In the last video we talked about this pattern you want to avoid with big customers, and in this video we're going to go through some ideas about how to avoid it. So that you're able to keep making good product, and they get the best possible thing that still fits their specific needs. And does what they want it to do, so we're trying to do the best thing for everybody here. Now the first strategy and it's probably the most important, is to anchor to problems and needs and propositions. Instead of just saying, well you know, I need a blue button, I need a drag and drop thing here. And you've learned a lot about how to do that, that's what we did with the venture design process. So unpack that work through the problem that they're trying to solve, the user that they need to do this with. Offer to help them even if it's not part of something you're going to get paid for, if it's a real issue my advice is to offer to go work with their users. Spend time with them, do the diligence that maybe they haven't had the chance to do, and get to the right answer. Arm yourself with the data to help answer the question appropriately in the way that you normally would, which is really the second part of this. The best way to be able to use that strategy of anchoring the problems, making sure you understand them. And then suggesting solutions you think make sense, is to already have the data. So this is one of the reasons why it's very challenging for a smaller company to have a really big customer as their first customer. Seems exciting, like a great idea and if you can get them, maybe you should. But it's going to be very hard for you because they're very likely you know, every customer is going to be different. But they have probably the prerogative to dictate to you what they want billed. Where is that and you have a nice agile environment going and they don't follow that kind of process that could be very detrimental. So the best way is to already have the data, one founder I talked to at Travel Fuzz, has a start-up situation who. Builds software that travel companies use on their sites, had an in-house brand. So their own kind of teeny little travel service that really wasn't even the point of what they wanted to have as a business. They built it so that they could collect data, they could watch travelers use their solution. Before they took it to big customers that run a lot of customers through, so that they could have that understanding. And take that to their customers to help them with data driven ideas about how to pair the right problem and the right solution. So having the data sooner and being able to talk about narrative, talk about specific metrics that you've observed is a really important way. To be able to use that strategy of going to them and working through the problem and then pairing it with the right solution. A couple of other things that are really handy is training, one training is good. Because you often usually will get paid for it and it's a great way to kind of indoctrinate and do need findings. So indoctrination I mean, it's a little bit of a hyperbolic term, but if you look at for instance Cisco the network equipment company. One of their most durable assets is their training program, they've become kind of the defective certification for network, routing, and switching. So, when people ask Hey should we do it this way? The Cisco certified engineer will say, well I learned from Cisco that we should do it this way. So yeah we should, so it's not to say that Cisco's training is strictly an indoctrination tool. The reason why it's successful is it is quite good and very useful but, it is a good place for them to. You know, there are three very different perspectives on how to do something, and one of them is sort of the Cisco's predominant point of view. That they design their products around, well certainly that's the thing that this Cisco trained engineer is going to learn about. And there are a lot of those, and that helps Cisco to kind of promulgate their view. And that helps them create alignment between the problems the customers need solved, and the solutions that they want to present for those things. Training is also a great way to do need finding, basically meaning that, you're looking at how customer using your product. Where are the gaps, what are things that you could do better, when I was running my last company, I always tried to get out and do training with end users. It was so so so helpful to see them actually using the product and things that were hard for them, sort of like doing a real life feasibility study. Where the subject is already motivated, already in their natural environment using the product. And you can see also, its some fascinating things about basically things you can do better. So training is a really good tool to not only train people but also to accomplish these other goals and bring your point of view about the world. And your understanding of your customer's problems in line with a set of solutions and ideas. And most importantly an ongoing process for marrying those two that works for both parties, so those are some ideas about how to approach these things. With both customers, these demands that they may have in a way that allows you to keep building good product and get them what they want.
