Uber and Ola did not kill the taxi business, limited access and distorted fare controls did. Amazon and Flipkart did not kill other retailers, poor customer service and experience did. Airbnb did not kill the hotel industry, limited availability and pricing options did. Technology itself is not the disruptor. Not being customer-centric is the biggest threat to any business.

You make explicit and implicit promises to your prospects in multiple ways throughout their relationship with your company. To do this you rely on brand development, marketing, the sales process, and so on. Of course, these aren’t just promises about your product. They’re deeply tied to your ability to provide a specific level of service in your interactions.

These promises automatically work to create a set of expectations in the minds of the customers, which means it’s up to you to develop strategies for regularly exceeding these expectations. It’s one of the surefire ways to stand apart from your competition:

According to survey results published in the Harvard Business Review, 84 percent of customers said their service expectations had not been exceeded in a recent buying situation.