Customers traditionally seek one-off engagements with the Professional Services team and are reluctant to engage in an annual contract. Proving the value of the program is often dependent on building trust in the researcher(s) aligned to the program.

Be flexible and keep the customer’s needs top of mind. Some of the key ways I’ve accomplished this are by:

➡ Creating regular, convenient touchpoints. Bi-weekly meetings to discuss project updates and/or creating a shared communication channel in Slack or Teams allow for communicating in real-time.

➡ Finding ways to collaborate at various project stages. Encourage customer feedback on test plans, pilots, report outlines and offer brainstorming sessions to discuss together.

➡ Immersing myself in the company. Understanding the larger goals, lingo, branding, and internal team structures then aligning the work to those needs.

Developing relationships with customers across several different industries has resulted in larger-scale, strategic work such as:

➡ End-to-end completion of 4 moderated micro-studies on users of low-code site builder platforms on behalf of a multinational technology corporation. Compilation of these micro-studies was then turned into an overarching journey map by persona.

➡ A one-off study on size and fit for a retail company generated so much internal conversation, that it led to 6 full-scale studies focused on competitive size and fit experiences that was then compiled into a journey map, and findings that influenced multiple product teams.

Taking time to build trust and get to know my customers has resulted in lasting relationships:

➡ Turning a three-month engagement with the multinational technology corporation to identify personas into return engagements to explore other product features, such as AI use, through the lens of said personas.

➡ Developing a six-month retainer with the retail company into three years of partnership. Additionally, shifting the focus from usability study execution, to partnering closely across stages and study types.