Chapter 16

Generating Success from the Customer Relationship

In This Chapter

arrow Sharing the customer within your company

arrow Producing useful information from the customer relationship

As I’m sure that you’re aware, relationships of all sorts are fundamental to business success: relationships within even a small team in your company; relationships among the different departments within your firm; and, the subject of this chapter, the relationship of your firm with your customers.

When a prospect converts to a customer (as I describe in Chapter 15), the relationship between your company and the customer enters a period of transition. Unless your company is small, with a handful of people doing everything, the people who shepherd the sale through aren’t usually the ones who deliver the work.

This transition is a delicate matter, as is customer management in general. Conflicts between different functions (departments), for example sales and delivery, can arise over perceived ownership of customers, which can threaten your business development intention for this customer and therefore your revenue. So although I address this chapter primarily to account and/or project managers, marketing and salespeople are also likely to find it valuable.

I lead you through two important aspects of the ...

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