I make your customers the driving force behind your growth.
Why many companies fall short of their potential
I’ve seen passionate team leaders and department heads tirelessly improving their area and reviewing metrics every day. And yet so many companies fall so far short of their potential.
The ideal customer - and why it's not the point here
This often starts with the fact that it is not clear what the ideal customer looks like. But this article is not about the perfect pitch or the latest optimization of the marketing funnel.
When the first customer contact turns into disillusionment
Too often I have seen sales and technical consultants make a great combination and turn prospects into enthusiastic buyers. But then the new customer comes into contact with the rest of the company for the first time and disillusionment sets in. At this moment, the first seed is sown to terminate the contract that has just been concluded.
Stress, overtime and frustration - the cycle begins
It continues. Professional Services takes over and starts the implementation. This is followed by countless hours of overtime, stressful meetings and frustrated customers. The sponsor of the project at the customer sees his reputation and perhaps even his job at risk instead of getting the promotion he had hoped for. The pressure mounts.
Sales and project teams in a continuous loop
Project managers and system architects give their all. DevOps has to step in. At some point, the customer goes live with a massive delay and limited functionality. Everyone is frustrated. The customer’s name has already made the rounds in the company and everyone is trying to avoid him.
When the customer becomes a "problem case"
But the drama continues.
Professional Services has brought the customer live and is finally ready. Five more projects are waiting to be launched. The sales department has already made appointments with two critical customers. Only completed projects help the Head of Professional Services move forward.
Now the support is supposed to save everything
So now the support is there for the customer. Sometimes reinforced by a customer success team. They are now supposed to save it. After all, they are there for customer satisfaction and are the only ones who are measured by it. For far too high a cost, by the way.
When the CEO sounds the alarm
Now the following often happens: The CEO calls a meeting and demands that the situation be improved. There are recriminations, excuses and perhaps a few half-baked concessions.
Then the training sessions start. We are investing heavily in sales in particular, as we need new customers. The team, which was already good from the start in this example, is therefore getting even better. Managers are given leadership training so that employees will be more motivated and finally deliver better results.
New measures - but without real change
People may be made redundant because things simply can’t go on like this.
In the best-case scenario, all areas will now be optimized, accelerated and looked at more meticulously. Managers are encouraged to monitor their employees more closely and regularly evaluate them according to defined performance criteria.
The blind spot: lack of cooperation
Nevertheless, a company with thoroughly optimized individual parts remains dysfunctional as long as these parts do not work with and for each other.
In too many companies, I have noticed a huge blind spot when it comes to genuine cooperation and togetherness.
Why lip service is not enough
What do I mean by that?
Lip service to better collaboration is worthless as long as managers and employees are only measured by their own process and not by what happens before and after them.
Handovers - the underestimated success factor
When time is short, the handover to the next team is very often skimped on. But if I have won a customer and then don’t show Professional Services exactly what is important, I program everything from now on for failure.
Why knowledge transfer is essential
Whenever I visit clients and we carry out a customer journey assessment, I pay particular attention to handovers between teams, knowledge transfer and mutual understanding.
Tools and AI alone are not enough
Perfect sub-processes and ingenious ideas fizzle out ineffectively if they do not mesh. Even tools and AI are useless. Of course, it is much easier to introduce a new tool and monitor every single step and encourage managers to micromanage.
Companies are made up of people - not just processes
But it is rarely effective. After all, companies are made up of people who achieve great things together.
What dragon boats have in common with companies
In my home town of Ulm, dragon boats regularly sail on the Danube. A lot of rowers are rowing in a boat, one is drumming to the beat, one is sitting at the wheel. If three of the twelve rowers are outstanding athletes, but the four at the back of the boat can’t keep up with the pace, the boat is neither going fast nor in the right direction.
Conclusion: handovers determine success and failure
I am convinced that the supposedly simple and boring patterns of behavior can make the difference between the success and failure of a company.
Handovers and meaningful documentation are such behavioral patterns. They are trivially obvious and require a certain amount of discipline.
Why good handovers are not rewarded
I also find it hugely satisfying when I’ve done my job really well, prepared the field for the next team and just know that it’s going to work. I can look forward to a call from an enthusiastic customer who feels vindicated in their decision every day.
But no one has ever been promoted for really good handovers to the next team.
