Putting Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes to Set Super Clear Expectations

Why it’s the easiest way to avoid confusion & overwhelm..& how to do it in your biz

Want to know what the number one thing that causes confusion & overwhelm with your clients, pal?

When they’re not clear on exactly what to expect from each stage of their time with you.

And a confused mind is one that panics, backtracks, makes excuses & potentially complains. When your client’s mind is in this state, it’s impossible for them to make the most out of & really feel the benefits of your service, because they’re too in their own head; doubting & worrying about whether they’ve made the right decision to work with you. 

I learnt this the hard way when I was serving customers in hospitality (hello waiting more than 20 mins for food with no explanation for why) & when I spent 2 years working in the Customer Relations (aka complaints) team for the Trainline. (hello demands for compensation & to speak to the CEO)

By spending a little time firmly putting yourself in your client’s shoes, it can help you avoid all of this & pin point exactly what they’d like to know (coupled with what you think they need to know to really make the most out of your service) & when.

Let me share a story with you as a basic example. 

I’ve decided that this is the year that I make little upgrades in my home environment in order to bring myself more day to day joy, so I had a little sale spendings spree earlier this month. 

On my hit list were a maternity swimsuit, an illustrated wall calendar, & a beautifully scented reed diffuser, and I managed to bag each for a great price. 

Now, having shopped numerous times online before, (as I’m sure you have too) my general expectations when it comes to buying online shops whether they be small or large businesses are:

1. I’ll get acknowledgement of my order (ideally with an expected time frame for when it will be shipped)

2. I’ll be told once it’s packed up & on it’s way

3. I’ll get an estimated delivery date

Clear expectations = happy clients ~ Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash

Now, the experience I got with each of the businesses I bought from was very different, and as such has affected my opinion on how likely it is that I’ll buy from them again. (aka them retaining me as a customer)

Maternity swimsuit - This was from a big bougie brand with a hefty discount. I got notification of all the things that I was expecting via email with the addition of a time slot with when Royal Mail would likely delivery it. 10/10 will buy again if I need to & would recommend to a friend

Wall Calendar - I got notification of the sale & when it was posted (it actually arrived today as I write this!) - but I was on the verge of getting in contact with the buyer on Etsy as I had waited a week for it to be posted from when I made the order & wasn’t sure when it would be due. Would probably buy again from them as it’s a great product, but would be wary of checking time frames.

Reed Diffuser - I’m still waiting for this to arrive from a localish medium sized biz. I got an order confirmation over 7 days ago now, and am wondering whether they’ve actually lost my order. It’s on my life admin list this week to send them an email to follow up about it. Unlikely I’ll buy online from them again. 

With this example you can see that the clearer the communication, the better the experience, and the higher the likelihood that I’ll buy from them again. 

I’m sure I’ve said it before in this Substack, but I’ll say it again, Clarity is Kindness with your clients. 

So, here’s a couple of prompts to really help step into your clients shoes & set expectations about your time together that are as clear as day: