Purpose: Delivering Value
When I was a sales engineer, my sales director shared two rules:
- The customer is always right
- If the customer is wrong, refer to Rule #1.
What a simple way to defy logic! No one is always right, and rule #2 contradicts rule #1. If the customer isn’t always right, what is?
Delivering value to the customer is always right.
Salesforce holds customer success as a core value. It provides solutions for users and a platform for developers to deliver value downstream to their customers. Dreamforce Keynotes include customer success stories, where organizations show how they use Salesforce to improve the value they deliver to their customers. For example, State Farm delivers the value of an improved end-to-end customer experience with Salesforce.
Recently, I developed an app suite on Salesforce for Coca-Cola Global Hospitality. The apps manage guest, lodging and ticket information for international sporting events Coca-Cola sponsors, such as the Olympics and FIFA World Cup. Managers running the event programs use the apps to get accurate, consistent and timely information. The managers direct their teams based on this information to ensure that guests enjoy their journey throughout the games. The app suite delivers value to Coca-Cola Global Hospitality by enabling them to provide extraordinary guest experiences.
When you understand the value your customer delivers, you can appreciate how your efforts contribute to that value. Developing a solution always uncovers problems, often expressed as risks. Keep in mind that risk has three parts: how likely it will occur, a downside and an upside. Risk analysis focuses on the first two parts - the impact of the downside and how likely it will occur. The upside fulfills the purpose of the solution, delivering value to the customer. Recognizing your part in delivering value to the customer will sustain your motivation to work through the inevitable problems.
What value does your solution deliver to your client or employer? How does it improve the value that your client or employer delivers to their customers? Please share your answers in the comments below. We also welcome your questions, suggestions, and challenges in the comments.