How do you access customers for research when an internal stakeholder group is "protective" of their clients?

Great question! I think it all starts with how you approach the conversation with that internal group. Building out a "walking deck" that explains my goals, intentions and the potential program is a great way to lower the fear of other teams. It also helps to bring those stakeholders along the journey as you build out that deck - ask them questions - what do they wish they knew about their customers, what could be improved across product, marketing, sales, etc. Once you can identify the stakehol ...Read More

Interesting! I think it's always best to acknwoledge your stakeholder groups concerns. They're probably mostly worried about the following 1) overwhelming a client with too many asks and requests/wasting their time 2) jeopardizing a clients renewal or upsell that's in process and 3) signing up for more work themselves to coordinate your research. These are really fair concerns but you also need to do your research! Here's an example of a note that I would send that stakeholder to address all of ...Read More

Most teams are protective of their clients for a reason. Perhaps they're worried about promises made to the client. Maybe they have a really important sales conversation coming up. Maybe the customer just experienced leadership changes and the account team is trying to win the new leader over. In my experience, building context and clear communication are critical to eventually having open access to all customers. Get informed on the customer before making sweeping asks. What can you learn from ...Read More

Oof, tough situation. It's very hard to navigate these situations, and tougher to give advice without context into why that group might be protective. Often, if you take an open mind in and ask, you'll learn that there are good reasons for this. Then you'll have to adapt what you want to learn. (If you want, DM me with some more context and I'll try and answer 1:1).  But, I'd say if you're not getting access, the first thing to work on is that internal trust across teams. They may have been burn ...Read More

Always assume best intent. Start there. Often times people want to help, but there are other things going on; there may be nuances you have not yet considered which your stakeholder is weighing carefully. It's important to dig in to see where the resistance may be coming from and get your stakeholders support against the goal itself - even if the means to achieve that goal may change. Listen carefully to your stakeholder and treat them as a subject matter expert when it comes to their clients. T ...Read More

I am assuming this is sales, account management, or customer success teams. It is an understandable concern - especially in large enterprise situations. There seems to be too much at stake to risk with someone you aren't familiar with. It can also be a factor of company culture - which is unfortunate when that creates a blocker for information flow. The first step is to build a relationship with those stakeholders. Let them trust your judgment and align with your motives - which, in the end, sho ...Read More

Tricky question :) Pretty often high-potential customers are well-protected by internal stakeholders. So it will take to "sell" your user research to all the gate-keepers:  Step 1: Communicate the value of the research. Explain to the stakeholder group why the research is important and how it will benefit their clients. This will help them understand the value of the research and may make them more willing to cooperate.  Step 2: Be transparent about the research process. Be open about the resear ...Read More