(Mis-) Setting Customer Expectations

A recent experience reminded me of an older truth – when you are discussing the cost or delivery date of software with your customer:
The first number or date a customer hears is what they will remember.

It doesn’t matter that they pressed you for a rough guess;
It doesn’t matter that you stated assumptions that are wrong;
It doesn’t matter that you set context, conditions, or caveats;

That first number will stick with your customer and be the reference for any other number you provide them later.  When you come back with the real estimate and the number is less favorable than your first guess (it almost always is), then you have a problem. Now you are giving the customer bad news, not refined information.

Consider your customer’s perspective – they have a problem they want your company to solve.  Typically, they won’t focus on the technical details of exactly how you are going to solve it – that is what they are paying you to figure out.   Instead, they need to know that you will solve their problem, what it will cost, and when they can have it. When they don’t have this information, they can see potential risk. So, some customers will press you for answers before you know them.

If a customer asks for an estimate during a meeting, hold off.  Some customers will press you to get a “rough idea” of what to expect – they would like to know if this is going to turn into a big problem. Providing them with a wide range of outcomes often doesn’t help, because selective hearing can happen where only one end of the range is remembered.  The best approach is to tell them when you can provide an answer and then deliver.  Make sure that your response reflects your customer’s expressed concerns and their desire for a rapid response.

Sales people know how to be careful when setting customer expectations. However, as an engineering manager, you likely have less experience than a sales person in setting customer expectations. Instead, you are used to talking more casually about what things might cost internal to your company - and these internal communications should be free flowing. External customer communications should be more measured, however.  So...

Don’t provide quick guesses to customers.
Wait until you have a real estimate prepared before providing any numbers or dates.