Influence & Talking to Customers

Recently, we gave a talk at a big product conference. We talked about influence – how product managers need to exercise influence more than most. After all, we are usually individual contributors, accountable for a product -needing everyone to align and work together, but not directly managing anyone. This conference was in Eastern Europe so we were particularly interested in hearing the questions – was it the same situation for product managers across the seas, as we’d experienced in the US? Who were they most trying to influence? Our biggest surprise was where the majority of the questions centered – the frustration for product mangers to be “allowed” to talk with customers. The area where product managers most wanted to exercise influence was with their managers trying to getting access to customers!!

This wasn’t a one-off question, the majority of people who asked us questions during the talk, and then after at our booth – was all centered around this critical need. One that we take for granted – the ability and access to connect directly with customers. We wanted to share some of the tips & ideas that came out of these conversations because perhaps more people than we realize are in the same situation. Wanting to follow best practices in iterating and getting customer feedback, but finding themselves unable to do so. Here are a few of the ideas we discussed.

  1. Use a proxy. When your customer is 5,000 miles away, watching what they do is not a readily available option. For one PM, they were building a system for a library and really wanted to understand behavior and interaction with their app. Our suggestion? Find a local library and talk to the people who were working and using library services. After accounting for cultural changes – what are the main questions? What were the surprises? How could you use your findings to show the importance of understanding local behavior.
  2. Start with a Hypotheses: When you can’t get to customers, it’s really helpful to form a strong hypothesis – one that is very specific, measurable, has an outcome that can be tested. Rather than continuing to write user stories in a vacuum, figure out what you believe to be true – force yourself to confront the biggest unknowns you have, and then look for ways that you can quickly and cheaply test your assumptions.
  3. Use remote tools: While we don’t like surveys very much – it’s better than nothing. Can you put together a more comprehensive survey that gets to people’s attitudes and beliefs? Recently, we conducted a large survey that was based on earlier market segmentation. In that, we looked for people who were lapsed members. Adding a question at the end to see if they were open to a quick conversation, is an easy and cheap way to find customers who will talk with you. Then use skype to connect with them – fast, cheap!
  4. Get scrappy. When you can’t find your exact type of customer, in the same industry – getting any feedback is preferable to none. This is where you rely on friends & family to give you their perspective. Still go through the process of writing a learning plan & have your objectives…see what surprises come up. Don’t dismiss their feedback too fast if they don’t “get it” – this could be an indication that there’s an issue or gap in your thinking about your product.
  5. Seek forgiveness not permission. This isn’t an option we readily recommend, and our least favorite…but in some cases, when you are just not given time to do customer research – you may have to resort to some stealth interactions. Go outside your regular working hours to talk to customers – slowly start feeding ideas from customers into your meetings. In particular, share insights that came directly from a customer interaction to show value. Sometimes you need the proof before you get the permission.

Tell us what you’ve done when you’ve struggled with getting customer feedback. We want to hear more tips & methods – what’s worked and what’s not? Leave us a comment now.

Love is all you need

Do you love your customer? Do they love you? Think your relationship will last? It’s valentines day tomorrow, send a little love towards your customer – reach out, connect, check in.

Want an easy way to start? Pick a customer, any customer and send them an note – maybe it’s an email, maybe you know your clients well enough to address a real letter. Tell them they matter, you’re listening, and are ready to hear what’s on their mind. No strings, no offers, just a genuine way to say you care.

Happy Customer Love day.

Customer Loyalty – do you have it?

We just started working with a client on customer loyalty, and the metric we always use is Net Promoter Score. We know there’s lots of differing opinions on the effectiveness of NPS – but we haven’t yet found a super-simple alternative that allows you to take immediate action. So here’s why we always use NPS and why we think you need to take a stand and bring it in your company if you’re not using it – and if your company is using this – then make sure you’re doing something with what your customers are telling you!

NPS asks just one question – and it’s all about recommendation. Think about how interesting a question that is – we find ourselves recommending products we love without any hesitation. In fact, we can’t wait to tell someone if a product delights us. On the other hand, we are just as quick to tell everyone when we have a terrible experience. And then there’s a sea of mediocre in the middle where we struggle to remember the experience. So understanding the likelihood to recommend gives you a particular insight into how your customers are feeling about your product.

Implementing NPS means you just have to add one question – there are even API’s and company’s that will do it for you – but it’s SUPER simple. Getting the score, and understanding why can give you real insight and allow you to take customer-driven action that will increase loyalty. Figure out how to start using NPS today.

Getting your boss to listen

We get asked about influence a lot. Seems like all product managers feel like they’re constantly trying to persuade one person or another. After all, we have all the product responsibility and no direct reports. Trying to persuade your team, your peers and your boss can seem daunting. The one thing that always works? Don’t make it your opinion – use your customer’s voice. Whenever you’re trying to change someone’s mind about priorities, or direction, or market fit (or anything)…it’s way easier when you tell a customer story, show a customer picture, play a customer video. No longer is it about what you want – you represent your customer. What is your customer asking you for? How do you know? Of course, you have to get out there and be talking to your customers all the time. All the time. Don’t rush out just before a key meeting. Make it a regular habit – and start collecting all those great stories. You’ll have exactly the right story at your fingertips just when you need it.

Make it matter to your audience because you’re serving a critical customer need. Your powers of influence will magnify magically. Give it a try.