People make predictions about how they'll feel in the future all the time, but studies show we often predict wrong.

Patrick and co-authors Debbie MacInnis and C. Whan Park at the University of Southern California have coined the term "affective misforecasting" to describe the gap between anticipated feelings and actual feelings.

You can help your business (and your customers' satisfaction) by helping your customers take notice of when they feel better than expected.

A simple example, Big Y, Publix, Stop & Shop and CVS print right on their receipts how much money you've saved that visit. (And some even print how much you've saved so far this year.)
Remind and reinforce those good feelings!

You can also minimize misforecasting simply by creating a more realistic expectation of the future. In other words, make sure the hype doesn't set you up for a very disappointed customer.

Will this microprocessor knee make me a marathon runner?

Is my new supplier going to save me 10 grand a year?

Will this orthosis weigh that much less?

The authors assert that companies can help themselves by encouraging consumers to pay attention when they do feel better than expected -- something consumers are not naturally inclined to do, but can be prompted into doing.

Need ideas? They're on the blog.

Mike Cannella of the Elmwood Post Office, West Hartford, CT for customer service that went above and beyond!

Love your articles by the way, you are so realistic!!

Daina Pitzenberger
President, CEO, RN
Women's Health Boutique, Inc.

Marketingprofs.com has a great article entitled "What Every Marketer Can Learn from (my most favorite store!) Target"

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