How do you deal with difficult or demanding customers in a program?

Identifying your customers is an essential step in providing excellent customer service. Customers are the people who purchase your products or services, and they can be both internal and external to your organization. External customers are those who buy your products or services directly, such as consumers or other businesses. Internal customers, on the other hand, are those who work within your organization and rely on the services provided by other departments or colleagues to do their jobs effectively.

In my experience, 3 steps to empathy is extremely important. First is to understand oneself, then understand your customer, and finally understand the relationship. If you understand yourself and your preferences, you may have to adjust or adapt to the customer needs. If the customer is “important”, think of this customer as a do or die situation. Imagine this was the only project you had and there was no other project/business. Lastly understand the relationship. Is it tactical or strategic. If the relationship is strategic with a potential of being nurtured, then you need to take every effort and bring in the entire organization to support you to nurture that relationship. Remember the customer chooses you, you don’t choose your customer.

Dealing with demanding customers is crucial for successful program management. I'd start by thoroughly understanding their needs and expectations. I think effective communication is critical; actively listen and provide clear updates. Managing expectations by setting realistic goals and being transparent about potential challenges is essential. Focusing on delivering value helps align your program's impact with its business objectives. Building solid and trust-based relationships can turn challenging interactions into positive ones. Stay calm and solution-focused in difficult situations, aiming for mutually beneficial outcomes Pro tip: Utilize CRM tools like Salesforce or HubSpot to effectively manage and understand customer interactions

1. Demanding customers are your in-demand customers who indirectly keep your business ball rolling in. These are first to attend. 2. Demanding customers would be difficult at times but give a confidence to them by delivering in small and quick buckets. 3. When it comes to additional efforts, don't get into immediate efforts approval requirement. Understand what's most important to be delivered or which points can be delivered in short- get work on work and communicate we are on job with delivery at X day. That would give satisfaction and positivity to connect with us for cost and planning on rest/ all points.

The short answer for at least 30 years has been to do stakeholder management. Reading the various insights they pretty much reflect many aspects of stakeholder management. The trick is to do just enough of it and do it right. E.g. 'say' the right things for the right reasons to the right people at the right time in the right way. Or, more simply.....why, who, what, when and how.

Communication can be furthered by including the challenging customer in design and planning. As the boundaries of organizations become more permeable, customers can be included to provide feedback and contribute to design of solutions. Additionally, including customers in design thinking may lead to innovations that meet the challenging customer’s needs and address unmet needs in the marketplace—a strategic advantage.

#1 on this topic. Identify the way to communicate with the customers. Many have different approaches, don't learn the hard way by assuming and then being surprised by a customers ill reaction. Proactively define a communication structure. This will help both sides works towards deeper collaboration and fine tuning that communication.

Be Transparent and Candid! Even if there is a bad news to break - let it come out earlier than late and co create and co-drive your plan together with Programme Sposnors! They have vested interest in making it a success - utilize this interest well!

Effective communication is imperative to be a successful program manager. Using clear and concise language, tailoring your message to the audience, actively listening to others, and using a variety of communication channels so that information reaches everyone are some of the means by which you can ensure effective communication.

Communication starts from within, our well-being affects how we see people as part of ourselves. With inclusiveness, we open the lines of communication by listening to the person, who has concerns, and grievances and wants to share their perspective. Be aware of the tendency to judge the customer as good or bad. Catch yourself when you are about to conclude this person (ie "difficult customer"), limiting your experience of listening and hearing that person and reaching a mutual understanding and respect. Customers are our opportunities to create joyful experiences, which ultimately build trust and loyalty. We never know what perspectives arise out of a "difficult" interaction. Now is a great opportunity to "inner-engineer" oneself.

Many programs will succeed or fail based upon how effective expectations are managed. Expectation management is a key requirement driver for communication and ultimately success. Mismanagement of expectations can lead to programmatic collapse even when a program is actually succeeding. The requirement for clear, effective, communication is rooted in the need to manage expectations and expectations management can be used as a benchmark for effective communication.

Managing expectations is a continuous process. Whether it is a single project or an ongoing program, the market or threat evolves. Competitors innovate, global events change consumer needs, internal priorities shift, etc. Flexibility and frequent communication with the various stakeholders is key to adapt in order to achieve the vision.

Be Transparent and clear on the expectations and the final delivery. Delivery a product or service that does not meet the expectation will lead to dissatisfaction. If expectations are not aligned to the scope, call it out; create a change order and reset the expectation.

A critical element of managing expectations is to help your customers set good requirements that are: - traceable to a specific program need or objective - measurable - achievable

This can go all over the map with customers. A clear SOW (Statement of Work) to start, assists in closing this gap. Do not overload the customer with "Word fluff", the expectations must be simple and clear.

Communication regarding status, achievements and success is critical for overall programmatic health. Benefits received from communication regarding value delivery cannot be understated.

Use MoSCOW - Must/Should/Could and Would - let Business Sponsor share the priorities and deliver in the order Also - Identify quick wins to deliver early results and gain trust

Delivering value is a key element of providing excellent customer service. Value is the benefit that customers receive from your product or service in relation to the cost they pay for it. To deliver value, it's important to understand your customers' needs and preferences and tailor your products or services to meet those needs. This can involve offering high-quality products or services at a competitive price, providing excellent customer support and after-sales service, and offering incentives or rewards to loyal customers. By delivering value, you can build strong relationships with your customers and differentiate yourself from competitors in the market.

Same comments, is the teams energy, commitment at a level that every member, and their dept. leadership is IN! Can/will say we hav specific steps to get to 6 ppm. This is how you and I will make it happen. It is not a document, it is sweat and tears commitment. Key dates, actions, crlebrations.

Previous comments. Each action, is integrated, presented, charted, Every person is IN. Daily progress, revisions etc.. Led by team, all helping. Bunts as big as home runs.

In any commoditized service (e.g., anything as a service), the customer experience is the "core differentiator." ? A true sense of partnership, genuine interest in customer success, and strong empathy will go a long way in building trust, collaboration, and delighting customers ? Proactively seeking customer feedback, being willing to go that extra mile, and establishing trust that you are there to cover their back can significantly help. ? Outstanding customer experience can become the best vendor lock-in mechanism! Having invested in significant Customer Acquisition Cost (CAV), the goal of any business is to maximize the Lifetime Value of the Customer(LTV). It is a Win-Win situation, transforming happy customers into your best advocates!

Saying this fifth is too late. All of this is going on in each of 2, 3, 4. You have built in the feedback, good and bad, the rest will happen. THEIR ARE TWO CELEBRATIONS. The numbers are acheived. The TEAM...WORK.

Over the last 2 decades I've evolved my approach to nurturing relationships with program stakeholders. I began applying design thinking (a human-centered approach to innovation that I'd applied in product development). It involves empathy, experimentation, and iteration, all of which can be valuable for nurturing relationships within programs. Design thinking encourages an open-minded approach, collaboration, and continual learning and improvement. It can help to surface underlying issues, generate creative solutions, ensures everyone's needs are being considered, and the appropriate level of engagement at the appropriate time.

Be as honest and transparent as you can by admitting any issues early and by providing the resolution pathways and timing in a manner that allows the customer to trust and engage in the solution. Remember that you and the customer ultimately have the same goal—success.

Commoditized service ? Make experience your rocket fuel ! Build genuine partnerships, NOT transactions. Go the extra mile, NOT just the contract. Listen empathically, NOT passively. Delight with surprises, not scripts. Proactive feedback, trust, and advocacy ? That's customer lock-in the right way ! Ditch acquisition costs, invest in lifetime value and happy champions. Happy customers ? YES, they're your best marketing campaign !

Difficult situations are generally rooted in inadequate requirement definitions and mismanagement of customer expectations. Emphasis on communication to address these topics will mitigate and resolve difficult situations when they occur.

Handling difficult situations is an important aspect of providing excellent customer service. This involves addressing customer complaints or concerns in a professional and effective manner. It's important to listen carefully to the customer's perspective, empathize with their situation, and offer a solution that addresses their concerns. This can involve apologizing for any mistakes or misunderstandings and taking steps to rectify the situation. By handling difficult situations effectively, you can turn a negative experience into a positive one and build stronger relationships with your customers.

Infrastructure programs - which are typified by their multi-year complex stakeholder environment- often suffer from lack of focus on vision and goals. Why? Because complex situations are often met with simple solutions…. Lists, Trackers, Deadlines… (micromanagement) — it’s what humans do to feel some sense of control inside chaos. YET, often what the situation needs is constant reinforcement of “why are we here”?, “what are we shooting for?” and “how will we measure ultimate success?”. Elevating your gaze from the next action or deliverable can often bring prioritization, impact and strategy back into focus. THIS is what you need to do to manage challenging behaviors, clients and emotions.

Most customers are not difficult but just asking logical questions and demanding what was promised during the sales stage. Try to reduce gaps in sales promises vs practical delivery. Involve delivery teams in early stages to bring the right context and experience and Ajay hain insights into customer expectations directly from them.

- Work backwards from the demands of the programme and identify real hurdles - Try and isolate noise from the real issues of the programme - Do not discount team resources - I have learnt in my experience - there are no difficult people - there are only people caught up in difficult situations - understand your team needs and support them in difficult times to be a true leader!