What is the law of expectation? The idea is simple: what you expect out of life is what you’ll receive.
If you feel skeptical or cynical, it’s easy to discard this idea. If you mockingly ‘expect’ to win the lottery, and don’t, the theory is disproved. Right?
Not so fast! The law of expectation is tied to your belief system. Those beliefs can anchor, limit, or open up your worldview.
Even if you think you genuinely expect something, you could be holding deep-seated beliefs to the contrary. For instance, childhood trauma could dictate that losers never win, and you’re a loser.
No matter how much your adult self believes you’ll win, that trauma-based belief system is still holding you back. Part of the law of expectation is based on how your brain chooses to hyperfocus.
For instance, if you buy a Honda Civic, you immediately start seeing more Honda Civics on the road. Why? Because that’s what your brain is primed to see.
When your brain is primed to see a certain outcome, and you do, that’s the law of expectation at work for you.
The Law of Expectation and Marketing
Everyone has different expectation needs. This is crucial to remember as you develop networking marketing because each customer expects something different.
Maybe their expectations are product-oriented, and they expect that your product will help them feel or look better. Or, they expect a certain level of customer service from your company.
One of the most important business tips you can leverage is this: make sure you dictate the customer’s internal programming. What does this mean?
The sales funnel is how you shepherd customers from the first contact to the final purchase. From when they first see your company’s ads or remember that they wanted some new dishes for their kitchen, the customer is thinking hard.
They want something high-quality, at a low price. They also need to consider shipping speed and costs, whether they have room in their budget for it, and whether your company will actually take care of them.
This is called fear of the unknown. It’s hard for your customers to manifest their dreams when they don’t know what to expect!
This is how you dictate their internal programming: tell them exactly what to expect. At every point, whenever you have a marketing opportunity to do so, tell them what to expect!
If they visit your site, ask them to sign up for your emails. Then, tell them what to expect. Depending on your email marketing strategies, this could mean that you will email them once a week with new product announcements and coupons.
Leveraging the Power of Psychology
People buy products for a few specific reasons. For one, they buy out of need. Often, you won’t need a huge sales pitch to get someone to buy gas.
They need it to get to work, they drive a car that runs on gas, and the corner gas station is close by and cheap. What else do they need?
That’s why needs-based sales are often based on practical factors that include price and location. But it goes deeper than that.
For instance, food is a needs-based purchase. Everyone needs it to live. But people often make purchases based on an idealized version of themselves.
Someone might internally believe they’ll be happier if they look pretty. This is compounded by being insecure, especially in public situations such as pool parties. These complicated feelings are made worse by comparing them to friends at these parties, who all seem totally carefree and insecure.
All of these emotions are incredibly complex, and some of these fear-based stressors may even be taking place in someone’s subconscious. However, all of them can create the perfect storm for someone to buy a new swimsuit.
Subconsciously, it’s difficult for them to believe their current self is good enough. With that mindset, why should their current swimsuit be good enough?
This is a complicated game of marketing psychology, and preying on someone’s insecurities to make a dollar is a terrible marketing strategy.
However, you can tap into the law of expectation to create ethical leverage for someone to use your products to create the best version of themselves.
For instance, if you sell vitamins and supplements, you can use these to fuel someone’s expectation that they’ll be a healthier version of themselves.
Reframing Beliefs in Marketing
Some of the most positive work a brand can do, in the long-term, is reframing beliefs and societal expectations. For instance, some makeup brands have expanded their reach and are now marketing to men, too.
Their social media pages aren’t simply filled with skinny female models. Instead, they embrace diversity in gender, body type, and more. Some photos include acne, while others include a fierce red lip with a wobbly lip liner.
This is a revolutionary application of the law of expectations. In the makeup industry, perfection is what sells. That’s the gospel in most makeup marketing ploys.
Selling to women who want a perfected version of themselves, and insinuating that perfection can only be achieved with perfect makeup, is the tack that most brands take.
By reframing beliefs, in the long run, allows your brand to change those deep-seated subconscious beliefs that are keeping consumers from engaging with your brand.
Leveraging New Beliefs
In that makeup example we just discussed, some people are held back from using makeup. They may believe that they aren’t pretty enough, that they don’t know enough or other limiting beliefs.
Your brand’s job is to challenge these beliefs. If someone believes they’re pretty with or without makeup, they can get excited about playing around with it. If they aren’t afraid of failure, they can toy with makeup regardless of how much knowledge they already have.
When you’re engaging with the law of expectation, it’s important to think about how your own expectations are impacting customers. If you’re ready to expand your marketing beyond your wildest dreams, contact us today!
