{"id":6903,"date":"2017-04-04T08:48:06","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T13:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/?p=6903"},"modified":"2017-04-04T08:48:06","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T13:48:06","slug":"engaging-customer-development-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/engaging-customer-development-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Your Customers In the Development Process"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Direct customer involvement in the development process is becoming increasingly important. The more customer involvement the greater your chance of developing a product that meets customer needs. The goal\u00a0is to invest less of the product manager\u2019s time in excess documentation and use that time to solicit customers\u2019 perspectives.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Opportunities Abound<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As you work your way through the product development process, you\u2019ve had lots of opportunities to interact with clients. These occasions are goldmines. Use these encounters to refine your product plans and improve products. As product manager, stay focused on detecting patterns in the feedback you get from different customers. Don\u2019t allow yourself to be distracted by individual data points and observations.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Maximize Your Customer Interactions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Making the most of your customer interactions begins with a well-defined plan and an objective. This structured approach buoys your customers\u2019 confidence in you and your company. Plus, it gives you the best chance of getting top quality input from your customers.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Define Your Objective<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>What do you most want to learn from your customer? Are you seeking frank feedback on your plans? Do you hope to walk the customer through a prototype your team has developed? Perhaps you want to test the waters on various pricing strategies. Your best chance of getting valuable information begins with a solid objective.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Choose the Right Forum <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You can plan your customer engagement to take place through a variety of formats. Choose the one that will work best for the type of information to hope to gain.<\/p>\n<p>Format possibilities include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Site visits<\/li>\n<li>Surveys<\/li>\n<li>Virtual meetings<\/li>\n<li>Visits to your corporate office<\/li>\n<li>Regional client meetings<\/li>\n<li>Client conferences<\/li>\n<li>Focus groups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Set Yourself Up for Success<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Before you undertake your client meeting, create visual aids that will facilitate the conversation. Going in fully prepared reflects well on you and\u00a0your organization.<\/p>\n<p>Prepare questions that are designed to get at the information you need. Don\u2019t be afraid to fine-tune these questions as you go along. It is likely that as you interact with clients, you\u2019ll need to adjust some of your original assumptions. In the end, this will lead to an improved outcome.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Watch Your Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Be considerate of the amount of time your customer has to devote to the meeting. Set the parameters at the start and end within your client\u2019s time limits. Don\u2019t go over unless your client extends the meeting\u2019s length.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Thank Your Client<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You can create goodwill for yourself and your company by taking the time to thank your client in writing after the meeting. Send a written note or at the very least an email. Doing so can bolster your relationship going forward.<\/p>\n<p>Watch for my next post when I\u2019ll discuss the value of forming a Customer Advisory Council.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Advancing the Profession of Product Management\u2122<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/\">website<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/product-management-consultants\/\">consulting<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/product-management-training\/\">training<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/product-management-toolkits\/\">toolkits<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Take-Charge-Product-Management-Effectiveness\/dp\/0615379273\">books<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/actuationconsulting.com\/product-management-blog-2\/\">blog<\/a>\u00a0I\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/greggeracie\">twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Direct customer involvement in the development process is becoming increasingly important. The more customer involvement the greater your chance of developing a product that meets customer needs. The goal\u00a0is to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Engaging Your Customers In the Development Process - Actuation Consulting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Direct customer involvement in the development process is increasingly important. 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