By dissolving differences and focusing on a common ground, a deeper connection evolves through a sense of cooperation and collaboration. When you stay "in tune" to your customer's expectations, you stay in alignment. People's needs may remain quite consistent; their expectations vary with perception. For example, a customer's expectations of service and amenities are not the same of a Motel 6 as they may be for a Marriott. Nor do customers expect a discount store to provide the same level of service as Nordstrom's. From Southwest Airlines we expect lower prices and understand that, in exchange, we forfeit a few amenities, such as reserved seating and meals. It's all about alignment. You may have a great product and superb service, but if it is not consistent with who you are or what you promise, and thus what your customers expect, they will move on. Reality isn't real, expectations are. Make no casual commitments.

There must also be congruency between what is efficient and what is effective. Traveling efficiently at 70 miles per hour but in the wrong direction is not effective. Another example of good intention and process but unfulfilling results is climbing the ladder of success only to realize that the ladder has been leaning against the wrong wall. What is your direction, mission and vision, and who are your ideal customers? What are you doing to focus and attract that perfect customer who shares your core values and competencies? You can't hurry love nor can you force "chemistry" or romance. Some things just click and some things seem to naturally repel. Your job is to use good judgment and wisdom in determining with whom you connect best and synergize. What is your market and whom might you best serve?

Customer expectations are both vertical and horizontal. A lateral expectation is not about the level or degree of service, but the type. It is about "what" service is rendered. For example, if a customer is more concerned about saving time, not money, and you are taking more time in order to save that person money, you may be projecting your values into the situation and not hearing what is requested. Vertical expectations are focused on "how" the service is performed and the process or degree of excellence. Once you are clear on the customer's intention, then your attention to detail makes the process complete and successful.

It's all about detail. When comparing the quality of one suit to another, the details are like a subtle magnet drawing us into a purchase. Although God is in the details, so is the devil. Your level of perceived excellence and service will be determined by your attention to detail, which is always a reflection of your intentions. In gift giving, we often excuse inexpensive gifts with the assurance; it's the thought that counts. Our thoughts are our intentions and desires, which ultimately transform potential into performance. Even in the severity of murder, we assess charges of first, second, or third degree murder by what the jury determines as the intention, such as whether or not the act was premeditated. Not only in customer service, but also in every element of what we offer, our state of mind, thoughts, intentions, and heart speak all determine the quality of results and outcomes. For example, when the forever best seller, Chicken Soup for the Soul, was being written, no one with a negative mindset was allowed to contribute or work on what manifested as perhaps the best-selling series of books of all times. What might this same approach and philosophy do for you?

To know if you are really "in sync" with your customers, as in dating and your personal relationships, you need to have a courting time. You don't buy a car without a test drive nor do you buy a suit or dress without trying it on. In a similar way we need to court, test-drive, and try on our customers for a proper fit. Likewise, they need to try us out before making a commitment. Our perspective of our potential customers and their view of us is different looking at us from the outside. We get a different sense of how things feel when we try it on and get a perspective from the inside out, which is why we call it "insight." The inner vision provides a greater understanding and feel for fit. That doesn't mean there will be no need for future alterations to change with the times, but it does provide a solid start. Just as your employees do a better job when they love their work because it is a good fit, so also the right fit with your customers will provide a basis for success.

Edie Raether is an international keynote speaker and corporate trainer and consultant. She is a bestselling author and authority on customer satisfaction.  Visit Edie at www.Raether.com or contact her at (704)658-8997.