Customer Focus Ivan Kravchenko, EPAM Systems 2010 © EPAM Systems

Customer Focus

Ivan Kravchenko, EPAM Systems

2010 © EPAM Systems

2010 © EPAM Systems 2

I. Customers & Interests


Customer focus – what’s this

about?

Identifying needs and interests

Acting accordingly

Making sure it’s visible properly


Customer focus – why bother?

Trust

Comfort

Growth


Who is our customer?


Is it a VP who approves the

budget?


… or a product manager?


… or a technical lead?


… or a peer engineer?


All of them!


What do they want?


In general – us solving problems

without introducing new ones.


Another generic need – peace of

mind.


What can help to ensure these?

Reliability

Responsiveness

Cooperation


Reliability – fire-and-forget:

Get things done

Get back if stuck

No surprises


Responsiveness – never make

the customer to:

Wait

Inquire

Get anxious


Cooperation – be on the same

wavelength:

Understand

Empathize

Try to help


What else do customers want?


Customer’s wants – what to look

for?

Requests and complaints

Specific interests

Bias and emotions


Handling customer’s requests:

Understand what

Understand why

Decide on actions


Make sure to understand

customer’s:

Targets

Manager’s expectations

Overall context


Don’t forget: they are human

beings just like us.


Being humans, they likely want

to:

Look good

Be right

Earn respect


Focus on interests, not

positions!positions

interests

requirement

sreasons

ambitions

needs

goals

bias


Which interests to focus on?


Find a balance!

Yet favor the job.


Different interests on different

levels – which to honor?


Target more critical ones, yet

keep the good relationships.


Use a proxy where practical.


Any interests from our side?

Team comfort

Personal career

Technical excellence


Team issues: share the concern.


Personal targets: align with

customer needs.


Perfection: speak customer

language.


One and only vs. one among

many.


Perception is reality!


Bottom line:

Note and act on customer’s interests

Provide proactive and reliable service

Show understanding and care


II. Situations


Handling the conflict –

techniques:

Delegate the confrontation

Deflect the argument

Focus on issues


Leave the dirty job to manager.


Get out of the line of fire.


Concentrate on specific

problems.


Is it ok to disagree with a

customer?

Yes – for his own good!


Arguments and corrections:

Hear opponent's reasons

Mind feelings and ambitions

Don’t get steamed up


Staying positive: how to say

‘no’?

Say ‘yes’ first

‘We need … to do …’

Defer


Show commitment to a common

goal.


Be careful suggesting

alternatives.


Considering disobedience?

Think twice!


Responding to accusations:

Acknowledge

Alleviate

Prevent


Hide your faults or report

openly?


“Customer is not an

interruption in our work. He is

the purpose of it.”


BTW, your managers are

customers to some extent…


… just as your subordinates…


Questions?

Comments?

Corrections?

Thanks for Your Attention

Customer FocusBy Ivan KravchenkoSenior Software Engineering Manager

EPAM Systems41 University Drive, Suite 202 | Newtown, PA 18940p: +1 267 759 9000 | f: +1 +1 267 759 8989 | e: [email protected] | w:

www.epam.com

http://www.epam.com/

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Customer Focus Ivan Kravchenko, EPAM Systems 2010 © EPAM Systems