Managing and Selling Client Satisfaction

One of my critical success factors for building a reputation as a trusted product manager is to manage the expectations of all stakeholders. In his book, Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith explains that a customer's satisfaction is the gap between what the customer expects and what she gets. Service below her expectations makes her dissatisfied--and the greater the gap, the greater the dissatisfaction. To manage satisfaction, you must carefully manage your client's expectations. To do this, you must be networked throughout both your own organization and your client's organization.

Managing client satisfaction is about inspiring trust and managing the relationship. Clients want you to engage them in real discusssions about solutions, know that you're as interested in them as you are in your own success, and collaborate to build measurable solutions. To build trust and maintain credibility, you must apply this same principle beyond the buying client. You must take care to ensure "customer" satisfaction among all stakeholders. From conception to development and through the product launch, do everything possible to ensure everyone involved with the product is on the same page.

Open, ongoing communication is key. You can't overcommunicate with your stakeholders. Daily status or conference calls might seem too frequent but, depending on the phase of the project or product development, they provide necessary opportunity for your internal clients (execs, finance, IT, HR, marketing, etc.) to ask the questions that must be asked before it's too late. Product user groups and social networking discussions are examples of vehicles for communicating with external clients.

It's critical to get signoff from all stakeholders on decisions that will impact the product, the service or the client. Ideally, this signoff should occur with all stakeholders present so that everyone is involved in the discussions and so that there is no question about agreed upon deliverables. During the signoff discussions, be sure to explicitly address any stakeholder expectations that won’t be met, such as "out of scope" features. In addition, aim to propose how these issues will be handled or addressed in the future. Ensure all stakeholders know what to expect before they get the product or service.

To forge solid relationships, you should be selling and marketing beyond just what is immediately needed by the client. Instead of just solving the problem for the client or stakeholder, be a resource. When you come across any information that might be pertinent to their interests, such as an article tied to a trend in their industry, pass it along to them. This shows that you really understand the issues they are facing or the concerns they have. Make them forget that you don't work for the same department or for the same company.

Build complete trust and proof of the value you provide based on past performance. On an ongoing basis, devise ways to remind customers/stakeholders of and sell them on the satisfaction you've provided them and let them know how you are satisfying other customers, such as providing opportunities for positive feedback and promoting it.