March 2025: What you're not saying, will cost you clients

Kaat Declerck
Apr 9
3 min read

Imagine this…

You’re on your way to your appointment to donate blood at the Red Cross doing a good deed. 🩸

After going through all the necessary steps, you’re finally settled into the chair.

The nurse is ready, needle in hand. 💉

They probably don’t even realize it themselves, but they’re using behavioral psychology.

Because the very next thing they say is…

“Careful, you’re going to feel a little pinch.” 😬

What psychological technique is being used here?

That’s right: expectation management!

It might seem like a small detail, but just imagine if they immediately stuck the needle in without warning. 😵‍💫

By simply giving us a heads-up, they help us prepare mentally and emotionally.

🧠 Expectation management

Before we take action, we want to know what’s going to happen. What are the consequences?

When that’s unclear, we often feel anxious. Our minds are pretty good at imagining worst-case scenarios.

But the moment we do know what to expect, that fear largely fades. We feel more at ease and more willing to take action.

This is why you also have to do expectation management online!

When you’re not clear online about what people can expect, it can seriously cost you in both time and money.

Here's what that can look like:

Unnecessary expenses from a flood of calls to your customer service team
Missed conversions because people drop off out of uncertainty
Misunderstandings that lead to a poor customer experience

A real-life example:

A few weeks ago, I booked flights to Prague for myself and four friends. ✈️

Trying to be smart, I started my search on Skyscanner.

That’s where you’ll often find better deals.

It was my first time booking that way, so I felt a bit unsure. 🫤

As I clicked through to complete the booking, I landed on the site of the well-known airline we were flying with.

So I continued there to fill in all the passenger details. Phew! €1000 that’s a lot of money.

So naturally, I double, no triple check whether all the names and my email address are correct. 🧐

All good? Check!Time to pay… and I get a confirmation screen.

I head over to my inbox, expecting to see my tickets.

Usually, they arrive within a minute.

Still nothing... 🤷‍♀️

No worries, just give it a sec. After five minutes, I refresh.

Still nothing. 🤔

Another 10 minutes go by and still no email.

I’VE BEEN SCAMMED! 😱😱😱

"Skyscanner sent me to a fake website and I just paid €1000 to scammers," I told myself. 😳 “How on earth am I going to explain this to my friends?”

TOTAL MELTDOWN. ‼️

So, panicking, I start searching for the customer service page.

I pour out my story to a chatbot, then to a real agent, who tries to help after quite a bit of back-and-forth.

But ohhh man it’s taking forever.

By now, I’m totally freaking out. 🫨

Then suddenly…

After 25 minutes... 🕰️

An email with the tickets.

I checked the e-mail for more than three times and still sat there for another two hours, shaking from the stress. 🫨

Moral of the story? Manage expectations!

If you can’t send the tickets within 2 minutes (like customers are used to), clearly set expectations on your confirmation page.

For example: “We’ve received your payment and are currently processing your tickets to Prague. This may take a few minutes. You’ll receive your tickets within 10 minutes at ....@gmail.com. Thanks for your patience!”

Because, as you can see: our expectations shape our emotions and our actions. 😉