You wouldn’t order car service from the airport and say, “I can’t believe they actually picked us up”. Or you wouldn’t get the grilled chicken dinner that you ordered and say, “I can’t believe they cooked it all the way through”. But you would Yelp™ some loud praises about a car service that picked you up, handed you a warm towel to refresh yourself, opened a compartment and offered beverages, provided you a remote to control for your own air and music and topped it off by asking what type of phone you have and if you need a charger. That would be exceptional.

So many times we create messaging to market our businesses based on what’s expected. We claim competency, expertise and other expected things. And it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison, which inevitably lowers our measure of exceptional. We can find ourselves saying that our competitor isn’t reliable, so because we are – that’s what makes us better. However, expected isn’t exceptional to your customers or supporters, but exceptional is expected from them.

Exceptional takes work. Exceptional forces questions and discomfort in your teams

Exceptional takes work. Exceptional forces questions and discomfort in your teams.Sometimes exceptional costs money, directly or indirectly, by requiring your time. But sometimes exceptional isn’t hard at all, but rather it’s going one step past what you’re already doing. If you’re already sending out a letter to anyone who donates to your organization, or inquiries for your services, maybe it’s as simple as handwriting those cards instead of sending letters typed on stationery. If you have shopping carts, it’s as simple as placing a disposable towel dispenser by the door for the days the carts are wet from the rain. The result: a happy consumer who now has an elite perception of your brand.

Exceptional is often a simple one step past expected. Start by incorporating this question into your decision making process; is this expected? This simple question will push you and your team past the expected that everyone else is already so good at.