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- Effective Customer Obsession
As I celebrated my birthday last week (here are 18 reflections), I realized it's also the one-year anniversary of this newsletter. Writing publicly has been a new and sometimes uncomfortable journey, so I’m deeply grateful for your support!
Over the past year, I've grown, learned, and connected with many of you. Now, as I see encouraging metrics (see PS section below for full details) and take this hobby more seriously, I’m committed to following a principle that I've been taught throughout my career: making my efforts truly customer-obsessed. My goal is to better understand your needs and make this newsletter (and all future projects) more valuable for you.
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THE THEORY
Customer obsession goes beyond being a buzzword; it’s a philosophy that can transform both businesses and personal relationships. The idea is simple - It’s about deeply understanding your customers' pain points and "working backwards" to find solutions. The execution is complex - more of an art than a science.
Cultivating 1,000 True Fans means focusing on a loyal, smaller base rather than the masses. This principle isn’t just for big brands and it doesn't need to cover a thousand people - it’s equally powerful on a personal level, with a smaller group of stakeholders. For instance, at work, instead of trying to please everyone, ask yourself: who are your true fans, and are you serving them well?
Feedback is a gift. The best way to understand your customers (and their pain points) is by proactively seeking their input. Don’t wait for an annual talent review or for issues to arise - ask your customers, clients, peers, and stakeholders for feedback regularly. A couple of tips: let people know in advance that you’ll be asking for feedback, and focus on the process or project rather than making it personal. This approach makes feedback easier to give and more actionable.
MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS
In our professional lives, "customers" aren’t just the people who buy our products - they’re also our stakeholders, managers, and direct reports. These are the people whose support and trust we need to succeed. Are they your true fans? Are you customer-obsessed in your approach to these relationships? Cultivating this mindset can transform your work environment, encouraging mutual respect and collaboration.
Customer Obsession is now my priority. I want to get to know you better before focusing on scaling this newsletter and my upcoming projects. In addition to completing this survey, next week, I’ll reach out to those who have been especially supportive (I'm calling it my "Inner Circle"), to see how I can add more value for their support, like choosing topics or joining group coaching/Q&A calls. Reply to this email if you wish to be included.
HOW TO PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE
Identify Your "Customers": Both internal and external. Create a list with the names of your main stakeholders.
Understand Their Pain Points: For example, do you know what keeps your manager up at night?
Cultivate Your True Fans: Focus on those who can have the most impact - your manager, direct reports, skip-levels, and those on your promotion panel.
Seek Feedback Continuously: Don’t wait for formal reviews. Take this opportunity to seek feedback and use it to improve. Remember: give a heads-up when you’ll be asking, and start by seeking feedback on the project, not yourself.
Keep Track of Your List of Customers: In addition to their names, create a list that includes: when you last met them, the feedback they gave, and your plan to follow up by showing how you addressed their feedback.
Obsessively,
Jorge Luis Pando
PS: A Peek Behind the Curtain
The Good: This is my 52nd email to nearly 100,000 addresses, with 3,154 subscribers, an average open rate of 59.4%, and a click rate of 6.4%. [Side note: Experts suggest that top newsletters have rates above 35% and 6% - so these metrics are definitely encouraging]. Surprisingly, 1,044 people have opened more than 25 of these emails.
The Bad: Since April 2024, I haven't been able to see any metrics for more than half of my audience. Amazon began bot scanning emails, showing a 100% open and click rate for "@amazon.com" addresses (in case you are wondering, I excluded these from the metrics above). Unfortunately, Amazon also blocks links on desktop, affecting nearly 53% of my audience. If you are reading this and belong to this group, please consider updating to your personal email.
The Challenge: Metrics suggest people appreciate the content, but theory pushes me to find "my niche." While workload management and soft skills are broadly relevant, scaling requires focusing on a specific group. I’m currently considering focusing on a few groups that are frequently engaging with my content (working parents, foreigners in corporate America, new to corporate) or just keep it to tech employees (or even just Amazon). I'm still figuring this out.
Want to help? Fill out this survey (they say third time's a charm) or reply to this email with your thoughts and feedback - I always read and respond.
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