Raising expectations (and then dashing them) by Seth Godin

Something we'll do every once and a while here is to take a look at what other leaders are saying.  Seth Godin is one of my favorites.  He had a post yesterday that had me thinking, so I thought I'd share it with you.  After reading it, I'd love to hear from you about whether or not you think there are any parallels to the church - how we program, promote, budget, etc.

Raising expectations (and then dashing them) by Seth Godin

Have you noticed how upbeat the ads for airlines and banks are?
Judging from the billboards and the newspaper ads, you might be led to believe that Delta is actually a better airline, one that cares. Or that your bank has flexible people eager to bend the rules to help you succeed.
At one level, this is good advertising, because it tells a story that resonates. We want Delta to be the airline it says it is, and so we give them a try.
The problem is this: ads like this actually decrease user satisfaction. If the ad leads to expect one thing and we don't get it, we're more disappointed than if we had gone in with no real expectations at all. Why this matters: if word of mouth is the real advertising, then what you've done is use old-school ad techniques to actually undercut any chance you have to generate new-school results.
So much better to invest that same money in delighting and embracing the customers you already have.