This was inspired by Customer Strategy Podcast Ep 6: Gray Skinner

There is a powerful difference between tasks and responsibility and it can have a huge impact on the relationships you and your team build with your customers.

Think about the difference between these two scenarios:

Scenario 1: An onboarding team engages with new clients after they sign the contract and takes the clients through a series of tasks to complete the onboarding process.

This is overly simplified to make a point

Scenario 2: The same onboarding team engages with new clients after they sign the contract and takes responsibility for getting the clients through the onboarding process.

Do you see the difference between the two? It's a subtle one but is really powerful.

Often times, we can get focused on the "what" of our role with customers...

What are the tasks that need to be completed this week...

What are the blockers that are in our way...

These are important, but they should serve the "why".

Why did this client engage us to solve this problem...

Why is this client's successful onboarding critical to their goals...

If you or your team focus on the tasks and ignore the why, you're leaving a lot on the table.

Have you ever tried to accomplish a task without having a clear why? It's hard and usually doesn't work.

Anything is possible when your why is strong enough.

When you understand the why, it's much easier and more fulfilling to take responsibility.

I view understanding the why as fuel.

Building strategic relationships with customers is a marathon and understanding the why is the critical fuel that is needed to keep going.

Capturing the customer's why and embracing it is a key part of the Fresh Start in the Customer Strategy Method.

To learn more about this specific area, listen in on the conversation Gray and I had on Episode 6 of the Customer Strategy Podcast.

Cheers,
Nils

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