Customer First
Lessons on being a great PM from a cookie manufacturer
You wouldn’t think that I have much in common with Andreas Kuster, owner of Europe’s oldest cookie manufacturing company Jakob’s Basler Leckerly. But as I listened to my first episode of the Family IN Business podcast, I was captivated by his story.
Kuster bought Jakob’s Basler Leckerly a few years ago, revitalized the languishing business, and, by 2019, had the company set on a solid growth trajectory. Then, COVID hit and customers started cancelling orders. Despite the challenges that his business was facing, Kuster didn’t hesitate to do the right thing for his customers. When a key customer called asking to cancel an order of 100 big boxes of cookies, he was really nice and let his customer off the hook, even though he had the order custom packaged and ready to ship. His philosophy is simple: When people are in trouble, just be nice to them and it pays off in the long run.
Kuster’s story really struck me because even though he is operating in a completely different industry, he perfectly demonstrates a behavior of great PMs. Great PMs put customers first. Great PMs take a relationship view with customers. Great PMs do what Kuster did.
Great PMs put customers first
WhatsApp offers users a platform to send messages that are encrypted end-to-end. Since it was acquired by Facebook in 2014, there has been pressure to monetize WhatsApp through advertising. Yet to this day, many pieces of valuable data - including the content of your messages, your location, and who you’re talking to - remain private. WhatsApp has put users’ desires to protect the privacy of their data first.
Great PMs take a relationship view with customers
I can buy on Amazon with the comfort of knowing that whenever there’s an issue with the order, Amazon will take care of it. Something in the package was damaged? Amazon will send a replacement. Bought something that I later realize I don’t need? Amazon will take it back. Didn’t receive a package that showed as delivered? Amazon will send it again. Amazon does all this without hassle because they take a relationship view. I will purchase again in the future knowing that my problems will be fixed with no questions asked.
Great PMs do what Kuster did
What Kuster, WhatsApp and Amazon have in common is starting with your customer need. Say yes to your customer first. Then, figure out how to deliver the user need and fulfill your business need.
Products and teams fail when they try to flip this critical order of operations. Juicero offered a $700 juicer that only worked with their specialized juice packets and required WiFi. After raising $120M in funding, it failed. Consumers weren’t fooled by its claims of innovation, and rejected the product as overpriced and unnecessary. Juicero started with a business model and built something that didn’t solve a customer problem.
When you do the right thing, it pays off. For Kuster, doing the right thing paid off big time. After letting the customer cancel an order of 100 boxes, he had the opportunity to pitch for an order of 1,400 boxes for Christmas… and won the order! As Kuster said, “Do what is right and you’ll survive, even in these challenging times.”
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