My dog thinks he lives in a drive-thru

At random moments in any given day, my dog Remy (who, during his first week with us, was also named Satellite Dish for lack of a real name), will wander to his bowl, decide he’s hankering for a little snack and, while looking oh-so-pathetically cute, scratch at said bowl until you fill it for him. If, for whatever reason, you don’t respond in his expected sense of immediacy, that scratching will become more assertive and quickly shift to other objects, furnishings, lower extremities or anything else he finds appropriate.

I’m sure he’d happily prepare his own meals but his lack of thumbs and inability to reach the refrigerator door handle (due to his stature, not his ambition) prevents him from assuming this responsibility. Of course, he has very little motivation to even try since we quickly concede to his requests thus reinforcing his “on-demand” behavior. And, like so many things in my life, that got me thinking.

This is the world we live in. People (like my dog, apparently) want what they want when they want it. You can find answers to just about anything in seconds - providing you have an internet or WiFi connection. You can order just about anything your heart desires, pay for it and have it delivered to your door in minutes, hours or even the next day. You can communicate with people you may not have seen in decades or may never meet in person and do it in about the same time as it takes to tie a shoe (which requires less time if you’re wearing a loafer, slip-on, boot, sandal or heels).

While technology may have accelerated the speed at which desires can be realized, the idea that people have needs, wants and expectations isn’t new; particularly when they’re in an active consumer role. As marketers, it’s our primary job to position and promote our company’s products and services to be attractive to and within those demands. Equally as important, however, is that those products, services and the organizations who offer them live up to the expectations consumers already have and those that we create through our efforts. The O’Jays sang about it in 1975 in their song titled, “Give the People What They Want” (yes, that was 46 years for those of you who also remember when the Pet Rock was actually a thing) but I would also postulate that, at the very least, you must also give them what they expect - though positively exceeding their expectations is always better.

There you have it. You can thank a hungry dog for everything you just read; a hungry dog who barely avoided being named Satellite Dish.