Do you feel it? The pulse of business is changing and shifting due to outside forces—the economy, technology, competition and innovation. Change is the focus at this week's PPAI North American Leadership Conference in Nashville. One way to manage change is to exceed expectations, according to business strategist and global futurist Daniel Burrus, who is speaking at NALC this afternoon. Promotional Consultant Today shares this excerpt from Burrus' recent blog.

The sad truth is that few companies, businesses, associations, organizations and individuals exceed their customers' expectations. Here are some strategies you can use to do just that.

Promise a lot and deliver more. If we promise to do everything we can possibly do for a customer in order to make a sale, there will be no way to exceed expectations. It's important to keep some of the functionality of a product—or a part of the service that you sell—a secret, so that the customer discovers the added value after the purchase. Because the added value is both discovered and experienced after the purchase has been made, you'll be able to exceed what they expected to happen.

A great example of this notion is embodied by Lexus. When people purchase a Lexus, they expect the car to be great by virtue of its billing as a "luxury" vehicle. Ostensibly, there exists a set of features setting the brand apart not only from more "standard" automakers but from other luxury car brands, as well. But in addition to the advertised features, there are many little things the customer will discover and enjoy after they have made the purchase. Lexus knows it's both the big and the little things that make the difference—down to the particulars, like when a customer first opens a cup holder, which opens purposefully slowly, a deliberate mechanism revealing the beautiful woodwork within as if it were something special.

Another example of this practice from Lexus can be found when a customer goes in for the first scheduled service; not only will the customer get a new car to drive at no cost, their car will be washed and the inside cleaned before it's given back. If there's so much as a scratch on the paint, the dealer will fix it without the customer having to ask.

The key is to keep some of the functionality of a product or an element of a service hidden from the customer when making the sale. After they make the purchase, they will not only be satisfied with what they knew they would get, they will discover the added benefits and appreciate the extra mile you went for them.

The common-sense notion this idea hinges around is that, categorically, be it in your personal life, your career, your love life or anything else you set your mind to, disappointment comes from failed expectations—while this doesn't necessarily mean keeping customers' expectations low, it's important not to overhype them, but to surprise and delight whenever possible.

Anticipate customer service issues and troubleshooting. Another key way to surpass your customers' expectations is by providing excellent service to your customer base before they know they need it. Looking back to tech companies like Apple or automakers like Lexus, as soon as these companies get their products out, they test constantly, always looking for issues or opportunities for troubleshooting before the customer can catch them—that way, a software upgrade or a surprise call for mechanical service makes you appear proactive, undoubtedly impressing the customer, who'll likely be relieved at not having to spot these possible malfunctions or errors themselves and bring them to your attention for remedy.

Source: Daniel Burrus is founder & CEO of Burrus Research Associates. He is considered one of the world's leading futurists on global trends and innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. He is the author of six books, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal bestseller Flash Foresight as well as the highly acclaimed Technotrends.