1.650.322.0230Staying aligned with your customers
When you are an organization providing services to clients it is important to check in every once in a while to make sure the relationship between the two companies is still as mutually beneficial as possible.
At the beginning of an engagement both parties typically complete at least some amount of due diligence and agree that the business goals are good for both sides. If through the course of time, high-level strategic communication doesn’t take place, then that due diligence becomes stale and potentially worthless. And you may not find that significant disconnects exist until major damage is already done to the relationship through project failure, or even a complete dissolution of the engagement. These risks can be mitigated by having what I’ll call a Customer Review (similar to what’s known as a QBR) on a regular basis, about 3-4 times a year.
Some customers won’t want to spend the time. The Customer Review process is external to what they’re paying you to do and they can sometimes have a hard time seeing the benefit, but it is crucial for the long term success of the relationship. It’s key that you help them understand that finding strategic misalignment early will save them money over the long run and help verify that you are providing the best service you can to your customer.
The Customer Review should be a face-to-face meeting in a conference room with the management of both companies in attendance. Any sponsor executives as well as direct managers of the project should participate and attend from the client’s side. Following are some of the things that should be covered in the meeting as well as items important to you and/or each of your customers.
Presented by you:
- History of the relationship, accomplishments since last Customer Review
- Your company health, growth of the company, new areas of expertise, etc
Presented by the customer:
- Past project success in the marketplace, lessons learned, health of current project, etc
- Future roadmap, business strategy, product plans
Group input during meeting:
- Issues and difficulties currently hindering productivity
- Action items for next Customer Review
If you meet in this brief, semi-formal way with your customers on a regular basis, you will find you understand them better and can anticipate their needs more proactively, which enables you to provide the highest quality of service.
