On talking, doing, and pain
A couple weeks back, we published a story about restructuring Estimote to create a more cross-functional team layout centered around customer context. Now it’s time for part two, and to talk more about how the new system works when confronted with reality.
One of the mantras learned in Y Combinator (and we repeat often) is that startups should only do two things: Build the product and talk to the customers. How we put it in practice might sound counterintuitive, though.
If it doesn’t hurt, you’re doing it wrong
We believe in the YC mantra so strongly that… we don’t have a customer service team. Say what?! Here’s the deal: instead of having one customer service team, we made each team talk to the customers in their part of the funnel.
Talking to users is the responsibility of each team’s community manager, or for later-stage teams, the product manager. Admittedly, it was one of the toughest elements about the transition to the new structure. The “first reply time”, our key metric for customer service, skyrocketed as we were adjusting our support processes, and it took us a while to bring it back to a manageable level.
But the early struggle is worth the long-term benefit. Having each team talk to people with exactly the issues they’re working on dramatically shortens the feedback loop. By complaints, suggestions, and needs being made so immediately visible to the product teams, data driven decisions (and problems to solve) are literally right at their fingertips. This allows for more focus and faster iteration.
With a dedicated support team, it’s easy to fall into the trap of measuring their effectiveness in closed tickets. That’s nonsense. Our goal is to solve problems, not tickets. Putting product teams in front of the customers is a big step towards solving problems more effectively.
Plus, we accidentally discovered an additional upside. Developers and product managers aren’t always fans of spending their time answering customer inquiries. By putting them in customer-facing roles, we push them out of their comfort zone. And the only way for the team members to grow personally (and for us to grow as a company) is to force ourselves to leave that comfort zone. Just like with exercise, if your muscles don’t hurt afterwards, you’re doing it wrong.
So we started exploring other areas where we can push the boundaries of the comfort zone. Thanks to that, Estimote product managers now write blog posts about their products.
Data scientists hard at work
First rule of startups: don’t die
Last year we started using blog post driven development as our variation on user stories. But it focused on outlining a blog post as a first step to nailing what users really need. Now, actually writing the post is another step in the release cycle. Not all our product managers like writing. In fact, some hate it. But as Stephen King put it: writing is refined thinking. It makes product teams understand their work better and focus on delivering value for the customers. Because how could you craft a compelling message if you don’t have a compelling product?
Of course we don’t just hand product managers a piece of paper and say now, write. Our Awareness team and content creators help with that, but the ultimate goal is to have a product team involved in every aspect of the product’s life. Even if it hurts.
We’re taking a big risk here, because there still is the issue of balance. Coming back to the exercise metaphor: it should hurt, but if you work yourself out to the point of passing out from dehydration, it’s even worse than sitting on a couch sipping soda. It’s crucial that we don’t make product managers scramble for time to actually build their products. We’re still establishing best practices here. But we don’t want to do this with arbitrary, made-up constraints like use 10% of your time to answer customers and another 10% to write. The best place to start is common sense. If you’re straying so far from your comfort zone that it’s getting more frustrating than challenging, take a step back. Discuss with your team. Delegate. Don’t pass out from dehydration. Ask for help.
No pain, no gain is so clichéd it hardly needs saying. What does need talking about is the balance. How much pain is in this sweet spot right beyond your comfort zone, helping you grow and develop new skills. How do you not cross that line? To figure it out, you need to take risks, but also be flexible and react quickly if something doesn’t work. Just like startups are supposed to. We hit the balance with making product teams take over customer service and going deeper into the blog post-driven development.
Our recruiter Sunny, sourcing talent to interview
If you feel like this is the right environment for you, don’t hesitate to reach out and join Estimote!
Wojtek Borowicz, Community Evangelist at Estimote