Practical Product Management for Product Owners: Creating Winning Products with the Professional Product Owner Stances

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Building Customer Empathy

Talking to Customers

Talking to customers is one of the most rewarding and interesting, yet scary, parts of being a Product Owner. To some people, it comes naturally, and they love talking to customers. To others, it’s more difficult. But the key to the Customer Representative stance lies not within the four walls of your office. Talking with, listening to, and empathizing with customers is critical to the art of product management. As Calvin Coolidge once said, “No one ever listened himself out of a job.” If problems occur when talking to customers, they generally occur when we open our mouths. They occur when we offer solutions to their problems, or when we make promises about products, services, or features that ...