When it comes to business there are a few metrics that need to be measured, optimized, and budgeted for. These are customer acquisition costs, return on investment and growth. Because they are correlated with sales, there’s a difference between selling to a hundred customers and having customer success with only five of those customers. Before we embark on any venture there has to be some sort of goal planning and expectation so in this article, we will be discussing what goal and expectation setting means in customer success.

What Does Goal and Expectation Setting Mean in Customer Success:

In order to achieve success with your customers, you have to do a bit of homework. When a business owner is planning on starting or growing a business, he or she can’t simply go into blindly. Just like a war general doesn’t barge into war, a business owner needs to plan his strategy. So what does this mean for goals and expectations?

Goal Setting:

Goal setting is important because like the old saying goes, “you can’t hit a target that doesn’t exist.” So a business needs to set S.M.A.R.T. goals in order to succeed.

These goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timely

It’s different when you say you want a lot of customers, as opposed to saying you want ten new customers every week for the next six months. The former is not measurable because “a lot” is a broad term. The goal must also be attainable. If you set a goal to have ten million customers your first year, you may become overwhelmed and feel like a failure when it doesn’t happen. The goal or goals must also be relevant. You need to set goals that follow a timeline. For example, if you’re just starting your business, the goal you should set is to create a legal entity or a sole proprietorship before seeking customers. Make it timely and set a date so that you are urged to put effort into meeting the deadline.

Expectations:

Because the business sector changes constantly, there are some positive and negative things to expect. We must expect:

• Money loss at the start
• Tough times
• Stress
• Complaints
• Growth

Business is not easy if it were everyone would be doing it. It takes a certain type of individual to leave the security of a job to follow his or her dreams and not give up when the times get tough. For that reason, you should expect to lose money at the start of the venture. This could be a year, two years, or more depending on how much effort you put into getting customers and making an income. Because you don’t know the trajectory of the business and will grow with it, you will experience and should expect tough times and stress. Once you do begin to grow and acquire customers you should expect them to complain, but know that those complaints are possibilities for you to provide great customer service and/or new products and services. Finally, after all of this, expect growth and new obstacles with that growth, but know that it will all be worth it.

Conclusion:

In conclusion in this article, we discussed the topic of setting goals and expectations when it comes to the success of customers. Because the business environment changes constantly, one must set S.M.A.R.T. goals and expect the unexpected in order to be successful. The success of customers comes from great planning, rational thinking, attainable goals, and expectations with backup plans.

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