Customer experience is the first-hand knowledge a customer gains about your store, knowledge that customers collect every time they come in contact with your business. If a customer experiences poor service for any reason, chances are good that customer will remember it. When they hear your store's name again, they'll think "bad experience" and shop somewhere else. Likewise, customers will remember positive experiences and think highly of stores that satisfy their expectations — and will be more likely to recommend that store to a friend.

So what can a retailer do to ensure a positive experience? You can't control your customer's thoughts — but what you can do is positively influence the way that customer experiences your store. And one way to do that is to manage customer expectations at every point of contact with your business.

You can raise expectations about the quality of the shopping experience to get customers into your store. You can manage expectations so that customers will anticipate the services and products that your store delivers. And when customers expect the very things you do really well, you're then in a position to deliver on their expectations — ensuring the customers have a positive experience in your store.

This Retailer's Guide offers some suggestions about how you can shape — and satisfy — customer expectations, allowing all customers to have a positive experience in your store.

In this guide, you'll learn about:

• Managing expectations
• Bridging the experience gap
• All hands on deck
• Additional resources