Two way communication

Most business will have four basic customer-centered functions. Since every business sells something, you have to start with Research & Development. Having a product is not enough; potential customers must be made aware of it therefore you must have Sales & Marketing. If your product has any complexity at all, you will need to provide Training to your customers. Finally, if there is any problem, you need Customer Service/Support.

It is important to set up structures to ensure easy flow of information between each section. Too often, the information is only one way. For example, R&D explains how the product works to the support personnel, but support does not communicate back to R&D.

Producing a successful product does not start with the research and development department. In fact, there is no specific starting point. The original idea might come from anywhere. A client might ask the salesperson for something that does not yet exist. A support person might suggest a change to simplify the process of working with a client over the phone. Ideas that spring solely from the R&D department are usually the features everyone oohs and ahs over, but never uses. The best products require feedback from everyone who interacts with the product. With this information, the product can be continually improved.

Unfortunately, most companies have minimum structures in place to keep information flowing. At best, the information flows one way. For example, the customer support department has an official method of informing the development team of common customer problems. What happens next is a black hole as far as the support people know. At best, R&D might produce a document listing the improvements and fixes in the newest version. The people who put in the requests, salespeople, trainers and support personnel are at a loss as to what happened to their request.

I'm not trying to pick solely on the R&D department. I have also experienced poor communications between the sales and training departments. The client is expecting to be trained on what the salespeople sold them. The trainer then sends a memo to the sales department explaining how the product is supposed to work. If it ends there, the trainer won't know if the salesperson understood the concern and will change their ways or if there was a specific reason how they are selling the product. Perhaps a competitor is emphasizing a feature and the trainers need to adjust the training to match the sales pitch.

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