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People rise to expectations. Or sink to them. How high do you set the bar for your employees, peers and customers?

I think too often we underestimate our customers and the potential customers out there. We’ve spent too many years talking to everyone and anyone, rather than the small niche of people who actually need and should be buying our products and services. Because we’re talking to everyone, we feel compelled to dumb down every aspect of our communications.

Often, marketers create copy thinking that they have to live by the third-grade reading level rule. I say that’s ridiculous. Unless your product is for third-graders.

It’s OK to expect them to get clever. It’s OK to treat them with respect. It’s OK to expect them to make good choices. And it’s OK that your message goes right over some people’s heads. Odds are they aren’t really your customers in the first place.

And we don’t just do that to outside audiences. We do it to our own employees, too. Do you hold them to a “just get it done” standard or a “rock the customer’s socks” standard? How clear do you think your expectations are? Recently, several agency owners I know put their expectations in writing and invited their employees to sign the documents, pledging their commitment. Don’t just talk about 100 percent clarity; do something that locks it in.

On the flip side, I just learned of a company that has “employees cannot sleep while working” in their employee manual. Come on. If you have to say that in writing, you need to revise your hiring practices.

Go ahead, expect a little more and watch your boat rise with the tide.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2009 Drew McLellan