Comments on: Gaining a Holistic View of the Customer http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/2009/02/05/gaining-a-holistic-view-of-the-customer/ Using Portfolio Management to Enable Decision-Making Throughout the Innovation Value Chain Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:10:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: DerickWorkman http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/2009/02/05/gaining-a-holistic-view-of-the-customer/comment-page-1/#comment-8 DerickWorkman Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:52:27 +0000 http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/?p=59#comment-8 I think that's a good option. The people on the phone don't get the same impact as seeing the customer in their environment, but it's better than nothing. I think another option is to use market segmentation and choose a smaller customer sample to visit. Since this is being used for market research to gather missing information and indentify market needs, it doesn't need to be a large sample. Once the needs are identified you can always validate them through a survey to a larger sample set. I would target the arenas or segments that are most attractive to your organization and that you're lacking the most information from. This way you'd get the most out of your customer visits program. I think that’s a good option. The people on the phone don’t get the same impact as seeing the customer in their environment, but it’s better than nothing. I think another option is to use market segmentation and choose a smaller customer sample to visit. Since this is being used for market research to gather missing information and indentify market needs, it doesn’t need to be a large sample. Once the needs are identified you can always validate them through a survey to a larger sample set. I would target the arenas or segments that are most attractive to your organization and that you’re lacking the most information from. This way you’d get the most out of your customer visits program.

]]> By: DerickWorkman http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/2009/02/05/gaining-a-holistic-view-of-the-customer/comment-page-1/#comment-7 DerickWorkman Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:44:10 +0000 http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/?p=59#comment-7 These are good points. I think we may be misunderstanding each other. When I say Holistic, I don't mean Average. The question is how fine does the market segmentation have to be before accuracy is within your tolerance. I think you're right, and that this is one of the problems with only dealing in personas. You and other folks who eat by themselves may play the role of the customer’s “tusk”. Group feeders may play the role of the customer’s “legs”. Those fasting may play the role of the elephant’s body. (how ironic) And it’s true that this segmentation might not produce a fine enough picture; accuracy might not be 100%. But it’s better than saying that the whole elephant or all of your customer’s forgo lunch, just because the body does. The science of market segmentation is extremely important for the product manager. Not enough segments, and false impressions of the customer start to emerge. Too many of the activities of product management become sluggish, and may even grind to a halt. The Product Management View is hosting a webinar this Wednesday 12noon ET on Strategic Market Segmentation. Linda P. Morton will be presenting a process for practical segmentation. You can go to this <a href="http://community.featureplan.com/community/2009/02/_linda_morton_strategic_market.php" rel="nofollow">link</a> for overview and registration. Go <a href="http://rymatech.fileburst.com/~marketing/Documents/Matrix%20Market%20Segmentation%20Report.pdf" rel="nofollow">here</a> to access a report which sets the stage for the webinar. These are good points. I think we may be misunderstanding each other. When I say Holistic, I don’t mean Average. The question is how fine does the market segmentation have to be before accuracy is within your tolerance. I think you’re right, and that this is one of the problems with only dealing in personas. You and other folks who eat by themselves may play the role of the customer’s “tusk”. Group feeders may play the role of the customer’s “legs”. Those fasting may play the role of the elephant’s body. (how ironic) And it’s true that this segmentation might not produce a fine enough picture; accuracy might not be 100%. But it’s better than saying that the whole elephant or all of your customer’s forgo lunch, just because the body does.

The science of market segmentation is extremely important for the product manager. Not enough segments, and false impressions of the customer start to emerge. Too many of the activities of product management become sluggish, and may even grind to a halt. The Product Management View is hosting a webinar this Wednesday 12noon ET on Strategic Market Segmentation. Linda P. Morton will be presenting a process for practical segmentation. You can go to this link for overview and registration. Go here to access a report which sets the stage for the webinar.

]]> By: David Locke http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/2009/02/05/gaining-a-holistic-view-of-the-customer/comment-page-1/#comment-6 David Locke Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:21:59 +0000 http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/?p=59#comment-6 If you start with statistical aggregates, you might get a good view of one customer, but then the insights get washed away in the averages. Likewise, if you have a team collecting their insights and then roll those insights up, you will end up with some aggregate. Given the negotiation skills of team members vary, the critical insight might not even be mentioned, particularly if the customer is one of those 2% negotiators. Your 2% negotiator might get them. The rest of the team won't. I rode an elevator going to lunch one day. The sales rep ask me, "Going to Lunch?" "Yes." "By yourself?" "Yes." "I don't get you guys." If you want to use a cross-functional team, read "Dialogue, the Art of Thinking Together." A lot of things we were taught about empathy and such turn out to be power plays even when they look soft. Even win-win negotiations can be coercive. You can construct a deal that they can't refuse. That doesn't mean that they will like it. Like-like beats a win-win. I think a key tactic is to ask the user if they manipulate your data in Excel and Access. Then, ask them to demo that to you. Those tools are a sure sign of a lack of fitness between the user and the work the user uses your application for. Those tools also uncover implicit costs that the economic buyer is bearing. They don't show up in the accounting system. If you start with statistical aggregates, you might get a good view of one customer, but then the insights get washed away in the averages. Likewise, if you have a team collecting their insights and then roll those insights up, you will end up with some aggregate. Given the negotiation skills of team members vary, the critical insight might not even be mentioned, particularly if the customer is one of those 2% negotiators. Your 2% negotiator might get them. The rest of the team won’t.

I rode an elevator going to lunch one day. The sales rep ask me, “Going to Lunch?” “Yes.” “By yourself?” “Yes.” “I don’t get you guys.”

If you want to use a cross-functional team, read “Dialogue, the Art of Thinking Together.” A lot of things we were taught about empathy and such turn out to be power plays even when they look soft.

Even win-win negotiations can be coercive. You can construct a deal that they can’t refuse. That doesn’t mean that they will like it. Like-like beats a win-win.

I think a key tactic is to ask the user if they manipulate your data in Excel and Access. Then, ask them to demo that to you. Those tools are a sure sign of a lack of fitness between the user and the work the user uses your application for. Those tools also uncover implicit costs that the economic buyer is bearing. They don’t show up in the accounting system.

]]> By: Byron Workman http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/2009/02/05/gaining-a-holistic-view-of-the-customer/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Byron Workman Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:08:21 +0000 http://grandviewcentral.com/wordpress/?p=59#comment-3 It seems it is always easy for us as product managers,or even workers within a company to see the point that other employees or groups have a view of the customer based on their own insights, needs, understandings, and perspectives. I think it was good that you took that understanding and applied it to Product Managers too while they perform customer visits. Having a single or group of product managers create the questions for a customer visit is just as ineffective as having another group make the questions buy themselves. You will not get a holistic view of the customer. Questions poised in a customer visit should come from a cross-functional team. I have found in the past that you really only need one person on site during a customer visit, but make it very clear that you intend on conferencing others from your company when you discuss things that pertain more to other groups like sales, support, consulting, etc. That way when you ask a question to aid your development teams view of the customer, you can have a development team member on the call, and still get the value of someone observing the reactions and keeping interest. It seems it is always easy for us as product managers,or even workers within a company to see the point that other employees or groups have a view of the customer based on their own insights, needs, understandings, and perspectives. I think it was good that you took that understanding and applied it to Product Managers too while they perform customer visits.

Having a single or group of product managers create the questions for a customer visit is just as ineffective as having another group make the questions buy themselves. You will not get a holistic view of the customer. Questions poised in a customer visit should come from a cross-functional team.

I have found in the past that you really only need one person on site during a customer visit, but make it very clear that you intend on conferencing others from your company when you discuss things that pertain more to other groups like sales, support, consulting, etc. That way when you ask a question to aid your development teams view of the customer, you can have a development team member on the call, and still get the value of someone observing the reactions and keeping interest.

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