Dentists
Why is a product owner like a really good dentist?
They are both super focused on reducing customer pain points.
Thanks to COVID, lockdowns and a very bad experience, it had been a while since I had last visited any dentist 😬
Of course I felt super guilty to start with but then historically it has been very easy for dentists to bring on questions which feel very accusatory in nature…
Dentist: How long is it since you last saw the dentist?
Me: Mwfaw mergh umble herfle blee morg
Dentist: Uh huh. That long. You know it’s very important to get regular dental checkups?
Me: Urblag muffle splay schmorgan mag nor nor!
Dentist: Mmmmhmm, and how often - exactly - are you flossing?
I don’t even know why they are asking those questions because they know full well looking at your teeth precisely what the answers are (which is why I guess it doesn’t matter that you can’t technically answer them having had seven-eight injections, cotton wool padding to stop the drooling, a mirror and suction in your mouth all at once).
The dentist I went to see recently however, did not ask rhetorical questions in an accusatory tone. Instead, he asked some quick questions to work out what kind of patient I was. Because I have sensitive teeth he gave me a special mouth wash to use before cleaning that would act as a numbing agent (without injections).
When we still ran into issues (I had a coughing fit) he did a really quick triage of the situation and worked out exactly what was causing the problem. Then he adjusted the way he was working to suit my needs and we were able to continue. At the end of the consultation he gave me some specific, tailored advice that was easy to follow to help improve the sensitivity of my teeth (which also did not involve giving up coffee, because life).
As a great dentist his whole focus was on reducing the pain points in the process for his customers so that they would have the best outcomes and COME BACK. His onboarding was informative but also then tailored specifically to the type of customer I was (personalised). The benefit for me was immediately realised with the quality of treatment and I signed on the dotted line to go back in THREE months instead of the usual mumble murgle bloof bloof because the outcomes were so great and there was no guilt trip involved.
As product owners and managers, we need to have processes that use the same deduction techniques to identify and eliminate pain points for our customers if we want to inspire the same kind of loyalty and devotion that includes handing over wallets.