaker:there are the people who are gonna be best served
Speaker:by, hey. This is Todd in the
Speaker:warehouse. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but this
Speaker:is what's happening with your package right now, and, like, I'll
Speaker:keep you aware of when it finally gets sent out, but, you know, like,
Speaker:we're small, so don't freak out if it takes a
Speaker:couple of days. Right? There's a 1000000 examples
Speaker:out there, just to make sure it is in
Speaker:alignment with your process. It's in alignment with your
Speaker:story, but it ultimately just lets
Speaker:Customers know where they're at in the process. It lets your clients
Speaker:know where they're at and what's gonna happen next.
Speaker:One of the fun things that I get to work on every now and then
Speaker:is writing copy for apps and websites
Speaker:that, that drive a customer through a process.
Speaker:So we call it, user experience or
Speaker:UX. So anytime I'm writing copy that's specifically
Speaker:for UX, one of the things that has been drilled into me, and
Speaker:I drill into others, is A button
Speaker:that you want people to click should be super clear
Speaker:about what's going to happen when they click the
Speaker:button. For example, I
Speaker:used to have a button on my website for my main
Speaker:company Launching Your Success. So it's launching your success, and it's a
Speaker:space theme, and I thought it was real cute to have a button that
Speaker:said launch a call, Right? Because it's launching your success. Get
Speaker:it? Okay. Yeah. Well, a lot of people didn't.
Speaker:Nobody pushed the freaking button because they thought that it
Speaker:was going to immediately take them into a live call.
Speaker:They didn't realize it was going to just send them to a form where they
Speaker:could schedule, or request a call. Right?
Speaker:So sometimes, you have to sacrifice cleverness for
Speaker:clarity, and those expectations become
Speaker:oh oh oh so important, especially when nobody's clicking buttons and
Speaker:filling out forms because they don't understand what's gonna happen next.
Speaker:So the button that said launch a call became a button that
Speaker:said schedule a call, and then people went, oh, phew,
Speaker:because they were prepared to be in a call immediately. They were prepared to schedule
Speaker:for a time when they were ready, so make sure it's clear, and make sure
Speaker:you set those expectations, and, at the same time,
Speaker:use copy and imagery that reinforces your brand
Speaker:identity and your brand story. Here's a few
Speaker:things to think about: your approach, your process,
Speaker:your communication Sayles. So, especially, if you have a
Speaker:unique process, or a unique style, you
Speaker:want to make sure people know about that up front. Right?
Speaker:I have a tendency to work with people who are very
Speaker:straight shooters and can be seen as intimidating.
Speaker:And so it's important in the messaging and in the expectation for that
Speaker:brand to set that
Speaker:Five, hey, when you get on the phone with so and so, they're
Speaker:gonna speak direct to you. They're not gonna sugarcoat it,
Speaker:and so, basically, don't get on the call if you're not ready for that.
Speaker:FAQs. What are the things that people always ask
Speaker:questions about? Where are the sticky points
Speaker:where people get confused in your process or
Speaker:in your onboarding, right, as they're going through the sales
Speaker:cycle, as they're getting to know you and your brand, what are the questions that
Speaker:always come up? Where are the sticky points? Where do people get confused? And
Speaker:how can you set the expectations and give them the answers for
Speaker:that ahead of time? How do you answer the question
Speaker:before they ask it? Right? That's a great way
Speaker:and a great opportunity to build and reinforce your brand. If you
Speaker:have rules and parameters, again, You can disclose
Speaker:those rules and parameters in a way that's in alignment with your brand
Speaker:personality and your brand story. They don't have to be formal. You can
Speaker:have some fun with it. Right? You know,
Speaker:I I love, when you I have fun clicking the
Speaker:legal disclosure links on websites to see if they have fun with that language
Speaker:or if they just go straight into the formal legal dialogue.
Speaker:And then, lastly, like I talked to you about before, Anytime
Speaker:you're giving directives, click here. Like, if you
Speaker:if you want somebody to click on something, if you want them to take an
Speaker:action, You need to be very clear about what's going to happen
Speaker:after they take that action. Right? You can
Speaker:also do this in interpersonal, especially if your job
Speaker:is, coaching or facilitation or something where
Speaker:you are going to be in sort of face to face
Speaker:direct communication with somebody, let them know this is how
Speaker:I work best. This is how I'm going to set the tone.
Speaker:Right? This is what you can expect from
Speaker:me, and if it's a 1 on 1 scenario, you
Speaker:may want to an opportunity for them to tell you how they work best.
Speaker:So, you know, you can
Speaker:create killer marketing, and have a great visual design,
Speaker:and write great copy, but if People don't
Speaker:know what's gonna happen after they push the button. They're not
Speaker:gonna push the button, so make sure that you're keeping those
Speaker:expectations in mind when you're crafting
Speaker:that customer journey on behalf of your brand.
Speaker:So, let's take some time.
Speaker:Clear and robust expectations ensure a
Speaker:favorable and consistent experience with you and your Brand.
Speaker:So I want you to take some time To think about.
Speaker:No, I don't like that at all. Okay, so here's what you can do right
Speaker:now. Get out your pen and your paper.
Speaker:No. Here's what you can do right now.
Speaker:I want you to write down 3 to 5 places where you
Speaker:think you have an opportunity to reinforce your brand and set better
Speaker:expectations for your clients.
